In Summary

A well-chosen small set of mics for the studio can outlive some of the extravagant ones that can come and go. Here we list our six essential studio mics by type that we think deserve a place in your mic cupboard, and why you need them.

Going Deeper

It’s a given that the mic must capture sounds as faithfully as possible (in most cases). With virtually all designs able to do this to a great extent, the mic buyer can look at other factors such as the tool’s character (if any), desirability, and other practical things such as specs and the number that everyone cares about: the price… Armed with just one of these mics in some cases, or a small handful in other recording scenarios, engineers can cut through the noise to get to what really matters: using the right tool for the job.

Recently Paul Maunder talked about his go-to location and studio mic choices for recordists working in post production. Over on the music recording side, engineers are certainly well known for their love of sound-collecting tools. With the enormous amount of options and opinions on offer, making more targeted choices can get neglected. With so many toys to choose from, here we list our six essential studio mics by type.

1 - The Shop Window - Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone

When clients walk into a studio, there are a few choice pieces of gear they might expect to see that confirm to them that they are in a Recording Studio. A console might be one, but in any pro studio, by far the most conspicuous piece of equipment to the client will be the vocal mic.

Yes, vocals can (and should) be recorded using any mic that suits a voice best. Many reading this will have a story where the that old dynamic reserved for holding the door open sounded better on vocals than their new shiny boutique Big Mic. However, it could be argued that the vocal mic is more than a mic. For the studio, it can be a statement of intent to the client. Establishing the experience of being in a pro facility does matter, and there’s no better shop window than what the client sees when they are recording their vocal. Because of this, there are only a small handful of Big Hitters that can claim instant recognisability with sonic excellence built-in.

For many, the Neumann U87 ticks both boxes with ease. This german classic from the late sixties is still in production (albeit with some modern revisions), instantly identifiable by its fine wedge-shaped grille and slightly conical silver body to match. Luckily it sounds as good as it looks, thanks to the large, finely-etched presence that it can lend to vocals. No mic can suit every source, although the U87 studio classic is remarkably well-behaved on a range of voices. Perhaps just as importantly, the client will also remember standing in front of it.

Not all studios can stretch to a U87. Its relative the TLM 103 provides a simpler, more affordable taste of the Neumann magic as a slightly brighter, transformerless alternative. Other client-friendly choices could include Sontronics’ Mercury valve multi-pattern LDC, AKG’s classic C414 range.

2 - Better Than The Real Thing? The Modelling Mic

More recently, modelling mics such as Universal Audio’s Sphere DLX, Antelope Audio’s Axino Synergy Core, and Slate Digital’s VMS ML-1have offered the intriguing possibility of taking the mic out of the cupboard and putting the cupboard into the mic. The idea is simple although the tech behind these finely tuned instruments is far from it. These systems take the responses of existing mics (usually revered vintage and modern creations) to recreate their sound using one modelling mic for them all.

While the physical housings of these mics won’t stir the same visual recognition by a client, the option of anything from a Sinatra Tele to Jay-Z’s C800G certainly might catch their ear. This flexibility has obvious advantages that extend beyond having a virtual collection of jaw-dropping mic legends to choose from. Want to swap out a mic flavour that isn’t working in the mix? No problem, just load a different model and the deed is done. The perfect crime!

3 - Lord Of The Strings - Ribbon Microphone

For many, using Shure’s SM57 is practically mandatory for recording guitar cabs, but for many engineers there is another electrodynamic tool that can sit alongside or even instead of its moving coil stablemate. Step forward the ribbon microphone.

After some time in the wilderness, the ribbon is well and truly back. Up until about twenty years ago things were different, with the ribbon design associated more with fragility and expense than with stellar guitar sounds. Prior to the DAW era, for many taking advantage of the condenser’s extended top and high output was a natural choice when recording to tape.

Following the efforts of companies such as Royer and the refusal of Coles’ 4038 to leave the room entirely, guitars now enjoy the darker, chunky ribbon signature that condenser mics can struggle to match. In concert with the DAW’s noise-less transparency, the ribbon seems like it’s here to stay.

Ribbon mics can also excel on drum overheads. With their rolled-off top end providing the perfect voicing for cymbals pitched against digital perfection, the remaining mids and lows can help to bring the drums themselves forward. String recordings can also benefit where a mellower sound is needed.

On guitar, Royer’s R121 and stablemates vie for the top table alongside the Coles 4038. The phantom-sipping active ribbon mics from the likes of Sontronics and SE Electronics have also proved to be hugely popular in any setting where preamp gain is at a premium.

4 - The Acoustic Therapist - Small Diaphragm Condenser Microphone

Acoustic instruments, like anything, can be recorded with any sympathetic mic including large diaphragm condensers or even dynamic mics. For many though, the small diaphragm condenser (SDC) microphone is the ultimate swiss army knife to point at wooden things with or without strings. This can be the ubiquitous acoustic guitar, or anything from pianos, percussion, dulcimers, woodwinds, strings, harps, and beyond.

