Topic: Favorite Mics and why????

[Brian]

But you can't deny that it is a great feeling knowing that you made the best tape.  

Oh i'm sure it's great but i tape mostly local stuff where i am the only taper so i'm never in that situation really.

Except for The Dead 7/02/03 in St. Louis. Not too sure of this now but i know back when seeded it it was the only source going around for a few months. Not sure if beats any of the other rigs that were there but i think it sounds pretty damn good for a Lawn TS tape

does it really matter? maybe for you since you spent $10k on a rig and that's how you justify spending that much...


EDIT: don't get me wrong i'm not trying to bust your balls or anything just curious if it really matters in the end?

[nic]

Soundfield is nice.

AllGood Fest in 2001 a friend of mine from Charlottesvile rented a Soundfield ST-250 and ran it into a AD1000. I patched a D8 out of him and clamped some 391's on his stand(we were WAY FOB-maybe 20+ feet in front of every other taper). I ran the 391> PS2> AD20> M1, and honestly, the 391 source sounds MUCH better than the Soundfield.

in this case Im chalking it to "user" instead of equipment as he didnt know the Soundfield that well(he ran 1 pair as Hyper and 1 pair as Card X/Y). dont get me wrong, the ST-250 sounded really good but had NO bass response at all(he didnt have any rolloff or HPF on)

[gonads]

Soundfield ST-250!!!  I got mine about a month ago and have come out with some somewhat displeasing results, but I've about got it figured out.  There is no other mic on the planet that comes close to the 3D imaging this mic provides. If you want to hear a sample go to digitalpanic.org and download the 11-1-03 show.  UNBELIEVABLE QUALITY!  Deep down, most taper's goal is to pull the best tapes out of say 30-40 rigs, well this mic is the way to do it.

     wow... so many things in just one post!

[creekfreak]

Soundfield is nice.

AllGood Fest in 2001 a friend of mine from Charlottesvile rented a Soundfield ST-250 and ran it into a AD1000. I patched a D8 out of him and clamped some 391's on his stand(we were WAY FOB-maybe 20+ feet in front of every other taper). I ran the 391> PS2> AD20> M1, and honestly, the 391 source sounds MUCH better than the Soundfield.

in this case Im chalking it to "user" instead of equipment as he didnt know the Soundfield that well(he ran 1 pair as Hyper and 1 pair as Card X/Y). dont get me wrong, the ST-250 sounded really good but had NO bass response at all(he didnt have any rolloff or HPF on)

That is the point I am trying to make, you can have the best gear in the world, but if you don't know how to use it........you get   tapes

[creekfreak]

Soundfield ST-250!!!  I got mine about a month ago and have come out with some somewhat displeasing results, but I've about got it figured out.  There is no other mic on the planet that comes close to the 3D imaging this mic provides. If you want to hear a sample go to digitalpanic.org and download the 11-1-03 show.  UNBELIEVABLE QUALITY!  Deep down, most taper's goal is to pull the best tapes out of say 30-40 rigs, well this mic is the way to do it.

     wow... so many things in just one post!

come on gonads, let it rip

[gonads]

exactly creek! I mean  you could have like $10,000 invested in a rig and still walk away making statements like this...

>>>>Soundfield ST-250!!!  I got mine about a month ago and have come out with some somewhat displeasing results, but I've about got it figured out.<<<<<

so you make the best tapes? what's the playback gear that you utilize to make these assements?

[Tim]

my rig, if bought new would cost upwards of $9k and I have made lots of bad tapes... of course I'll never let any of you hear them!

[marc0789]

I've made some just SHITTY tapes, and a few I'd put up there with some official releases. It's kinda like golfing, I think. Most of the time you suck, but once in a great while everything falls right. Perfect spot, good rig, good sound, no dumbasses yelling or falling into your shit, etc. My favorite all-time tapes might be from Panic 00 at Oak, Row 14 fob but WAY off center, 483>dmic.

Alltime favorite mic, dpa 4022. Transparent and flat, great ringing high end, love it.

[dave]

unless you are my dad when golfing, and never sucks

[Wes]

exactly creek! I mean  you could have like $10,000 invested in a rig and still walk away making statements like this...

>>>>Soundfield ST-250!!!  I got mine about a month ago and have come out with some somewhat displeasing results, but I've about got it figured out.<<<<<

so you make the best tapes? what's the playback gear that you utilize to make these assements?

Just to let you know who you're talking to, NO i did not buy a soundfield a month ago and start taping.  I have been taping with schoeps since '98 and after hearing the soundfield at its full potential sold all the schoeps caps/bodies/accessories I had accumulated and actually it came out cheaper for me to get the soundfield.

As far as my playback goes:
2 B&W 802's
2 B&W CDM9NT's
1 Arcam PV7
1 Arcam AV8
1 BelCanto DAC
1 Onkyo Universal disk player
1 Tascam DA-20MkII
And about $1500 connecting it

[gonads]

but you admit there is a learning curve with new gear though right? so even though you've been taping since 98 you still had problems getting the soundfield dialed in, even though it's 10k, right?

your playback gear is solid! just suprised that someone with so much "experience" would make statements like the ones you made earlier. Everyone here is proud of their gear and tapes but self fluffing is lame...

[Lee]

the golf analogy is a good one- when I play golf, 50% of the time I have a decent day, 35% of the time I have a horrible day, and the other 15% I kick ass.  It's those 15% days that keep me coming back.

But 85% of my tapes never make it out of my work room

[Wes]

but you admit there is a learning curve with new gear though right? so even though you've been taping since 98 you still had problems getting the soundfield dialed in, even though it's 10k, right?

your playback gear is solid! just suprised that someone with so much "experience" would make statements like the ones you made earlier. Everyone here is proud of their gear and tapes but self fluffing is lame...

1-yes there is a learning curve, I never said there wasn't

2-the soundfield doesn't cost $10k and yes it is a lil more complicated mic than the average

3-I don't need you to tell me my playback gear is solid!

4-I was not self fluffing (you may want to read the thread topic again and re-read my previous posts)

[Lee]

didn't sound like self-fluffing to me.  +T Wes

[Nick's Picks]

I'm with Jbandtheboys.
The ST-250 is the best sounding and most virsitile microphone for stereo recording.  Bar none.  
Other peoples opinions are lacking the ownership experience, or have not heard many Soundfield recordings on a true high-end playback system.  
Like any pair of mics, this single mic requires a certain level of skill and familiarity to produce the killer tapes.

it is truely a work of art, and easily the most sophistcated location recording microphone in the world.    Thats why its used by the pros around the globe and remains virtualy unchanged in its design as the years go by.

But, $4250 is too much for this hobbie, IMO.

Still, i'm confident that given equal circumstances the ST-250 will outperform any stero pair of amost any mic on the surface of the earth.

However...it has limitations to, and doesnt shine in all applications.  To make that happen you need to have a few years experience with it.  I never got there pesonally, but talk to the Jeff Silbermans and Ron Kaisers of the world.  They know!