I hope the following long ramblings are helpful regarding microphone choice.
Tom Fine suggested the EV RE20 and (much older and out of production) 666
and 667. These are good suggestions. The 667 was a hand-picked 666 mic
(for smoothest response) accompanied by a fairly elaborate preamp that
provided gain of 5 to 20 dB in four steps and a variety of equalization
curves. The equalization included bass and treble boost and cut, plus a
presence peak on/off between 3 and 4 kHz. I don’t think these EQ
variations would be useful for your project and I think that the chances of
finding a mic/preamp combo with a working preamp are very slim (though I
haven’t tried). (The mic itself should be fine, however.)
Paul Stamler wrote that the EV ND267 had a rising response peaking about
+6dB at around 8,500 Hz, probably too sibilant for good disc cutting. I
can’t disagree with this, though at least the rise is fairly smooth,
starting at 1 kHz.
I think that a bigger problem with a handheld cardioid/directional vocal
mic is the “proximity effect” that produces low-frequency response that
varies substantially with working distance. In the case of the ND267A (and
the earlier ND267) the “close response” (distance not specifically stated)
at 100 Hz (the lower end of the vocal range) is 8 dB above 1 kHz. The “far
response” (again, distance not stated but probably one or two feet) at 100
Hz is 8 dB below 1 kHz. This is a wide and potentially troublesome
variation. Entertainers use this effect to “work the mic” and produce
variations in vocal tonality that sound good to them. But it seems to me
that these variations could wreak havoc with a Presto recording machine. If
one could maintain a working distance of 1.5 ft or more to more-or-less
eliminate the low-frequency response variations of proximity effect, the
far response has significantly rolled off low frequencies, probably making
the recording sound “thin.” (The ND267 is −3 dB at 130 Hz, −8 dB at 100 Hz
and −18 dB at 50 Hz; the ND267A is −30 dB at 50 Hz.)
The beauty of the RE15, RE20 and 666/667 mics is that, while directional,
their internal construction is such that proximity effect is significantly
reduced, so that variations in working distance have little effect on tonal
balance. Years ago, EV trademarked this construction, calling it
Variable-D™. The RE15 that Paul Stamler mentioned is also a Variable-D mic.
While no longer made, the RE16 is. The RE16 is an RE15 with a larger pop
filter, which would eliminate so-called vocal P-pops when recording the
human voice and instruments with similar noises up close. (The RE20
includes extensive pop filtering as part of its design.) The RE20 has
flatter LF response than the RE15: flat to 70 Hz and about 2 dB down at 50
Hz. The RE15 is flat to 180 Hz, 3 dB down at 80 Hz and 8 dB down at 50 Hz.
That said, this is probably sufficient for your Presto machine and the
voices and the frequency range of The Lost Brothers and Sheesham and Lotus
and Son. Dynamic mics with steel cases (like the EVs) are very resistant
to physical damage, so used units made many years ago should perform as new.
Regarding the RE15/16, EV used to make two other less-expensive variations
of the same design, the RE10 (related to the 15) and the RE11 (related to
the 16). Off the production line, somewhat larger response variations
around nominal were allowed. I do not think these variations would unduly
influence your recordings, so a used RE10 or RE11 could be useful to you.
One more point. Omnidirectional mics are inherently free of proximity
effect and resistant to P-pops, meaning that in a fairly dead and quiet
recording environment (where the lack of directionality is not very
important), they might be a good choice. One economical one is the EV
635A, still made. While I wouldn’t record a pipe organ with this mic, it
certainly covers the range of a Presto machine. Its low-frequency response
is similar to that of the RE15 family: flat to 180 Hz, 3 dB down at 80 Hz
with a slow roll-off below (7 dB down at 50 Hz, a lot more low end than the
ND267 “at distance”). For high frequencies, there is a very broad rise of
less than 3 dB between 4 kHz and 12 kHz. I don’t this would be a problem.
Jim Long
|