Topic: More Peluso thoughts

[Nick's Picks]

I'm getting ready to finaly put together a review.  I just wanted to say a couple of things, both good and bad...as there has been some interesent.

1.  the mics sound really good.  I mean, really good.  i'll put them up against anything.  they devour mics in their price class.  Id say a direct shootout between a 184 and a 461 is in order. 

2.  build quality ...is not as refined as a mic from a big company.  not to say its poor, i'm just saying that QC is not like AKG.

3.  everything is hand made or assembled here in the US.  Parts are bought from other contries..but it all comes together here.  including the cutting  and mounting of the diaphragms (materials come from germany).

4.  nice options for these mics.  ACTIVE CABLE system will be out by fall.  prototypes are working currently.  i'll be testing this before summer is out.  I think this is pretty big news.
also, there is a vertical capsule with 3 polar patterns....likely omni, card and fig of 8....being planned out.  It might become reality next year sometime.  Its in the planning stage.

5.  they do not sound like a schoeps.  at all.    I find them reminisant to my MBHOs, but I like them better. 

6.  you'll be able to buy a set of these w/an active cable system and one capsule for less money than the just the cable of a schoeps...or neumann.


I've got a bunch of recording to do between now and September.
but after that, i'm into swapping them around for anyone who wants to play with them.

[save]

just fyi if you are planning on buying a pair soon, here's an email i received the other day from soundpure:

Hey Justin,

I'm afraid I've got some bad news.  We discovered a problem on a number of
Peluso mics, and have backordered the enitre CEMC6 line until the problem can
be successfully resolved.  Peluso didn't know there was a problem until we
discovered it on a handful of mics.  It is his top priority to fix it 100%, but
it may actually be a few weeks- we're just not sure.  We did some tests over the
weekend that realized we had the same problems (noise mostly) in the microphones
that arrived here.  Somehting is apparently happening to the mics in transit
that wasn't detectable on the bench tests.  Anyway, I'm cc;ing Doug, who will
keep track of all of the CEMC6 customers who are awaiting a speedy resolution.
Sorry for the bad news, but it's clearly better that we found out now than you
getting a bad pair of mics.   Let me know how else you'd like to proceed,
otherwise, we'll get back to you when the problem is fixed!

Let me know how else that I can help,
Todd
919-321-1538

[spyder9]

Hey Nick,

I'll let you give the 414-XLS a test run.  I'd like to play with these Pelusos.  I have full schedule this summer too, so September sounds like a plan.  LMK.

[Nick's Picks]

Hey Nick,

I'll let you give the 414-XLS a test run. I'd like to play with these Pelusos. I have full schedule this summer too, so September sounds like a plan. LMK.

done, and DONE!

[Nick's Picks]

well...that sucks about these bad batches.  good to hear its being resolved.

[spyder9]

Hey Nick,

I'll let you give the 414-XLS a test run. I'd like to play with these Pelusos. I have full schedule this summer too, so September sounds like a plan. LMK.

done, and DONE!

Cool.   

[drewloo]

4.  nice options for these mics.  ACTIVE CABLE system will be out by fall.  prototypes are working currently.  i'll be testing this before summer is out.  I think this is pretty big news.
also, there is a vertical capsule with 3 polar patterns....likely omni, card and fig of 8....being planned out.  It might become reality next year sometime.  Its in the planning stage.

6.  you'll be able to buy a set of these w/an active cable system and one capsule for less money than the just the cable of a schoeps...or neumann.

That's friggen awesome to  hear. 

just fyi if you are planning on buying a pair soon, here's an email i received the other day from soundpure:

Hey Justin,

We did some tests over the weekend that realized we had the same problems (noise mostly) in the microphones that arrived here.  Somehting is apparently happening to the mics in transit that wasn't detectable on the bench tests.

This is a little concerning.  Hope they figure it out and isolate the problem. 

thanks, Nick

[thegreatgumbino]

Anxiously awaiting your review Nick.  How's it coming?

