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Author Topic: Retired taper looking for mics.  (Read 7570 times)

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Offline voltronic

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #15 on: June 09, 2017, 09:07:35 PM »
None of us have asked where the grand piano recording is happening.  If it's going to be in a concert hall with good acoustics, then yes the CM3s will work nice, but a pair of omnis is going to be better as long as you can properly place them.  Omnis are always my favorite sound for grand piano.  Don't use them if recording inside a home, though.

You could almost stay within the $700 budget and get a pair of CM3s and also a pair of OM1 omnis.  I haven't seen any OM1 samples on this board, but head over to the Gearslutz threads for that (again, linked through Team Line Audio).

Mostly in home. Recitals are usually recorded by someone else.

Then don't bother with the omnis.  The CM3 should work OK, as long as it's a fairly close placement.  I typically don't like that for piano in a hall, but in a home studio you really want to minimize the sound of the room in most cases (unless you live in a mansion or a medieval castle).

I've also talked to several people who recommend a spaced pair of fig 8 mics recommended for home piano recording, since the side walls, ceiling, and floor will all be in a null for the mics.  You only have to make sure the wall facing the piano isn't too reflective.
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Offline cjc1103

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #16 on: June 20, 2017, 03:47:04 PM »
There's no shortage of budget mic recommendations out there, but let me throw in my 2 cents. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930s that sound excellent for about $700/pr. I also have line Audio CM3's, but IMO they are not quite as good as the MC930s. It's hard to beat Audio-Technica. I have a pair of AT4021's that really were an excellent bang for the buck, they were highly reccommended by Mike Jasper in his big-a** mic shootout a number of years back. I ended up selling them to finance other gear purchases, but wish I had kept them. An even better value then the AT 4021 is the AT4041, you can find them for $500/pair. They have a smooth frequency response, almost as good as Shure SM81's for overheads and guitar mic'ing, they would be a good budget choice for grand piano. Oktava MK-012 is a well regarded mic, I have seen tapers swear by those. For a budget of $700/pair, I'd go with the MC930s. As usual, YMMV, pick one and go with it. A lot of taping is how you use the tools you have, not what tools you have.
Chris
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Offline JiB97

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #17 on: July 24, 2017, 02:44:29 PM »
with that budget I'd keep my eyes peeled for a pair of AKG 460s in the yard sale. they can usually be found for around $600, sometimes less, sometimes slightly more.

here is a google doc where the writer recommends the AKG460/KM84/AKG451 as his preference for mic'ing a grand piano: http://tinyurl.com/y97429p7

i've had good luck with my 460s in a variety of applications and the multitude of capsule options both vintage and modern are another appealing factor.
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Offline pohaku

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #18 on: July 24, 2017, 03:27:00 PM »
Assuming the friend of the original poster is still looking, the Beyer MC930s currently for sale in the Yard, are excellent Mics and at a great price.  You would not have buyer's remorse with that purchase. 
Mics: akg c460 (ck61, ck63), c414buls, c568eb; at4049a, 4051a, 4053a, at853; josephson c42; neumann U87, km84i; beyer m130, m160, m500; aea r84; gefell m71, mt711s, m200, m201, um70S; sony c38; schoeps cmc6, CMBI (mk4, mk21, mk41, mk4v); sennheiser mkh30, mkh40, md421, md431, md541; audix m1290
Pres: API, a-designs, pendulum, purple, millennia TD-1 and HV-32P, gt, littlebox, tinybox, usbpre2, CA 9200, pipsqueak, grace V2, DAV BG1
Cables: KCY, CMR, Naiant AKG actives, PFAs, asst.  GAKables and Darktrain
Recorders/converters/monitors: dr680, m10, dr-2d, d50, zoom f8 & F8n pro, 788T SSD CL-8, lynx aurora 8, Neumann KH20


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Offline ts

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #19 on: July 24, 2017, 05:09:15 PM »
Assuming the friend of the original poster is still looking, the Beyer MC930s currently for sale in the Yard, are excellent Mics and at a great price.  You would not have buyer's remorse with that purchase.

Sorry, he ended up with Line Audio CM3's. The 930's were a little over budget. Thanks. If I wasn't hooked on active cables, I might have considered those for myself.

Offline voltronic

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #20 on: July 24, 2017, 05:34:12 PM »
Assuming the friend of the original poster is still looking, the Beyer MC930s currently for sale in the Yard, are excellent Mics and at a great price.  You would not have buyer's remorse with that purchase.

Sorry, he ended up with Line Audio CM3's. The 930's were a little over budget. Thanks. If I wasn't hooked on active cables, I might have considered those for myself.

 :coolguy:

You might want to pass along that the CM3s are more sensitive to vibration and wind than he may be used to.  I'm firmly in the Rycote-or-bust camp for shock mounting.
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
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Offline Todd R

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #21 on: July 25, 2017, 11:40:20 AM »

Sorry, he ended up with Line Audio CM3's. The 930's were a little over budget. Thanks. If I wasn't hooked on active cables, I might have considered those for myself.

The CM3's are excellent mics with both a very flat frequency response and a very uniform pattern across the frequency range.  Because of this, they take EQ very well so it's easy to tailor/master the sound afterwards if you find the flat response doesn't work well for a particular show.

I'm big on actives too, though I will say the CM3 can almost fall into that camp with the right setup.  They are made with carbon fiber reinforced plastic, so they are very light, like 30 grams or so each. And they are only 77mm (~3") long.  Couple them with a Shapeways 3D printed mount (also very light) and a Rycote INV suspension and you've got something pretty much as small and light as an active set up.

I just put together a set of custom chopped XLR mic cables using Mogami W2697 cable -- 2.5mm diameter (less than 1/10"), which are smaller and lighter than schoeps or neumann active cables. 

I'll try to take some pictures of this setup at Rockygrass this weekend and post them.  I'm betting the CM3's with the custom chopped cables and shapeways/rycote mount isn't much bigger or heavier than my Gefell active setup.
Mics: Microtech Gefell m20/m21 (nbob/pfa actives), Line Audio CM3, Church CA-11 cards
Preamp:  none <sniff>
Recorders:  Sound Devices MixPre-6, Sony PCM-M10, Zoom H4nPro

Offline voltronic

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #22 on: July 25, 2017, 09:38:49 PM »
They are made with carbon fiber reinforced plastic

I'm pretty sure they are aluminum.  They feel nothing like CF or plastic.

I agree 100% with everything else you said though.
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
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Offline Todd R

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #23 on: July 26, 2017, 12:55:06 AM »
oops, sorry about that, got them mixed up with some Beyer mics I had looked into.  Either way, I did weigh mine - 30 grams each.  My Gefell caps are also 30g, 55g including the nbob active collettes.
Mics: Microtech Gefell m20/m21 (nbob/pfa actives), Line Audio CM3, Church CA-11 cards
Preamp:  none <sniff>
Recorders:  Sound Devices MixPre-6, Sony PCM-M10, Zoom H4nPro

Offline ts

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Re: Retired taper looking for mics.
« Reply #24 on: July 26, 2017, 10:01:17 AM »
The guy that bought these mics already has them setup on piano. I don't how he configured them, I left that up to him. However he is going to let me use them at Peach Fest. I had Ted make some low pro cables. Thanks for the tip on the mount. I'd like to see a pic. For Peach I'm going to use a large Vark bar with an 11 inch spread and a knock off schoeps shock mount. I think dark train made the bar. I've had it for quite awhile and never had a use for it till now. It should provide good isolation. I use a similar setup for my actives.

 

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