C4s for recording concert bands?

[gatorglenn]

Hi,

I will be recording some high school and middle school concert bands. I am looking into gettting a pair of C4s to use for this. Will these be a good choice or should I look into something else? I am also considering Rode NT5s as an alternative, how do the C4s compare to them?

Also right now I am having problems finding the C4s in stock anywhere. Any idea of how long this will last or anyplace that has them in stock for a good price? The Rode mics are in stock now.

Thanks,
Glenn

[Brent Casey]

Hi,

I will be recording some high school and middle school concert bands. I am looking into gettting a pair of C4s to use for this. Will these be a good choice or should I look into something else? I am also considering Rode NT5s as an alternative, how do the C4s compare to them?

Also right now I am having problems finding the C4s in stock anywhere. Any idea of how long this will last or anyplace that has them in stock for a good price? The Rode mics are in stock now.

Thanks,
Glenn

Hi Glenn,

You might have to go with a different mic such as the Rode for the time being. We're looking at first quarter 2007 for the C4's. We may have a set in B-stock however.
As to the C4's being a good choice for band recording: Absolutely.

Regarding the NT5's: In my experience, the NT5's seem attenuated in the frequencies above 10kHz. Before purchasing a set of these I'd recommend that you give them a real good listen to see what you think. And when I say "give them a good listen" - I mean, try them out in the application that you are intending to use them in. If you are buying the mics online, then simply fly your entire band to the physical location of the retailer, test out the mics, return home and place your order online. It's quite simple really.
If you're going to rely on a pair of mics for concert band recording, then they're going to have to be set back a ways to capture the entire band. This is not a good place for a condenser mic that is ignoring a lot of high frequency information. It will result in a muddy recording and a less than spectacular stereo image.

Sincerely,

Brent Casey

[gatorglenn]

Hi Brent,

Thanks for the info, The C4s were recommended to me but they are out of stock everywhere.

How can I find out about a set of B-Stock C4s? I would be interested if the price is good.

Thanks,
Genn

[tbro]

Glenn,

I have not tried the C4's, but I do have a set of Rode NT-5's. I use these for acoustic guitar (they are also excellent for drum overheads and would serve you well recording the bands). In the NT-5 reviews I've read, they are considered a little bit dark (they sound bright enough for my purposes). I've also read the NT-5's do sound exactly like the Neumann KM184's with just a bit of eq (I have not compared). Thus far I've been happy with the NT-5's. I'm also a big fan of SP mics (I've got a SP T3 which is excellent) and I haven't compared the NT-5's with the C4's, so I don't know how they compare. Just wanted to let you know the NT-5's (IMO) are also very fine mics.

Tbro

[Alan Hyatt]

Glenn,

I have not tried the C4's, but I do have a set of Rode NT-5's. I use these for acoustic guitar (they are also excellent for drum overheads and would serve you well recording the bands). In the NT-5 reviews I've read, they are considered a little bit dark (they sound bright enough for my purposes). I've also read the NT-5's do sound exactly like the Neumann KM184's with just a bit of eq (I have not compared). Thus far I've been happy with the NT-5's. I'm also a big fan of SP mics (I've got a SP T3 which is excellent) and I haven't compared the NT-5's with the C4's, so I don't know how they compare. Just wanted to let you know the NT-5's (IMO) are also very fine mics.

Tbro

The SP-C4 and NT5's are similar. RODE has just now added the features of our C4's to their mic. Both mics sound very good.