+T for giving them a run.

[ac]

The few recordings I've heard from Peluso mics sound great. May need to grab me a set. Great prices to.
 

[Nick's Picks]

i'm slacking...but should get it done before the EOM

[thegreatgumbino]

i'm slacking...but should get it done before the EOM

Thanks Nick!  What can we say?  You've got us all excited about these mics!

[Nick's Picks]

they are very well worth the money charged.

if anyone wants to hear them, just LMK and we can work out some B&Ps or a little mic trade or something.

when the actives come my way, then these might be my favorite guns i've owned in a while. 
and I said that about the 414s.  and then I said that about the ST-250 prior...
so, my "new" favorite.  maybe my flavor of the year. 

the workhourse cap is the card...which is perfect.  the widecard sounds super fat..and they hyper sounds perhaps on the lean side...but still punchy and tight as a drum.  haven't tried the omnis yet...but will be this weekend. 

[Brendan]

Hey Nick,

I'll let you give the 414-XLS a test run.  I'd like to play with these Pelusos.  I have full schedule this summer too, so September sounds like a plan.  LMK.

spyder, i must say.. i love your rig... im aiming to get what looks like yer stealth rig (wiht the ps2/ ad20) I already have At853C's, a ps-2, and a Jb3.. i just need ot get an opt cable and an Ad20

[thegreatgumbino]

Nick-

Have you recorded anything other than the Kimock, Charlie Hunter, and ABB shows with these?  I've each of theses already and like what I hear. 

Still curious to hear some head to head comparisions of the AKG 460/480's, NEUMAN KM140/KM184's, and the MBHO 603's run through your R-4

I know you've said they are somewhere in between the HO's and the others, just curious to hear it.

What are you running the omni's for this weekend?

[ac]

Do you just have the cards or other caps to?

I'm rocking to the Wakarusa Galactic set with Peluso CEMC-6...Super tight...

[Nick's Picks]

Nick-

Have you recorded anything other than the Kimock, Charlie Hunter, and ABB shows with these? I've each of theses already and like what I hear.

Still curious to hear some head to head comparisions of the AKG 460/480's, NEUMAN KM140/KM184's, and the MBHO 603's run through your R-4

I know you've said they are somewhere in between the HO's and the others, just curious to hear it.

What are you running the omni's for this weekend?

there is a Hairy Apes show, XY w/the cards.  that is very nice.
this weekend is the BIG...SUMMER...CLASSIC...with cheese and a special sauce.

I'll probably run the omni caps a lot.  along w/the cards and wide cards.  shit...i'll run them all.
My kit has all of the caps.  omni, widecards, card and hypers.

[thegreatgumbino]

Do you just have the cards or other caps to?

I'm rocking to the Wakarusa Galactic set with Peluso CEMC-6...Super tight...

Where'd you grab the Galactic set?  I must have missed that one floating around.

[thegreatgumbino]

there is a Hairy Apes show, XY w/the cards.  that is very nice.
this weekend is the BIG...SUMMER...CLASSIC...with cheese and a special sauce.

I'll probably run the omni caps a lot.  along w/the cards and wide cards.  shit...i'll run them all.
My kit has all of the caps.  omni, widecards, card and hypers.

Ahhh, I forgot about the Hairy Apes show.  I grabbed your mp3 sample of it a while back.  Haven't grabbed the whole set yet.

BSC should be a blast.  Looking forward to hearing your pulls.  Have fun!

I do find it intersting that Peluso & Sound Pure's site doesn't have the straight up card caps on it.  Even the stereo set only comes with 3 sets of caps?  They both have the wide cards, omni's, and the hypers, but no straight up cards.  What's the deal with that?  I'm way confused.

[thegreatgumbino]

when the actives come my way....

Have you gotten any more info on when these will be available, or is the delivery date still sometime this fall?  What about prices?

Also, have you asked Peluso or Sound Pure about the posibility of them offering a matte black finish?