There are the advantages of their small capsules’ accuracy, but for many engineers their biggest practical advantage is their ease of positioning. This really comes into its own when faced with those rarer instruments that need a bit of experimentation with placement. Getting them high up in the air is also easier when the time comes. Recording in stereo is also easiest with pairs of small mics, which the SDC also excels at, especially when used close together.

There was a time when it was hard to enter a studio that didn't put its faith in a handful of C451s or KM84 pencil mics, but the choice of obtainable SDCs with performance to match or even outrun the classics is now hard to ignore. Choices such as Lewitt’s LCT 140, SE Electronics’ SE8, or Rode’s NT55 modern classic will all serve the music brilliantly. That’s assuming that the person at the other end of the mic lead also gets everything right, that is…

5 - The Vocal Whisperer - Large Diaphragm Dynamic Microphone

With the large diaphragm dynamic microphone long being a staple on voice for broadcast studios around the world, it’s more recently been enjoying its time in the creative studio as well. Initially picked up by YouTube and podcast creators hoping to create ‘shock-jock’ vibes for internet content, this breed of mic provides more than just a particular look.

For those recording music live in one take, this kind of mic can come into its own on close-up vocals. When the aim is to keep spill from other performers out of the vocal mic, one of the most effective techniques is to work as close as possible. The large diaphragm dynamic excels in this, with many providing on-board filtering to counter proximity boominess, with some adding extra contour flavours on top. Their in-built pop protection also means that nervous performers or cameras can have something less conspicuous than an LDC-with-shield in front of them. These can also be seen on guitar cabs and drum mic duties, but it is their hi-fi performance on voice that makes their affordability so surprising compared to some condenser alternatives.

For many, the ever-popular Shure SM7B provides all the large diaphragm dynamic goodness they’ll ever need, aided by its articulated output and built-in mount that is impossible to lose. For radio listeners in the US, the ElectroVoice RE20’s big warm vocal sound translates well to vocals. More recently, new large diaphragm kids on the block have arrived from the likes of Sontronics, SE Electronics, and Universal Audio.

6 - The Funky Drummer (Or Guitarist, Or Keyboard Player, Or Horn Section…) - General Purpose Dynamic Microphone

If there were a desert island mic, surely the good old General Purpose Dynamic mic is it. Never mind any chin stroking about the sound: you can definitely use it to record on the beach, in the studio, or in any hostile environment such as war zones or gigs. It will keep going and going long after you’ve gone for a lie down (or worse) and the best will happily tolerate treatment that goes well beyond what others could withstand.

Given their fearsome reputation, these mics are the go-to choice in the most challenging place of them all: the drum kit. Not only can they take the enormous sound pressure levels of up close drums without even blinking, they will take stick hits and as much sweat as the drummer can muster long after your SDC is in the bin. Other high-SPL, high humidity, or windy conditions await this mic. A favourite in front of guitar and keyboard amps, the dynamic instrument mic can also take turbulent Hammonds and horns all day long.

Despite all this, and their relatively simple designs, these mics can make excellent renderings of anything they’re pointed at, helped along by their slower, slightly rounded sound that can help magnify drums and guitars. The all-conquering Shure SM57 and SM58 have extra built-in presence for when guitars and vocals need to drive a wedge through the mix, but others have been making inroads in the studio. Audix’s i5 is the obvious pretender to the SM57’s crown, with offerings from Sennheiser, SE Electronics, and AKG also hoping to get a slice of the general purpose pie. For more refined sonic performance, Sennheiser’s MD441 and Beyerdynamic’s M88 and M201 offerings will not disappoint. The largely forgotten (dual diaphragm) AKG D202 was another ‘hi-fi dynamic’ which can now be picked up cheap on auction sites. Just keep all of these teutonic marvels out of sticks’ reach…

What About The Everything Mic?

Although we’ve mentioned desert island mics, and good-on-everything mics, it must be said that for now the engineer can only make educated guesses on how a mic will perform on a given source before listening to decide. That still takes good judgement based on the one thing that can’t be bought or downloaded: experience.

Despite the big shifts in where and what a studio is, internet and media messaging still tells clients that a proper studio must have a console, big headphones, and one of those big silver mics that you stand behind. From friends and colleagues, we certainly hear of these client expectations, and there’s no doubt that having a centrepiece mic that feeds into that might pay for itself quicker than we think.

For all the other sources we get to capture, the mic cupboard has many analogies with the carpenter’s toolkit. While there might be one or two items that can crack a particular nut, for the most part, a small, trusted clique of mics covering the types above will mean that engineers at any level are ready to get to work.

What are your essential mic choices for the studio? Let us know in the comments.

A Word About This Article

As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.

Royer R121 image courtesy of Royer Labs.

SE Electronics SE8 image courtesy of SE Electronics.

Slate Digital VMS ML-1image courtesy of Slate Digital.