Improving recording quality of the Zoom H5. Extra microphones?

1717 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Saxray, Jul 17, 2020

Saxray

Discussion Starter · Jul 15, 2020

Hello everyone,

I have a Zoom H5 which I use for casual recordings of rehearsals and gigs and I think the sound quality is usually pretty decent. However, the H5 also has two XLR inputs and I´m toying with the idea of buying two extra microphones in an attempt to improve the recording quality. I don´t intend to spend too much since this is only a hobby project, but have been considering cheapish condenser mics (the H5 can provide phantom power) such as the AKG C1000 (seems practical since it can also run on on batteries) or AKG P170. Anyway, I guess my questions are:

1. Would the C1000/P170 be suitable for this kind of recording? If not, are there any better contenders in the same price bracket?
2. Would there be a significant improvement in sound quality as compared to the built-in Zoom mics, or would I have to spend (much) more?
3. I also have a spare Shure Beta 57. Would that be suitable? In that case I guess I would be better off just buying one more of those.

Thanks in advance!

/Saxray

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Pete Thomas

· #3 · Jul 15, 2020

Saxray said:
Hello everyone,

I have a Zoom H5 which I use for casual recordings of rehearsals and gigs and I think the sound quality is usually pretty decent. However, the H5 also has two XLR inputs and I´m toying with the idea of buying two extra microphones in an attempt to improve the recording quality.

This comes down to a very interesting quesion IMO.

What is sound quality?

Faithful capturing of the signal that the microphone is presented with or is it down to enhancing it?

There may be mics that can enhance a saxophone (in a given genre) but are horrible for violins.

There are mics that make you sound better, but might not make me sound better.

So in my studio, I have a range of mics from el cheapo tiepin, vintage ribbons, SM58, STC, Neumanns and $4000 AKG V12. There is no way to say which is best at any one given instrument, genre or situation

I apologise if that seems less than helpful but hopefully it is food for thought (NB: R.E.M. recorded me on an SM58)

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Pete Thomas

· #7 · Jul 16, 2020

No, for a coincident x/y you want to separate them less, ideally with the capsules as close as possible. Depending on the room I prefer spaced omnis instead of conicident x/y (ideally I also use an M/S pair)

But as you say, if you want to be minimising number of stands, then a stereo bar and X/Y is ideal - just make sure you can get the capsules close enough as some stereo bars don't allow for shorter mics to actually coincident. Although you can rig up some kind of extender if necessary.

(NB you can do M/S with a single stand and a special bar, but you do need at least one figure of 8 mic, but it's a great technique once you get used to used to it)

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