[Nick's Picks]

I know nothing of details other than the projected fall release.
not sure, but I think those kits you see, the card cap is attached to the mics

[F0CKER]

there's a short favorable write-up on the CEMC6 in the most recent Tape Op.

[thegreatgumbino]

there's a short favorable write-up on the CEMC6 in the most recent Tape Op.

Any chance you have link to the article?  I didn't have any luck finding it on-line.  Who knows, maybe it isn't available on-line?

[ac]

http://www.cotapers.org/

Torrent Link: http://www.cotapers.org/BT/gal2005-06-18.flac16.torrent

Galactic
6-18-05 (Saturday)
Late Show
Clinton Lake State Park, Lawrence, KS
Revival Tent, Wakarusa

Source: Peluso CEMC-6(matched pair)->V3(optical)->JB3 (16bit, 44.1khz)
Location: 6ft. FOB, ORTF, DFC, 8ft. high
Transfer: Jb3>USB>PC
Encoding: Wav>Adobe Audition 1.5>flac16 (level
Taped By: Colorado Crew (Ian, Josh, Rodney, Todd R)
Rig Owned By: Ian (ian.strack at gmail.com)
Tracked, Transferred, Flac'ed, and Info By: Ian

*******DO NOT REMASTER WITHOUT MY PERMISSION*******
*******DO NOT ENCODE TO MP3 WITHOUT MY PERMISSION*******

Setlist:

Disc 1

1. Intro
2. Garbage Truck
3. It Ain’t What You Think $
4. Go Go
5. Hot Pants Road %
6. Speaks his Mind #
7. Doublewide->
8. Mystery Train
9. Calypso Minor
10. Hamp’s Hump
11. Santa Cruz
12. Mario Groove

Disc 2

1. Baker’s Dozen
2. Crowd
Encore:
3. Quiet Please
4. Blackbird Special

$ Bass filters applied on V3, levels increased one notch = +5db at 3:34
% Pop at 6:01
# Anthony on vocals from the Greyhounds

Show Notes:

This is it. The one you've been waiting for. Late night Galactic at Wakarusa '05. I'm sure you were thinkin', "Well, I won't go tape/see this show, because someone else will tape it and I can get it from bt.etree later on." Well, there were only two of us taping this show. The story is as follows.

So earlier in the day, everyone is all up on going to late night Galactic and taping and what not, but when after Cheese came around, it was only me and Rodney. Todd R was there, but he decided not to tape, as he had just done Cheese. When Rod and I showed, we found a taping pit BEHIND the soundboard, something which was very unusual for Waka, we were always FOB. There were a few people inside of the barracades infront of the board, but we were told we couldn't put our stands there, because Cheese was packing up all their gear and heading out in the middle of Galactic, which would've screwed us up bad. We tried to talk to the soundman and figure it all out, but nothing was clear, and so we said to hell with that, and we set up 6ft. FOB, with the stand straddling the plastic cable cover. I had brought my camping chair, and we snagged another chair, and Todd R had his completely destroyed camping chair. So we setup around the stand with our chairs. This was a key element to taping this LATE show. As I said then, "If all else fails, all we have to do is sit in our chairs and tape and wait." The show was supposed to be from 2:30-4:00am, but started at more like 3:30am and went until about 5:30am. By the end we all were completely destroyed, and the sun was comming up as we were walking back to camp. This is undoubtedly the craziest experience I've ever had taping.

Also to be noted...Wakarusa was my first time using my full rig, and not just patching with my JB3. All of my Wakarusa tapes are somewhat newbie-ish tapes, but whatever, this is the only copy of this show. The other taper, Rodney, accidentily recorded in 128k MP3.

Honorable mentions go to Todd R for guarding FOB, staying up with us, and putting on my bass filters. My good buddy Josh for staying awake with me, carrying the Capn's Chair, and puttin' up with the mayhem of Galactic late night. Rodney, for stayin' awake, and being the only other taper there, even though he got a pull in MP3. Also, shouts to Josh Simpson (Simp-Dawg), for stoppin' by at the show, but somehow we never fully met up (he claims he was in front of the rig the whole time, I must've missed him). Colorado Crew!

