Has anyone used the ARC2 mic for anything else?

mike_mccue
"The ARC mic is nothing special in itself, it's just an omni-pattern condenser.  What makes it special to ARC is the software knows the precise frequency response it should have"
 
Minor correction: The ARC software sorta, kinda knows what the generalized frequency response of the cheap Chinese omni mic they send out with the kit. How do I know? I asked IK_Obi to ask his *people* and that's what he told me.
 
best regards,
mike

Danny Danzi

sharke
That actually sounds amazing Danny. I need to experiment more with placement etc. I only tried it very briefly with a nylon string guitar. The results sounded pretty nice but not fantastic. I had it pointed about 6-8 inches away from the 12th fret. Basically I'm a complete newbie when it comes to miking up acoustic guitars so this is a whole new area for me. Since I started getting back into music I've primarily messed with synths and samples, largely because of the convenience and the fact that I don't have a lot of time in the day to be musical. But it's a shame because if I do say so myself, I'm actually a pretty accomplished fingerstyle guitarist. I really need to get it together to have my steel string repaired. It's an amazing sounding hand made job and it got neglected for years because I became a classical nut for a while. Once I get it fixed I want to get into recording guitar. I've been tempted by all of these expensive and great sounding acoustic guitar libraries, but what's always stopped me from forking over the cash is this loud inner voice which says "Are you nuts? Did you spend the last 25 years playing guitar like a banshee just to click guitar parts into a piano roll with a mouse?"....lol!

Thanks Sharke. :) Definitely play it live brother and don't get into those libraries unless you really have to. I think the thing that keeps me going in this field is challenging myself to play new instruments. God has definitely blessed me with the ability to make noise on a few instruments which adds to the fun. For example, the most fun I have when recording...is playing bass. I absolutely love it. Though programs like Trillian are cool, there's nothing like the real thing while PLAYING the real thing. It not only makes your production sound better, it brings (for me) some fun into the equation. :)
 
One thing I will say....and this is nothing against the ARC mics....but that guitar sounds good no matter what we put on it. This is more proof that the instrument is just as important as the capture. Honest when I tell you, we did nothing to that print. As a matter of fact, one side is hotter than the other because of the placement and the mic's aren't the same model #. Not sure how much THAT aspect comes into play, but the left one sounded a bit better to me where the right one was the older mic. In any case, they are definitely cool to record with if you need them. They have even worked for me in an over-head situation and I even used one of them on hats one time.
 
It's weird Sharke...I have this incredible mic locker yet in certain situations, the nice mic's will ruin a mix so fast it will make your head spin. Sometimes you get clients in with really cheap instruments. I try to get them to use some of my stuff whenever I can...but that would be like me using someone else's stuff, so I get it. But with the lower quality instruments....it can make them sound even worse with really good mics. Sometimes lower grade mics actually can hide some of the bad stuff sort of like tape compression/saturation low passing some annoying digital highs. So it's good to have mic's like this in certain situations.
 
I'd think your nylon string guitar would probably sound really dark with the ARC mic. Try this if you get a minute. Stay at the 12th fret like you're doing, but go as close as you can without touching your fretting fingers. If the sound appears a little dark, tilt the mic towards the headstock a little at a time while still keeping it close to the neck. Think of your neck like a speaker cab. Tilting towards the bowl makes it darker...towards the headstock makes it a little brighter. You can try tilting up or down as well.
 
OR....with lesser quality mics, this has always worked for me. Put it where your ears hear it the best and literally set the mic up side-ways like your ear canal is so the mic is not shooting directly at the sound. 45 degree or 90 degree sometimes works...other times, shoot it directly at the sound source and see how you fair. You'll have to use a bit more pre-gain if you get distant and will get a little room in the print, but sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered. Best of luck brother. :)
 
-Danny