Topic: AKG C568EB shotgun

[spyder9]

I'm looking for my first pair of field mics.  I've been using a borrowed pair of Sennheiser ME66 shotguns.  Love the output.  Love shotguns.  Can't afford used Senns right now.  I have narrowed my search for used AKG C568EB shotguns.  Any opinions on these?  I may rent a pair to try them out.

[jpschust]

are you only doing stadium or huge shows?  really hard to use shotguns in small clubs

[spyder9]

It will be for non-club shows.  In anybody's taper's pit, primarily.

[jpschust]

i might encourage you to try some hypers before you jump into the shotgun boat.  not saying they are bad mics, but hypers are an option you might want to consider as well when making a decision such as this

[spyder9]

They are hypers.  Here' s the specs.

http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,186,id,242,pid,242,_language,EN.html

Here's Doug Oade's opinion:

http://www.oade.com/cgi-bin/miva?showmsg.mv+message=1905

What I am looking for is sn opinion on anyone here at TS that have used them.  I'll be taping the Dead, ABB, Mule, and such.  I use AT853RX for stealth.

[spyder9]

My current setup: AT853RX (hypers) > Denecke PS-2 > Shure AS15A > Denecke AD20 > Kimber Opt1 > JB3.

[jpschust]

shot guns are a kind of super hyper though, not your typical hypers.... thats why shotguns often sound kinda boomy

[spyder9]

The Senns I used didn't sound boomy to me.  I guess it depends on the mics themselves.  I taped ABB NYS Fair Syracuse & Darien Lake.  I was in the back behind the SBD.  I was impressed with the Senns and my recording.  But, I will take your opinion with weight.  Thank you.  Any suggestion on non-shotgun hypers to consider with these?

[mirth]

I like my AKG CK93 hypers... the SE300b & 460/480 series have different caps you can put on the mic bodies with different pickup patterns, including guns.

[spyder9]

Thanks!!!

[Charlies]

I have some sweet tapes with the 568s...  most recently are Ira Stein's Ratdog Beacon shows from last fall... taped from the loge... their bass extends lower than most hyper caps (including the ck63s) and so, in some situations, can give you the hyper sound with more robust (yet controlled) bass.  I ran hypers in the sweet spot FOB with a nice angle and pulled a great tape, but wished I had more bass... Ira's 568s got that extra bass. 

I do not have any tapes with them from a venue smaller than the Beacon, though. I'm afraid in those situations you might get all sorts of bass (too much) and tinny highs.  Good luck.

[eric.B]

I have a pair..  and yes.. you can use them allmost anywhere with varying results from great to just OK..  they are especially suited to larger clubs, arenas, sheds and such, but you can use them in medium size to smaller size venues also..  they are a hyper cap, with more directivity in the higher frequencies, which means that you pick up ambient low end frequencies verry nicely..    I wouldnt recommend using them onstage tho, allthough i never tried..  hmm what else..  the cap is 106 mm from the xlr end .. hmm..  I think for the price they are great mics and made most of the stuff i taped sound sorta soundboard like(not sure if thats what you want)..    I have to disagree with the "too much bass" comment in smaller venues as i have run them in NXNW, Mexicali, stone pony and such and the only thing i notice is they take out quite a bit of the room without being bass shy.. 

all in all..  i know i rambled a bit..  but try them.. you may like them

[spyder9]

Thanks Charlie!

[spyder9]

Thanks Eric!  Nice description.  About what I needed to know.  I am a shotgun fan.  For hyper situations, they can do a fantastic job.  Check out the Warren Haynes recording 9/06/04 Darien Lake, NY down below.  The guy used AT835b shotguns.  The recording was so clean, I thought Warren was in my house.  I do prefer my recordings to sound "SBD-like" than distant.  Of course, where I'm setup and what venue, makes a difference for this type of mic.  The AKGs also have that little bit better frequency range than the Senns (20-20,000).  I'm going to rent a pair.  For small venues and all stealth stuff, I'll just use my AT853RXs.   I love bombing from way out!


http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=7483

[silentmark]

I have a pair..  and yes.. you can use them allmost anywhere with varying results from great to just OK..  they are especially suited to larger clubs, arenas, sheds and such, but you can use them in medium size to smaller size venues also..  they are a hyper cap, with more directivity in the higher frequencies, which means that you pick up ambient low end frequencies verry nicely..    I wouldnt recommend using them onstage tho, allthough i never tried..  hmm what else..  the cap is 106 mm from the xlr end .. hmm..  I think for the price they are great mics and made most of the stuff i taped sound sorta soundboard like(not sure if thats what you want)..    I have to disagree with the "too much bass" comment in smaller venues as i have run them in NXNW, Mexicali, stone pony and such and the only thing i notice is they take out quite a bit of the room without being bass shy.. 

all in all..  i know i rambled a bit..  but try them.. you may like them

How about that Samples show Eric ? The Samples are OK, but Eric pulled a great tape from the Conduit in Trenton, NJ, LOUD as hell at the show and I think the tape sounds great, but then again what do I know ...

[tonyvt]

I owned a pair of AKG 568's from the fall of 93 until 2000 and probably taped 250+
shows with them. I kept them around even after I had invested in a Schoeps rig which included CMC6 bodies and MK41, MK4,
and MK21 caps. The reason that I kept the 568's is that they worked so well from the section.
I even made quite a few sweet sounding tapes using them at theaters. I finally ended up selling
my 568's  to raise some funds but do regret doing so. They are great microphones!