Need shotgun mic recommendation for exterior recording of church bells

[James B.]

Hi
Want to get the absolute best quality recording of some church bells. I need to pair the mic with the Zoom H4N.
Can anyone suggest a good shotgun mic to pair with it?


Considering these 3
Sennheiser ME 66 Super Cardioid Condenser

Sony ECM674 short shotgun

Sanken CSS5 Shotgun Stereo Mic

Any other suggestions?




Should I go with stereo for this type of recording?

[Mark Phelan]

Schoeps CMIT 5U.

[James B.]

hmm, thanks, guess i forgot to mention I am on a budget;)

going thru these articles
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage...tgun_mics.html

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage...Audio-Technica AT-875r

[Michael Panfeld]

Cheap: Rode Stereomic
Sell your kidney: Schoeps Super CMIT 5U

[D Fuller]

hmm, thanks, guess i forgot to mention I am on a budget;)

Then rent the Schoeps.

[Michael Panfeld]

Seriously, get the best mic you can, but then, more importantly, figure out where best to place the mic. Bells are a serious challenge. They are extremely loud up close and can, at the worst, damage the capsule of a sensitive mic, or clip any detail if they are too close. On the other hand, bells have huge echo issues, especially if they are in a partial enclosure or in a tower near reflective surfaces such as nearby buildings. Then again, maybe you want that echo, to emphsize distance in a wide master shot.

So, as with any audio job, mics can only get you so far, its really placement that drives the recording quality.

[Marc Wielage]

I would consider not using a shotgun microphone at all, but instead use a stereo pair of spaced omnis or cardioid mikes. I think this will work much better in the mix, assuming no dialog and not much wind. I think this will sound more natural and be more useful than a mono shotgun. There are also M/S stereo shotgun systems, like the Sennheiser 418S, but I think there are better two-pieced M/S systems out there that will sound better. Church bells have a huge amount of dynamic range and will tend to overload all but the best preamps and mikes out there, depending on where and how you set it up.

Note there are hundreds of hours of pre-recorded church bell library sound effects available from companies like Sound Ideas and Hollywood Edge, among many others. You may find using these will work better than anything you can record yourself, plus they won't have any background noises, wind, weather issues, and so on.

[James B.]

Thanks for all the great info! Will probably rent for my immediate needs. Will also consider stock and in the sub $1000 range consider investing in something like the Audio Technica BP4029 AT835ST. If cost were no option would go for the Schoeps for sure.

[Allan Black]

I've recorded church bells over the years and stereo worked best.
Church bells are meant to heard from a distance, close up they can put out very high SPL and overload everything in sight.

Run a Google search, you get recording info and hear some examples, even then it sounds like you'll need some tests and rerecording, depends on what style you want.

http://www.hibberts.co.uk/recording.htm#prof

Cheers.