Topic: Help Me Pick Some Mics Please

[Alpha Murdock]

Hey Everyone ...

I have a pair of Sonic Studios DSM-6/L mics that i have been using for a while and I think its time to change out some parts of my rig.  I have become more and more unsatisfied with these SS Mics over time and I am consudering moving on to a Cardoid setup.

I just purchased a JB3 w/o an external preamp or a/d converter which im sure you all know sounds like shit.  I have decided to add a Digimod UA-5 to my chain so I will have:

??Mics?? > UA-5 > JB3 (A setup that seems pretty popular around here.

So now onto the mics.  Let me preface this by saying I dont have much money at all.  The UA-5 will take a good chunk out of my upgrade budget but I think it is important.  So I am picking between the SP-CMC-4 and SP-CMC-8 mics.  

- I really like what I have heard out of the CMC-8s but are they really worth the price difference over the CMC-4 in everyone's opinion?  Are the CMC-4s a step don quality wise from my DSM mics?

- Is there another pair of mics in the $300 range that I should be considering (anything that will whoop the ass of these quality-wise maybe)?

I should mention that I am not necesarilly looking for stealth mics (I am going to be using these mostly to tape my band's hows while on tour though ... So it would be nice to have a setup that didnt take up tons of room in the van.

Thanks!

[Sean Gallemore]

Octavas are small and cheap, Superluxes as well.

If you go with the SP mics, I recommend you get the phantom power mod done so the mics can be directly plugged in and powered by the UA-5.

[Alpha Murdock]

Cool!  For non stealthing purposes would you agree that Octava MC012s would be better than cmc-4s or cmc-8s?

Does anybody have any samples of shows recorded with them (im mostly doing loud rock in small clubs)?  Can you guys recomend any good manufacturers?

Thanks

[Chanher]

I have the at831 sp-cmc-2's and a pair of oktava's too.  For loud rock I prefer the oktava's.  that's just my opinion though.  The only loud rock tapes I've made are crummy local cover bands with shitty sound systems in shitty venues.    but the oktava's did a good job of reproducing the awful sounds.  

[ChrisV]

Yeah, if you are going strictly non-stealth I'd recommend either the Okatava's or Superlux....I own a pair of the Superlux mics and am happy with them(upgraded from SP AT831's).

[Alpha Murdock]

Cool!  Any oposing opinions here I should know about?

1) Does anybody here know of any good cheap octava retailers? (is there a difference between the mc012s and the mk012s?)

2) Would Oktavas > UA5 > JB3 be an upgrade to my current SS-DSM setup in everyone's opinions?

Rawk!

[Brian Skalinder]

1) Does anybody here know of any good cheap octava retailers? (is there a difference between the mc012s and the mk012s?)

MC012 and MK012 are the same thing.  Cheap retailers = Guitar Center, though quality control may or may not be an issue.

2) Would Oktavas > UA5 > JB3 be an upgrade to my current SS-DSM setup in everyone's opinions?

Without a doubt.

[jpschust]

why not get the studio professionals c4's

get more, better mics for your 300 bucks than the oktavas

[Alpha Murdock]

MC012 and MK012 are the same thing.  Cheap retailers = Guitar Center, though quality control may or may not be an issue.

Thanks for the input.  What exactly is meant by quality control?

Does anybody know what a good price would be for a pair of these suckers?

[Alpha Murdock]

why not get the studio professionals c4's

get more, better mics for your 300 bucks than the oktavas

so ...

studio professionals c4 > oktava mc012?

[plucks]

how bout the ADK SC-1 or SC-T mics?  
They are quite affordable and kick ass!
Otherwise, some Audix M1290/1245 mics could do you well if you can plunk down some more cash.
Remember, mics make the biggest difference in your recordings and it's best to invest in these.  
If you buy an unmoded UA5 you can always save some $$ by doing one of the mods yourself.  

good luck

[Jason B]

ADK SC-T mics?  

bingo

[teajay]

once again, my pointless and biased vote for the sc-t's!

I really dig them, and even though they aren't sold as "matched" mine came withing 0.3db of each other i think it was, wither way, well within 1db...

travis

[John Kelly]

how bout the ADK SC-1 or SC-T mics?  
They are quite affordable and kick ass!
Otherwise, some Audix M1290/1245 mics could do you well if you can plunk down some more cash.
Remember, mics make the biggest difference in your recordings and it's best to invest in these.  
If you buy an unmoded UA5 you can always save some $$ by doing one of the mods yourself.  

good luck

Well I wouldn't go with the 1245s due to their poor low frequency pickup, but the 1290s are awesome.  They're about twice his budget, though...

[Brian Skalinder]

Oktava - historically, anyway - is known to have quality control issues.  Different components making up the innards of mics off the same production line, specs that aren't nearly as consistent as other manufacturers, etc.   Some have had fine experiences picking up Oktavas inexpensively at Guitar Center, others have encountered problems, and some have chose third-party vendors who provide their own quality control - at a price significantly higher than GC.

FWIW, you won't get any one answer as we all have different experiences and speak to those mics with which we are most familiar.  For my money, I trust Jonny's recommendation on the Studio Projects C4s and would give them a go.  They're new to most of us here, but Jonny has had good things to say - and that's good enough for me.  That said, I've also heard and enjoyed the SC-Ts and Superlux mics.  Best bet is, if you can (i.e. have broadband), try to download some samples with each of the mics you're considering.