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I'm looking for a mic for my tuba and don't have a clue about those. Any suggestions?

You may get a better response if you give us more info... Close mic? Clip on? Stereo mic? Omni pair? Something that picks up sound in a large room? Cheap? for professional recording? for quicky check myself recording?

Until many of those answers are considered, I'd say... donno.

I use as stereo pair (condensor cartiods of my zoom) and a large diaphram Rode NT-2 in omni mode when recording in a room. I have been tempted to add a close up mic too... Yeah, more than one mic just for one instrument!

The above config works pretty well for ensemble recording, but again, given the ensemble, there are better setups...

For live sound I like using a Sennheiser 421. It is the standard large diaphragm dynamic mic of the audio world. If you are looking for something to record with, I would recommend a large diaphragm condenser mic, like a AKG 414.
I have used the 421 on tubas in Brass Band and Dixie Band setting with great results.

Jay Parke wrote:For live sound I like using a Sennheiser 421. It is the standard large diaphragm dynamic mic of the audio world. If you are looking for something to record with, I would recommend a large diaphragm condenser mic, like a AKG 414.
I have used the 421 on tubas in Brass Band and Dixie Band setting with great results.

+1

Ben wrote:You may get a better response if you give us more info.

that's a great idea. It would mainly be used at home. Clipping on the bell would be cool but it isn't absolutely mandatory. It would not be used in large rooms and it would be cool if it could hook up to a camcorder. Thanks

Are you going to use a mixer? If you are wanting to get "better quality" attached to a video, you've got the right idea, but you have to have something to control the gain and other levels. Part of that "crap camcorder sound" is the lack of leveling and gain control, causing the mic to peak. But if you just attach a different mic, you won't be able to adjust anything. You'll get better sounding crap. (several other things factor in as well, but you get the idea)

If you just want to record yourself during practicing, you are better off with a digital recorder like Zoom, Tascam, Olympus or similar with built-in mics. To make the sound of a video better, there are stereo-mics in different price levels. If you want to have amplification, that's a clompletely different game. I use a kick-drum mic for that (EV ND 868). It is possible to have a stage mic connected to minidisc recorder or computer via a small mixer/soundcard device and make decent home recordings with it.

Gerd

This thread has some suggestions.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35005&p=308462&hili ... ne#p308462" target="_blank

tubajazzo wrote:If you just want to record yourself during practicing, you are better off with a digital recorder like Zoom, Tascam, Olympus or similar with built-in mics. To make the sound of a video better, there are stereo-mics in different price levels. If you want to have amplification, that's a clompletely different game.
Gerd

+1

For home recording of your own practice, go with a handheld recorder like the Zoom. Many companies make them...Yamaha, Marantz, Korg, Roland, Sony and more. For under $400 bucks you can get some really respectable recordings off of a device that is self contained and relatively easy to use. Most of them can accept an external mic and can interface with your computer for editing and storage, if that's something you're after. The microphones built in to these units are actually pretty good.

Going back to microphones for a moment...

You can buy a simple mic like a Shure SM-57 for $100 and get great results or you can have access to a mic locker full of $5,000 Neumann's and get lousy results depending on what you do...if you don't have a mixer (or don't know how to use one), you're wasting your time and money on expensive mics that require a lot of additional equipment (and time) to setup and optimize. If it's too difficult or time consuming to setup to record, you won't do it.

The only limits are your budget and how much time and effort you want to put in to perfecting your home studio, but for a start up recording operation of home practice, you can't go wrong with a handheld recorder like the Zoom.

I find this to be a satisfactory solution. Hooks up to my computer as a USB device. Big enough to capture plenty of detail in the sound of a tuba. And the price is right.

http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Condenser ... 294&sr=8-1" target="_blank

As others have stated, it sounds like you would be better off buying a self contained recording device. I have an Edirol R09 and it's served me very well as a practice/masterclass/lesson/etc recorder and I use it every time I give a recital for a backup copy. Hooking it up to a video camera is more dependent on the camera than I mic. Many of newish cameras have a small external mic input which should allow you to use just about any of the devices as an external, stereo microphone.

Here are three at the 100, 200, and 300 dollar price points:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H1-Portable- ... 92&sr=8-16
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-POCKETRAK- ... Descending
http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Handy-Portab ... 892&sr=8-9

I dont' think you can get a better mic than the SD system LCM 85.

http://www.sdsystems.com/" target="_blank

They are expensive, but very good. For live stuff the preamp is quite handy to turn the mic on and off when emptying out, and if you need a bit of extra volume etc.

I whack mine straight into a bass amp and I'm very happy with it - I've been using it for over ten years.