Topic: What sounds like this?

[JasonSobel]

well, if you're still considering the range of options for "active style" mics, definitely include the CK930 on the list of listening.  here's one of my favorites so far with the mics:
http://www.archive.org/details/clubdelf2009-07-10.ck930.flac16

you'll probably want to do a lot more listening before you make any decisions, and if you search for mc930 recordings (the full body version of the mic), the sound is just about identical, and there's a lot more people using the mc930 version, so you'll be able to find more examples.

[Todd R]

Chuck -- those are good suggestions, I'll have to start putting together a listening library like that!

Page -- I'd say you're right that different patterns would yield a slightly different sound, but assuming all the mics you have have decent off-axis response and that it is no more difference than angles of 110 compared to 90, IME those differences will be subtle, much moreso than the actual tonality of the mics.  In theory, the wider pattern of DIN (20cm) compared to ORTF (17cm) would make the ORTF pair sound a bit more bright since it would have less phase cancellation than the DIN pair, which affects high frequencies more due to their wavelength.  This would be very subtle.  OTOH, the ORTF pair would be more off-axis and most mics, even good ones, have relatively worse off axis response at high frequencies.  So this wider angle would make the ORTF pair sound less bright than the DIN pair.  Still though, for rough estimations regarding a mic's general character, I think the tonality of the mic will be more of a factor than ORTF vs DIN patterns.

You should do some listening of your mic compared to other mic brands at the same show.  Perhaps you've already got taping friends you've taped by that you can get copies of their recordings.  Or go to the Archive.  After a quick search, I saw there were some TLG shows that were taped with both the Busman mic and AKG 461's and 481's.  Listen to the busman compared to those and see what you think.  The AKGs are generally viewed to be somewhere on the neutral/transparent scale, with some finding them to be a bit detailed or brightish (but not dark).  There also is an archive DBT show with the Busman LD and a pair of schoeps.  Most find the schoeps to be on the darker side, or at least on the scale of dark to neutral.  By listening to the Busman compared to AKGs and schoeps, you might be better able to place at least roughly where on the scale you find the BSCS to be.

[datbrad]

Just to be clear -- I find the beyers to be on the darker side too.  The first post seemed to be asking for brighter mics, but with all the comments on the milabs, I thought Page wasn't looking for brighter mics.

Again, everyone has their own tastes, but if the milabs and neumanns are too bright, I don't think the mbhos would be labeled less bright.

thats just it, this may be a case of ignorance on my part. I've listened to stuff, but if I run at 110 coincident and you run at 80-95 with spacing, our tapes (in theory) should sound different due to time delay phase cancelation and off-axis response. Sometimes I think what I've got is bright, sometimes I don't think so, not really sure since I have too many factors (rooms and mixes, and random ineptitude) to reconcile my own equipment, let alone against someone elses. To make matters slightly worse (or at least not any better), I don't have any analytical data that tells me how the mic is inclined one way or another to use as a baseline.

ignorence. 

You may actually like those Beyers, Grayson. I did not think about those, and they are more affordable new than the 184s are new, that's for sure. I have not used Beyer's condensers, but back in the early-mid '80s, I ran both M160 ribbons and M88 dynamics taping Grateful Dead shows, and really liked the sound of the brand.