[thegreatgumbino]

Thanks for the link!   Looking forward to hearing the show.  +T

[hammerhorror]

I used my new pair of Peluso CEMC6's for the first time last week. I taped Particle using the cardioid caps. I just got a matched pair of Hypers today. I will be testing those this weekend. My first impression of these mics is very good. I am very pleased with the recording they yielded. If anyone is interested in hearing the show here is the link: http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=16466

I think I'll be getting alot of use out of these. IMO these blow away my Studio Projects C4's and my Nak CM-300's. I know those aren't the best mics in the world to compare them to, but that is all I have used. For the price these can't be beat! 

[Low Spark]

I do believe these are going to be my SD mics in the near future.

[Tim]

those are great mics to compare them too because of where they all fall price wise, the peluso's are not cheap by any means but fall on the more affordable end of the scale. many people who are looking at these mics may be looking for a change from their c's or naks, or may be looking to enter taping for the 1st time.

thanks for sharing

[thegreatgumbino]

I'm still interested in hearing some head to head comp's between the CEMC6 and the MBHO's in particular.  Nick previously said he thought they ranked above the HO's.  Could be a sweet deal.  Wouldn't mind having some of these and a LSD2 

[Nick's Picks]

send me some MBHOs and i'll do a comp with them.

abb/moe on 8-20 would be a good choice.

[Cooker]

Nick, are you bringing the Peluso's to Nissan Pavilion?

[ehren]

Well I've finally found a mic that I love, meaning the Peluso's I've been running for the last month, and now apparently I have one of the bad sets. One mic at Phil and Friends in Denver started to spike levels with intermittent distotion in the second set. I called Soundpure where I got them and Dan, who is VERY helpful, said that all the cemc6s are considered bad for now and they are working on the problem but don't expect to have a solution for 3 weeks or so. Apparently they thought it was a bad ground, then some soderless resistors, and now they think it might be the caps themselves. This really sucks because I've got shows to tape. I've run Scheops, MBHOs, Earthworks, LSD2 and these Peluso's are by far the first set of mics that I've really fallen in love with and now there is a problem. Soundpure is offering 100% credit towards an exchange for a different brand of mics or I can hold out until they get this situation straightend out. It's shitty because the only mics that I can think of that would be worth exchanging for would be way over twice as much, i.e., Gefell m200s, or m300s. A word of caution to anyone looking to buy a set, they sound incredible but I would wait until they figure out what the hell is wrong with them. Right now I'm trying to decide whether I should wait or go with something else.

[Nick's Picks]

hmmm....
I wonder if i'm lucky?
i've run all my caps, and have not had any of these issues. 
I'm going to call John Peluso and see what the deal is.

[Nick's Picks]

Nick, are you bringing the Peluso's to Nissan Pavilion?

yes.  bringing the omni, card and sub card caps.
i'm very much enjoying the sound of the subs and the cards.  especialy the subs.  wow..those are nice sounding.
I need some good gear behind them though.  and some better cables.

running right next to Carl for BSC...his recordings smoke mine (except for one).
granted, his HEAVILY mod'd FR2 sounds light years better than my stock R4...he ran his c34 right into the R4 for a couple acts and when we were listening the next morning I thought that i liked his stuff better.
though...a c34 is considerably nicer than a peluso cemc6.  so not really apples and apples there either.

[audBall]

>>CECM6 Frequency Range: 19Hz/25Khz

I'm not sure I've seen a range go below 20Hz or above 20Khz before.  Why would they go beyond "human pickup"?  To insure pickup at 20Hz/Khz even though we all don't hear to those extremes?

