Metropoulos Forum

I bought a Sennheiser 906 to try out along my 57. Sound seems bigger when the two are mixed at equal volumes compared to a 57 alone. Seems abit tamer though not as aggressive as the single 57.

Would a ribbon mic be better along a 57 or a 421? And I always hear about phasing.

Too avoid phasing I heard that both mics must be equal distance from the grill is that right?

Can one be on grill and one pulled back say 10" or would that cause phasing. And how do I tell if phasing is happening? I have read that the actual volume would be reduced if there was?

hey keano, i have limited experience with this as well, but it definitely can open up some improved sounds. this may or may not be the best article on such, but it may help

http://www.homerecordingconnection.com/ ... ory&id=140

keano wrote:Would a ribbon mic be better along a 57 or a 421? And I always hear about phasing.

Eddie Kramer (engineer for Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin) said he used a ribbon mic with a U67 to record most of all the Hendrix stuff. I have known several engineers, including myself that have used the Royer 122 to record guitars. I always go back to a SM57 amd MD 421 combo.

keano wrote:Too avoid phasing I heard that both mics must be equal distance from the grill is that right?

Kind of, you also have to take in account the approximate position of the capsules in the mic body.

keano wrote:Can one be on grill and one pulled back say 10" or would that cause phasing. And how do I tell if phasing is happening? I have read that the actual volume would be reduced if there was?

This will cause phasing but if you recording in a program like protools you can realign the two signals.

a couple things to listen for to tell if there is phasing. When you bring up the second mic do you hear the following:

1) A dramatic decrease in bottom end, if this happens and your mic pre has a phase or polarity switch, hit it and see if the bottom end is stronger.

2) Does it sound hollow like you are hearing the sound through a tunnel. In this case the mics moving the mics may just fix the problem.

3) Top end sounds like you are running it through a phase/flange pedal. Again mics moving the mics may just fix the problem.

Hope this helped.

keano wrote:I bought a Sennheiser 906 to try out along my 57. Sound seems bigger when the two are mixed at equal volumes compared to a 57 alone. Seems abit tamer though not as aggressive as the single 57.

I've used these two together, the 57 dead center and the 906 mid-cone, both about 1"-2" off the grille cloth. They seem to complement each other pretty well.

My son has also used this combination on different speakers in the same cab (1 Fane, 1 Weber Thames) with good results, panning the signals slightly.

Guys good info and good article. Seems I lose some 57 juice so I may try that closer to center or may just off it. Do you run the 906 in flat mode?

Also one

I have known several engineers, including myself that have used the Royer 122 to record guitars. I always go back to a SM57 amd MD 421 combo.

Does this mean you prefer the 57/421 combo compared to the Royer 122? How does the Royer sound?

keano wrote:Guys good info and good article. Seems I lose some 57 juice so I may try that closer to center or may just off it. Do you run the 906 in flat mode?

Yes, switch in the center position.

The 906 sounds good by itself, but paired with the 57 you get a nice blend of fullness from the 906 and the in-your-face-ness from the 57.

Exactly. I noticed with some quick tests the 906 gave a much larger yet even tone. Almost lost some aggression which means I need to move 57 lcoser to actual center and 906 closer in which I had on outside of cone.