|
|
 |
Neumann
KM 84 |
The
Neumann KM84 microphone is a small capsule cardioid condenser
and was the first mic made with 48v phantom power technology.
The KM is German for Kleine Microphone (small microphone) and
all the electronics were deliberately made quite small so that
the mic could be made with a diameter of only 21 mm and a length
of 110 mm. It has a 10 dB attenuation switch allowing the microphone
to be used up close with loud instruments and by placing the pad
at the gate of the field-effect transistor (FET), this "pre-attenuation"
prevents the hot capsule signal from overloading the front end
of the amplifier enabling the mic to handle up to 130db without
distortion. The Neumann KM84 has become a real favourite for classical
music recording because of its smooth faithful reproduction but
its also known as a favourite mic for drum overheads. The mic
is very sensitive to low-frequency mechanical vibrations so you
need to be careful where you stand it and really it needs a good
pop shield as its also pretty susceptible to wind noise but these
are small considerations balanced against the quality of the mic.
The more recent variant, the KM 184 is essentially the same microphone
and apart from obvious cosmetic differences, it has the same capsule
as the KM 84 but with a lift around 9 kHz, to give it a brighter
top end.
|
|
|
| |
|
Recording |
Possibly my favourite mic not just because it gives such
a faithful reproduction but it really retains its integrity
through the recording and mixing session. 10 hours down the
line and 20 guitars overdubs later it's still there. It has
a quality that retains its detail through the session whether
as drum O/Hs or on an acoustic guitar. What happens when by
the time you’ve recorded a couple of distorted guitar
tracks you’ve eaten up all the high frequency so you end
up pilling on a load more top end in the mix. It's great on
acoustic guitar as it brings out all the detail and clarity
without any of the boominess at the bottom and it doesn’t
flatter the top end so you can add eq if you want to. However
it's its mid range integrity that I really like and I have to
say it’s something that the Rode NT5s don’t have.
Don’t get me wrong they are great little mics for the
money and put them up over a kit or in front of an acoustic
and they sound fine on their own but once you start eating up
the frequency range with other instruments they don’t
hold good in the way that the kM84 does. Having a pair of 84s
when I’ve needed to record a singer and his guitar I have
used the 84s and got a pretty good vocal sound, not particularly
close up but it worked out very well. It's the best drum overhead
mic we have at Fairview but when I started the o/h mics were
the Neumann U87s but I don’t think that U87s are focused
enough for that particular job and I only use them now if a
drummer walks in and he’s got like 10 cymbals and you
just have to put a pair up over the top to get a stereo picture.
But if someone’s got a small kit with a pair of really
nice crash cymbals then I haven’t found anything else
as good as the 84s. Just put them a couple of foot above and
you get lovely detail without too much stuff from the rest of
the kit. Simply a great microphone. JS
|
|