[Tim]

the schoeps xt's have extended frequency response.

there's some thought that even if we can't "hear" those frequencies they are still moving air and are affecting the surrounding frequencies

[audBall]

the schoeps xt's have extended frequency response.

there's some thought that even if we can't "hear" those frequencies they are still moving air and are affecting the surrounding frequencies

Oh, cool.  Something to think about.  Are these mics on some kind of limited production?  Waiting lists?

[ehren]

Basically the mics are from a "boutique" builder, i.e., he builds them by hand with parts from various places around the world-the metal work is done in China I believe. Nick can help you out more with the specifics. There is not a waiting list but I'm not sure if Soundpure is selling any right now due to the problems they've been having, Peluso may still be selling them direct.

Nick: please let me know what John says, as far as soundpure is concerned, they aren't replacing any more pairs until they are sure what the problem is. I really wanted to run these for Derek Trucks next weekend, oh well...

[drewloo]

One mic at Phil and Friends in Denver started to spike levels with intermittent distotion in the second set. I called Soundpure where I got them and Dan, who is VERY helpful, said that all the cemc6s are considered bad for now and they are working on the problem but don't expect to have a solution for 3 weeks or so. Apparently they thought it was a bad ground, then some soderless resistors, and now they think it might be the caps themselves.

One of my sub caps exhibits this problem.  I've ran them twice and both times after a while one channel would just sort of go nuts.   

[F.O.Bean]

dont companies do bench testing anymore

[ehren]

Bean,

Apparently the problem is that the mics test perfect, but start to exhibit the problem about 3 to 4 weeks after they leave the manufacturing point. Mine worked fine for about a month and then they started to screw up. Soundpure says that Peluso says that the problem is now fixed, but Soundpure isn't letting any more out the door until they know what is up. Basically Dan at Soundpure has told Peluso that they need to get their sh*# together on this. What sucks is that these mics, unlike a lot of "budget" mics, have what I find to be a great unique sound. I'm willing to wait it out for a bit, but really, I need some mics to tape with soon

[F.O.Bean]

I understand ehren, thanks for the explanation

[Nick's Picks]

they test w/real nice b&k bench gear...
not sure what the deal is here..but i'll find out and post what i find out

[Massive Dynamic]

Well I've finally found a mic that I love, meaning the Peluso's I've been running for the last month, and now apparently I have one of the bad sets. One mic at Phil and Friends in Denver started to spike levels with intermittent distotion in the second set.

Yeah, I got a bad set, as well, but I was fortunate that some of the sets I recorded at a festival turned out ok.  It seems one mic would spike, then be just fine when I tried again the next day.  Looks like I'll be returning my set, and hope Peluso will have worked out the bugs before I have to buy mics for next year's fest.

[jeromejello]

nick, please keep us posted on the peluso's.... they are the only other mic i am considering besides the 460's.

 

[Nick's Picks]

IMO, the AKGs (480s any way) are more detailed.
the Pelusos have a nicer bottom, and are a little more meaty sounding overall.

BUT...if you want to run a hyper cap, then AKG all the way.  i'm unimpressed w/the peluso hyper.  sounds anemic to me.  think ak50 w/o as much "refinement" as the neumann sound.

[BobbyHurley]

If they figure out the problem with the hyper caps about the same time that they unveil the active cables, I would request a pair of the active cables with your replacement caps for the "inconvenience factor."  I would imagine that they want nothing but good press from us, as we are basically doing their field research for them.

dwyl.

[Nick's Picks]

If they figure out the problem with the hyper caps
dwyl.

there is no problem with them. they just dont sound as good as their others.  from what I hear, making a good sounding hyper cap is very difficult.  if one of those is a major importance and you want to stay cheap, then the Oktava hyper cap is the one to beat.
of course, the mk41 and ck63 are *the* hypers.
I'll toss some kudos for the T.H.E. hyper cap for its modular condenser as well.  that was very sweet sounding.
the peulso cap though..."eh". 
I've not nailed anything stupendous w/it yet.  My SKB recording of 6-17 (on archive) is my best pull with it yet. 

