Topic: MG Or MBHO ..??

[Cactus]

hey now ,  thinking about splurging in the coming months and these 2 brands keep crossing my path.  i loved the mg 300 from this past phish tour and have heard decent mbho recordings..  just wondering about opinions .  peace now

michael

[Brian Skalinder]

I owned a pair of MBHO 603a/KA200s for a while.  Liked 'em a lot.  But I find I prefer the MG recordings I've heard.  I bet you can find plenty of samples of both up on archive.org.

What other gear do you plan on using - pre/ADC?

[dnsacks]

My buddy chris and I have come full circle, from mg300s (running into a neumann 48 volt ps > sony d7) to mbho 603a (first into ps2>adc20, later into oade m118>apogee ad500) to schoeps mk4/kc5/cmc6>oade m118>ad500/modsbm1, and now back to mg300>tmod ua5.

We started down the upgrade path due to some distortion issues with the gefell>phantom>d7 rig.  If we'd invested in a pair of line transformers (or merely added the ad20) instead, we'd probably never have upgraded. 

Bottom line, definitely prefer the mg300 sound to the mbho 603/ka200 sound (personal preference), and am still having trouble picking a favorite between the schoeps/gefel setups, but ymmv.

Listen to some recordings from each and make up your own mind.  Both are real nice, but very different -- IMHO, the gefels have a nice warm and rich sound, but lack a bit of detail.  MBHO has the crispness and detail but lacks some warmth.  Also, I found that running the mbho's fob, they sounded "farther back" than the schoeps/etc. running around us.

[LeftoverSammy]

PM me if you want so hear some MG M200 or M210 > V3 > D8 recordings I made. I can't comment on the MBHO's since  have never owned them but I have heard several of the recorings made by these mics. I would say the MG's do have more warmth, but I wouldn't really agree they lack detail, especially with the V3 but thats just my opinion. The do have this great up-front sound, especially with the hypers as you would expect. The lowend is warm and tight, mids are amazing. Plenty of high end to go around, but not as bright as lets say the Scheops are.

The SMS2000 series, although more expensive than the M300's, will offer you more flexibilty with the removable caps than the M300's. The M300's do sound a little different than the M200's but are very close.

On the flip side, the MBHO's do have options for active cables that the MG's do not currently offer (perhaps soon??). If this is a deciding factor you may want to look at that closer if you wish for a more low profile.

Like I said, I can offer you some recordings from my rig if you wish. Some acoustic (indoors and out) and some jam band in small clubs if that helps. Good luck and take your time!! Both are great mics!!

Hope this helps,
LoS

[Cactus]

..hey now all sounds great ,  right now im just running a digimod ua5 and plan to jump onto the grace bandwagon with the new optical out v3..  i guess the only benefits i see soo far are the stealth option of the mbho , which im not fully into,  i plan to more outdoor festival/ ampitheatre type situations with the occasional civic center ,  i just didnt wanna spend say 800+ and not have an all around mic,  i love the recent recordings of the mg300 but have heard nothing indoors , thanks for the insight soo far , great to see different opinions

[phatdats]

piper,

I'm the one that made those recent alpine and creek recordings, glad you like them.... if you want to check out some indoor recordings, you can find a ton of stuff i have recorded on my server.... contents and login info can be found at : www.phatdats.com.  if you have trouble getting in (the server is kinda swamped right now with phish d/ls) let me  know and i'll set you up with a personal login....

steve

[jkoch]

On the flip side, the MBHO's do have options for active cables that the MG's do not currently offer (perhaps soon??). If this is a deciding factor you may want to look at that closer if you wish for a more low profile.

Like I said, I can offer you some recordings from my rig if you wish. Some acoustic (indoors and out) and some jam band in small clubs if that helps. Good luck and take your time!! Both are great mics!!

Hope this helps,
LoS

is it not true that you can get a jk labs setup for the mg caps, however?

[thoman8r]

On the flip side, the MBHO's do have options for active cables that the MG's do not currently offer (perhaps soon??). If this is a deciding factor you may want to look at that closer if you wish for a more low profile.

Like I said, I can offer you some recordings from my rig if you wish. Some acoustic (indoors and out) and some jam band in small clubs if that helps. Good luck and take your time!! Both are great mics!!

Hope this helps,
LoS

is it not true that you can get a jk labs setup for the mg caps, however?

Yes, you can, but they don't utilize the sms2000 bodies, they use a custom jk labs box, thus making them less than desirable to some of us who want to fully preserve the sms2000 "sound."

Plus, it's mad expensive...

[F.O.Bean]

MG's fo sure, and prolly the next set of mics id buy!

always keepin the akgs tho!!

[BobW]

MBHO question:

603 vs. 603a
Is one active and the other mike body ?
Do they sound the same ?
If not, different in what ways ?

Thanks.

-Bob

[sleepypedro]

the only difference between the 603a and 603 is the three meter active cable that allows remote placement of capsule from the mic body (eg on a stand, in a hat, in a flowerpot, etc)

absolutely identical otherwise.

i love my 603a's fo sheezy

[Rob D.]

Like mine alot too! Especially the KA500 hyper caps. I've had the 603s since '00 and have gradually purchased the omnis and then the hypers. However, if I were to do it all over again I would probably just buy the ADK TLs. Someone else put it in perspective when they broke it down to $200.00 per pattern!

[nic]

Like mine alot too! Especially the KA500 hyper caps. I've had the 603s since '00 and have gradually purchased the omnis and then the hypers. However, if I were to do it all over again I would probably just buy the ADK TLs. Someone else put it in perspective when they broke it down to $200.00 per pattern!

if you buy the pair used, you can knock it down to $150/pattern 

[super-phat-al]

my favorite combo over is

MBHO 603a/KA200s>mp-2>sbm-1

just a killer full rounded warm sound

[Nick Graham]

It doesn't get much better than 603>mp2>sbm1...those pieces of gear were made for each other. I'd put that combo up against just about any other rig.

I absolutely love running SKM140>V3, but I'm starting to miss the good old reliable MBHO rig.