Topic: Home Studio Mics - Busman?

[baustin]

I'm starting a thread for a good buddy (mystical cracker) who is new around here... maybe he can get some advice from y'all.

He's in the process of building a home studio and is looking for advice on reasonably priced entry level mics. I think he's looking for mics that can be used in different situations (ie - overheads, vocals, etc). He's been looking at Oktava's. I told him to consider Busman mics but he can't find much on specs and has been unable to make contact with Chris. I think Peluso may be out of his price range.

I'm sure he'll chime in here with specifics as to application, large diaphragm vs small, sound, price, etc.... Just thought I'd get the ball rolling and vouch for him.

-b

[mysticalcracker]

Thanks B,
Like he said I am interested in getting a pair of condensers for under $600. Their primary job would be as overheads, but would love to be able to use them on vocals, acoustic instruments, and amps. I know its a lot to ask for 1 set of mics, but oh well. I looked at the Busman BA-L2, b/c I would love to get some LDC's, but I cant find out what exactly he does to these after he gets them from china. If I dont go with those, or his SDC's, I was thinking about the Oktava 012's or something like shure sm-81's and buy a vocal condenser or ribbon mic down the road. Anyways, any info/opinions would be appreciated, as I have the money burning a hole in my pocket. I forgot to mention that I am happy to pick up used mics, If anybody has any to move.  Thanks.

[OFOTD]

If it's for a home studio consider your local Craigslist listings.    One of the more popular style of ads are for folks with their own home studios going out of business that need the money so you'll see entire mic lockers or rack effects go together in bunches.   Lots of home studios come and go and people are always liquidating.   

Easy and affordable way to build your own home studio.

 

[Todd R]

Guess I'll have to be shameless.....


Check out my sale on Charter Oak m900 SD mics:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=146916.0

$500 for a pair, including card, hyper, and omni caps.  And check out the TapeOp article I've linked to in the for sale post.  The Charter Oaks were judged by the 21-person panel put together for this SD mic shootout to be one of the best mics reviewed, out of 60 mics judged.  BTW, the Pelusos didn't get ranked as a top mic. 

Edit:  Oh, the Oktava's were also reviewed in that shootout, but were basically panned. I just pulled out the actual TapeOp article -- overall the panel did like the modded Oktavas, but the author didn't like the unmodded oktavas. 

Interesting, the article discussed on TS.com about the shootout (that I linked to) is not the actual TapeOp article, but a somewhat longer version on the author's blog or something.  Maybe I'll post the actual article. I've posted the TapeOp mic shootout article in my for sale post.  Worthy of a read when considering SD mics.

[halleyscomet8]

here is one quote i found from him recently. pretty sure you can email or call him from the info on his website.
http://www.busmanaudio.com/contact.html

I modify most of the components to my chosen types and values and rewire all the mics. This happens here. I also solder everything using WBT solder and use high quality tools.  My products speak for themselves. If you want to spend more money on mics that is fine with me I do keep busy and this is my business for life.  When I started out doing this I thought about the fact that if I started releasing products I did not want to leave my customers high and dry down the road and so I am committed to staying around.

My mics are originally from China yes but are they even close to that once you get them. NO.

It is always up to you to decide what is better for you. Everyone hears differently and that is the magic of music, everyone can have a different experience good or bad.

By the way, here is a link to some comparison files of the new capsules and a sample from the BASR1 stereo ribbon
http://www.busmanaudio.com/audio_samples.htm

[Patrick]

For an "all purpose sedan" type mic that you're also trying to use with vocals, I would look at large diaphragm condensors.  Lots of options in the $600 range.  Get a pair so you can use them as drum overheads or a stereo audience recording

[SmokinJoe]

I'm a big believer in ADK's, and I own a few pairs.  They have a lot of different models and it's really hard to keep them all straight, but the basic A51 or S51 is good.  I haven't used them in a studio, but I think a lot of people do.  http://www.adkmic.com/catalog/audiophileseries/   I think these LD's would probably be "really good on vocals, pretty good on overheads".  Compared to most pencil mics, which would probably be "great on overheads, OK on vocals".

The prices on ebay on ADK's is all over the place.  If you watch patiently a deal will pop up on occasion.

I had some for sale a while ago.  I sold some of the other stuff, and I'm content to keep them, but if you are interested, I'd probably sell.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=145288.0

I had some Earthworks cards a while ago.  They are noted as being fantastic over head mics, but pricy.  The guy I sold them to wanted them for vocals, which I hadn't expected.

[kirk97132]

Smoking Joe means the A51S or S51.  The regular A51(no "S") is a lower SPL mic.  I agree with the LDC assessment.  I have used the A51S mics for drum kits (OH, kick, snare, rack, toms), mic'ing guitar and bass cabinets(at very high volumes), for vocals and as a stereo pair for recording.  Maybe the best bang for the buck among lower priced mics. 

I do think the busmans are good mics and have a lot of versatility with the cap assortment. 

[mysticalcracker]

Thanks everybody for the info, I've got a lot more research to do, but ya'll have me looking at a few different options that I haven't heard of.