Mojo Pie -- Xmas Christmas gifts for the recording musician

Main Contents Forums Blogs Links

Mojo Pie presents the Xmas '04 gift guide

What is Xmas? It's that state of mind that is the materialism side of Christmas. It's the one time of year when the addicted can con their family and friends into buying gear. I grew up in an era when I would spend hours going over Xmas catalogs and checking off what I wanted Santa to bring me. I still have an Xmas list but my toys are now recording gear. What do you want for Xmas?

Think of Nat King Cole singing an Xmas fave

Here are four mics to stuff in that stocking

A cheap yet useful mic is the Studio Projects B1. At $99, the Studio Projects B1 is a good value that more often than not gets the job done as an instrument and amp mic. Also, if you've got a singer with one of those eccentric voices that just won't take to any of your mics, then you might find that the B1 fits the bill when a good vocal condenser just doesn't cut it.

Audio-Technica AT4040 condenser mic There are two sorts of mics that are role players that often get overlooked in the home studio. First, there are dialog mics. Second, there are mics for low end sources such as bass amps and kick drums. The Audio-Technica ATM25 is a dynamic mic ideally suited for low frequency sources but it also performs well as a dialog microphone. I've had an ATM25 for about a year. I like what it does on kick drum and bass cabinets. Some mics for low frequencies tend to either shine or suck. The ATM25 tends to put across most any kick or bass cab in a realistic yet pleasing way. As an added bonus, it does a solid job when recording spoken word. I consider it one of the three essential mics for the home studio.

A lot of people are not familiar with CAD mics but they make some fairly decent and useable products. A good entry point to the CAD mic line is the CAD M179. It's a condenser mic that sounds good on many sources, including vocals, instruments and amps. I think this mic truly shines as a drum overhead mic. It has a variable polar pattern to allow you to tweak what you want to capture from your source. You can dial in hypercardioid, cardioid, figure 8 and omni patterns. The mic possesses a fast transient response which is important in tracking percussion, especially cymbals.

Another mic that I think of as a home studio essential is the Audio-Technica AT4040. It's $299 and it's one of the true bargains in pro audio. I don't consider it the very best mic for any particular recording chore but it is a versatile mic that always performs at a high level. It works well as a vocal mic for male and female vocalists. It does a decent job on dialog, too. I can't think of a time when I put it up as an instrument, amp or room mic that it didn't work solidly. If you're new to recording or looking to start building a quality mic cabinet, then I'd recommend this mic over any other as the bedrock upon which you can build a mic collection.

Put some muffs on those ears

Here are two sets of headphones for Xmas morning

Direct Sound's Extreme Isolation Headphones help isolate the user's ears from the source. For the engineer, this can mean better mic placement on live instruments and amplifiers. For the drummer, this can mean protection from the potentially damaging loudness of drums. For the vocalist, this can mean hearing what the mic hears. Due to the isolation, levels in the cans tend to be lower. So, there tends to be less ear fatigue when tracking. You can buy a pair as low as $79. Black pairs are $99.

MoreMe Headphones are low cost headphones that do a good enough job for tracking and other times when you don't need a critical listen. You can pick up the standard set for $20 or the deluxe set for $30. You'll also want to pickup a headphone extension cable as the cables are too short for most uses. I use them for listening to my Roland keyboard workstation when I'm working out an arrangement. The deluxe set is a little more comfortable.

Give the gift of outboard this holiday season

A mic pre, a level controller and a DI round out the list

The A Designs ATTY is a stereo/two-channel line level controller. You can use the ATTY as a volume control for active monitors. The ATTY features a mute button for those moments when you need to take all the signal off the monitors. You can control output level on outboard gear with the ATTY. Some of us want more control over the signal level coming off of our mic preamps and other outboard gear than the designer allowed. The ATTY gives you an extra level of control. You can pick one up for $89.99.

Mojo Pie likes the Radial JDI Passive Direct Box for DI chores. I've mixed a few songs where the bassist used one of these and the low end seemed to go on forever. You can't get that sound just anywhere. At $179, its not a bad value either.

One of the two most used preamps here at Mojo Pie is the A Designs MP-2. While the MP-2 is one of the cleanest sounds I've heard, it does possess a personality. It reminds me of classic tube hi-fi gear. The MP-2 proves high fidelity and clean can be musical. As to sound, I hear a solid low end and an airy top end. There are no guitar tubes in this mic pre. With its retro looks and quality sound, the MP-2 is an inviting piece of kit. It goes for $1,665 street.