Schoeps CMC641 For Vocals

[Rick Shepherd]

My recording space isn’t that great, and I have limited options. Recording guitar using my small diaphragm mics in the past wasn’t too difficult, but trying to record vocals using my large diaphragms was always frustrating. I always disliked what I was hearing because of my space limitations.

Last year I bought a pair of Schoeps CMC641 microphones for acoustic guitar recording. During my research, I had read positive results when recording vocals. Even though I haven’t done much singing over the past 9 years, I decided to test it out. To my surprise, I do get much better results. These capsules do a good job rejecting room noise, which was one reason I chose them. So, until now, I never really knew how much my recording space was a factor in the results I was getting. Now I know, I need more room treatment to get the most out of my large diaphragm microphones. Also, I sure enjoy the sound of my vocals through the Schoeps!

Rick

[guitarman68]

Wow, that's great to hear ! Never tried it, always used Neumann LDCs on vocals. I have a pair of CMCMK4 and an extra capsule MK41, so I will try it on vocals soon.

[Rick Shepherd]

Originally Posted by guitarman68

Wow, that's great to hear ! Never tried it, always used Neumann LDCs on vocals. I have a pair of CMCMK4 and an extra capsule MK41, so I will try it on vocals soon.

Yes, I certainly recommend trying it out and comparing results. I think, next I will drag out my acoustic panels and do another comparison, using the Peluso 2247LE and the BLUE Kiwi.

Rick

[AcousticDreams]

The famous opera singer Pavarotti, often used Schoeps mics on stage for his vocals.

And another new owner of Schoeps mics on Gearspace, who has quite a number of great mics for vocals, tried his Schoeps for vocals and really like them. Saying you just needed a good pop screen and to be back from the capsule 9 to 12 inches.

[Rick Shepherd]

Originally Posted by AcousticDreams

The famous opera singer Pavarotti, often used Schoeps mics on stage for his vocals.

And another new owner of Schoeps mics on Gearspace, who has quite a number of great mics for vocals, tried his Schoeps for vocals and really like them. Saying you just needed a good pop screen and to be back from the capsule 9 to 12 inches.

Yes, I was about 8-12 inches away. The sound doesn’t seem to be lacking in the lower end of the spectrum. Surprising!

[j3ffr0]

Makes sense to me that they would sound great. The hyper cardioid caps will do a lot to take the room out of the room. I was in a band that did a whole album with a SDC in the 90s, because that's what we had. Just have to take extra care to keep it out of the line of fire for plosives... They are definitely used a lot for classical Vox.

Makes sense the low end response would be good at that distance... lots of proximity effect.

[KevWind]

Given how flat clean and well balanced the CM-4 series are, no reason they would not great on vocal.
You might not get quite as much presence and air as with LDC but judicious use of an EQ'ed Reverb/Delay could supplement that

[TMarchand]

Yes I've used MK22's and they do sound great on vocals.

Watch out for comb filtering from low ceilings. I have also recorded horrible vocals through the same mic when there were low ceilings.

I built a small absorption box out of Johns Mansfield; it was roughly 16" x 16" x 16'. Worked just fine for housing the mic in an otherwise imperfect recording environment.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by TMarchand

Yes I've used MK22's and they do sound great on vocals.

Watch out for comb filtering from low ceilings. I have also recorded horrible vocals through the same mic when there were low ceilings.

I built a small absorption box out of Johns Mansfield; it was roughly 16" x 16" x 16'. Worked just fine for housing the mic in an otherwise imperfect recording environment.

Good to know. I am planning on experimenting with my 21 capsule( which is similar to your 22).

Hmmm. Maybe low ceilings in general are a problem when standing and recording vocals? Regardless of type of microphone. In many ways that would make sense as we are certainly closer to the ceiling when recording vocals as compared to sitting and playing guitar. Thus the comb filtering regardless of the type mic used?

[ChuckS]

From what I've read, it seems we are used to hearing recordings with a short, first reflection off the floor to the mic, but when multiple short reflections are combined (from ceiling, side walls) it's not good. It makes sense that a MK41 capsule might work better, with its side rejection. A cloud panel might be another approach to deal with the issue when using a MK21 or MK22 capsule.

I've got six gobo panels (5' x 2' x 4"), and at times I will arrange them in a wide U shape, and place one panel over the top to reduce ceiling reflections.

[KevWind]

When I was in my basement studio (my first home studio) I put a panel on the ceiling wall joint