[nickgregory]

of course, the mk41 and ck63 are *the* hypers.

actually I would argue that the M21s are in that class and to my ears better than one of those identified (nope, not going to say which )

[Nick's Picks]

thats the MG?
not familiar w/its sound

[nickgregory]

thats the MG?
not familiar w/its sound

yeah, the MG, sorry should have made that clearer

[ehren]

I think that Peluso will figure this out. He obviously knows mics and has a lot of experience with repairs and restoration. It's not surprising that he's run into a bug with a totally new product that he is producing on a very small scale. Thing is, I really like these mics and am willing to be patient for a bit to see what happens.

[Nick's Picks]

Ok..just got off the phone with John Peluso.
here is the deal.

12 bad mics came back (out of a lot of 600).
three issues affected these mics, one or the other.
1.  bad resistors...or, a bad batch that had poor contacts, hence the "sometimes its broken"
2.  capsules that retained moisture durring constuction...due to bad AC unit in the lab at the time of construction.,
3.  user error.  people switcing the -20db pad on by accident.  Hes resolving this by sinking the switches deep into the mic so you need to poke something in there to actualy move the switch.

he stopped shipping for 2 weeks, and is 99% positive that he has worked all of this out all ready.  So dont let soudpure scare you...they are just all excited about it.  it'll pass.  John told me he's had a bunch of his "pro" users buying up dozens of these in fear they would be discontinued.  fwiw..
they are not going to be.

Also, the active cable is a ways off.
what will be coming first is a new micro mic about the diameter of a pensil, and a couple inches long...like an Audix 1290, only smaller.  this will employ an active cable system..but things get a little confusing.
an active cable for the CEMC6 is a little farther off in the works.

also...a SS 9 pattern LD mic, and plans for a stereo mic are on the drawing board.
I told him to make it a SD stereo mic, coincident.  as that is how these mics sound best  to me.  the sub card XY is fucking great.

[ehren]

Hey Nick,

I'm glad that John has it worked out, I have complete confidence that he'll get it taken care of. What I don't think John is seeing is that Soundpure is currently making customers hold onto bad mics until they are sure that the problem is fixed, so there are more of them out there. Needless to say, I can't wait to get mine fixed.

On a good note, Soundpure says that the fix has made the new mics a tad bit hotter and a tad bit cleaner as a result. Something to do with changing the ground structure, I don't claim to understand any of the technical areas so I'm just paraphrasing what they told me.

[drewloo]

I'm going to be putting mine up for sale very soon to help w/ the closing on a house I'm buying    (still have TL's and 853's).  If anyone wants a set (unmatched, but they seem pretty evenly matched to me) w/ cards, hypers, and wide cards (one capsule is bad I believe but I'll send it in to John and have him send the repaired/replaced capsule to whoever buys the mics or however the buyer wants to handle it) for a really good price let me know. -Drew

[spyder9]

"what will be coming first is a new micro mic about the diameter of a pensil, and a couple inches long...like an Audix 1290, only smaller.  this will employ an active cable system..but things get a little confusing."

Basically, he's making a phantomed mini mic, as in: AT853RX and the DPAs.  That would be interesting addition.  I'll never give up my 853s, but I wondering what flavor these minis will be. 

[Nick's Picks]

same technology as in the cemc6 series, only miniaturized.
should be good, and i'm on the list for first out the door for review.

[Tim]

well played Nick!

[Nick's Picks]

hey...you can go a long way w/a little fluffin'

[Ian]

Glad to see this thread here.

I'm "the" Ian who taped Galactic at Wakarusa, and a bunch of other shows too. I don't have any problems with my Peluso's, and I've been taping like a mad man, and plan to be continually.

I love my Peluso's. They were my first set of mics, and I couldn't have been happier with my choice. Great mics, great quality, GREAT price.

[Ian]

My mics have now gone bad. I will be sending them in for repairs. It seems the *little* bit of moisture at Trey/STS9 tweaked them enough to screw them up.