USAGE
The VANGUARD V44S excels in a multitude of recording situations. It is a superior choice for
acoustic guitar, strings, drum overheads, room mic’ing, and the delicate nuances of piano,
choral, and orchestral recording - essentially any acoustic instrument. There's even a good use
for vocals! Tested in a diversity of situations, acoustic environments, styles, and genres, we found
that the V44S was often the top option, despite being matched against microphones several
times its cost. Through our extensive testing, research, and listening, we’ve found a few particular
uses we would like to share with you.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
The V44S is superb for adding width and detail to your acoustic guitar tracks. We tested the V44S
on a variety of acoustic guitars from several price ranges. We found that even when tracking
overly-bright and mid-rangey guitars, the V44S brought out the very best in each instrument.
Using an X/Y pattern, vary the distance and angle of the two capsules to pick up both the body
of the guitar and the fretting hand.
DRUMS - ROOM AND OVERHEAD
As an overhead, experiment with X/Y, Mid-Side, and Blumlein operation for various styles. The
coincident capsules allow for virtually perfect phase alignment.
As a room mic, try setting both capsules to omnidirectional and rotating the top capsule to the
90º position. This allows for a more truly omnidirectional operation at higher frequencies, as the
2nd capsule picks up high frequencies where the “nulled” sides of the first capsule might not.
An additional room microphone trick if you prefer a variety of options in the mix: set the top
capsule to the 0º position. Set each capsule to a different polar pattern (for instance,
omnidirectional for the top capsule, cardioid for the bottom capsule). You’ll be able to use
either track during mixing, or a combination of both.
VOCALS
One unique trick for songs or passages with a variety of vocal dynamics is to use a V44S with two
different gain settings. By setting one capsule to a lower gain than the other, you can easily
capture both quiet and loud phrases by the artist during the same take, without clipping. You
can then quickly comp together a vocal track from the two tracks that sound identical.
Rotate the top capsule to the 0º mark. Position the singer so they are 6-12 inches from the
microphone, singing directly in between the two capsules.
IMPORTANT - for any vocals recorded
within 12 inches of the microphone, it is imperative that you use a professional-grade pop filter to
protect the capsules of the V44S.
©2017 Vanguard Audio Labs, LLC. All rights reserved.
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