Topic: Favorite Hypercardioid condenser *capsule* (and why)?

[cashandkerouac]

i had to go with "I prefer shotguns (or something else not listed here) you insensitive clod!" since my Sennheiser MKH8050 mics were not on the list.  but as a supercard, not a hypercard, perhaps it's not supposed to be on the list.  anyway, i love my 8050s regardless.

why?  very balanced across the entire frequency spectrum, excellent bass, physically compact, no need for active cables, passive remote cables make it a great solution for open taping or  , excellent side and rear noise rejection.

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i had to go with "I prefer shotguns (or something else not listed here) you insensitive clod!" since my Sennheiser MKH8050 mics were not on the list.  but as a supercard, not a hypercard, perhaps it's not supposed to be on the list. 

nope, that's an oversight on my part as some could debate that the gefell m21 isn't a true hyper card per se either, but we consider it one for discussion purposes here. I was trying to compile all of the small removable/module setups and forgot about the Senns. my bad.

[StuStu]

The MK41 is actually a supercard as well.

[acidjack]

MK41. Have owned Gefell M210, listened to and used KM150 a lot, and have hyper pattern in my 414s and would not trade the 41s for anything else. They have the most natural sound to me, with full, rich bass, crisp but not krispy highs, and a smooth midrange.

I also have the KA500 from MBHO. From two uses so far all I can conclude is that they seem "good" and have nice full bass, too. But don't think I prefer them to the 41s.

Yltfan's 4053s may well be my next favorite hypers I've heard. The raw pull I mixed down of his from them was great, and I had Schoeps, Senn and MBHO sources to compare it to.

[John Willett]

  I don't own any of those listed, but of what I've heard I like the sound of and voted for Gefell M21s.

I voted for the Gefell M21 as well (the capsule for the SMS 2000 series).

But there are other excellent super/hyper-cardioids missing from the list.

EG:-
Gefell M310
Gefell M910
Sennheiser MKH 50
Sennheiser MKH 8050
etc...

[Myco]

MG21's for me. Just like Joe had mentioned, on their own they are a nice balance within the sound spectrum of warm to bright. If used with a transformer based pre-amp though you can always add warmth if that is your desire also. Far easier to add warm in the recording stage than to try and brighten a warm recording after the fact in post in my experience. I've run the M21's with the Neve Portico 5012 & with the Aerco MP2 and IMHO, I get all the oomph of the 41's, but with none of the loss of clarity. Just my humble opinion.

[Todd R]

MG21's for me as well.  I would be curious to know what I'd think about the Milab supercards given how much I liked the Milab vm44 cards, but I've never run the supercards or even heard a recording with them.

I've owned the AKG ck63s, Gefell m21, MBHO ka500 hypers, Neumann ak50's, and currently own the Beyer mc950's.  That's from the list, I've also own the Audix m1290 with hypercard capsules (and card capsules) and have owned the AKG 393 bluelines, Charter Oak m900s, and Busman-modded Aventone ck? hypers (which are supposedly the same as the Busman mics, at least the initial version).

The Gefells to me had the best balance/tone, including an excellent midrange and sweet high end.  I've never been a fan of Schoeps mics for recording PA-amplified music, though I admit the mk41 are excellent hypers, and I can see those being the best to many people's ears.  Actually, in recent years I have been enjoying the schoeps sound more and more, though I still prefer the DPAs, Milabs, and Gefells to schoeps.

Like many here, I find the AKGs to have a sizzle to them that gets fatiguing.  I owned and ran several different versions of AKG small diaphragm mics, including the 460s, 480s, jklabs active box, and JW-mod 460s. I used to love them, but I go back to my old tapes and just don't like them as much as my other mics.

The Neumann ak50 hypers could really be a contender these days for me.  They have too much of a low end rolloff that generally makes them a bit thin.  But otherwise, they are fantastic and have excellent/even off axis response.  They take post processing and EQ really well, and it is quite easy to add back some of the rolled off low end in post.  So as is, they are not the best, but with very minimal EQ on the low end, they sound fantastic, and probably are up there with my favorite hypers.

Also, one thing I like about the Gefell m21 hypers is that they sound more natural than most hypers.  I came to the conclusion though that this might be because their pattern really lies somewhere between card and hyper, though they are listed as hypers.  The Milabs I used to own have a cardioid pattern that lies between card and hyper for many of the frequencies, though it is listed as a cardioid.  This is the reason I ultimately got rid of my Gefell m210s -- I didn't find that much difference in pattern compared to my Milabs.

BTW, I now own both the Beyer mc950 hypers and Audix m1290 hypers.  Both are excellent sounding hypers to my ear, esp for the money.  They definitely aren't Gefell, Neumann, or Schoeps quality, but with a little bit of post-processing tweaking can sound very good and make for excellent hypercard recordings.  I like both better than the MBHOs I owned and better than all the cheaper hypers I've owned.  I like the Beyer mc950s better than the AKG ck63 hypers, and may even like the Audix m1290hc better than the AKGs.  I always thought the Audix m1290s had a similar sound as the AKGs, but they don't seem to have the fatiguing sound I hear in the AKGs.

[OOK]

MG21's for me as well.  I would be curious to know what I'd think about the Milab supercards given how much I liked the Milab vm44 cards, but I've never run the supercards or even heard a recording with them.

I've owned the AKG ck63s, Gefell m21, MBHO ka500 hypers, Neumann ak50's, and currently own the Beyer mc950's.  That's from the list, I've also own the Audix m1290 with hypercard capsules (and card capsules) and have owned the AKG 393 bluelines, Charter Oak m900s, and Busman-modded Aventone ck? hypers (which are supposedly the same as the Busman mics, at least the initial version).

The Gefells to me had the best balance/tone, including an excellent midrange and sweet high end.  I've never been a fan of Schoeps mics for recording PA-amplified music, though I admit the mk41 are excellent hypers, and I can see those being the best to many people's ears.  Actually, in recent years I have been enjoying the schoeps sound more and more, though I still prefer the DPAs, Milabs, and Gefells to schoeps.

Like many here, I find the AKGs to have a sizzle to them that gets fatiguing.  I owned and ran several different versions of AKG small diaphragm mics, including the 460s, 480s, jklabs active box, and JW-mod 460s. I used to love them, but I go back to my old tapes and just don't like them as much as my other mics.

The Neumann ak50 hypers could really be a contender these days for me.  They have too much of a low end rolloff that generally makes them a bit thin.  But otherwise, they are fantastic and have excellent/even off axis response.  They take post processing and EQ really well, and it is quite easy to add back some of the rolled off low end in post.  So as is, they are not the best, but with very minimal EQ on the low end, they sound fantastic, and probably are up there with my favorite hypers.

Also, one thing I like about the Gefell m21 hypers is that they sound more natural than most hypers.  I came to the conclusion though that this might be because their pattern really lies somewhere between card and hyper, though they are listed as hypers.  The Milabs I used to own have a cardioid pattern that lies between card and hyper for many of the frequencies, though it is listed as a cardioid.  This is the reason I ultimately got rid of my Gefell m210s -- I didn't find that much difference in pattern compared to my Milabs.

BTW, I now own both the Beyer mc950 hypers and Audix m1290 hypers.  Both are excellent sounding hypers to my ear, esp for the money.  They definitely aren't Gefell, Neumann, or Schoeps quality, but with a little bit of post-processing tweaking can sound very good and make for excellent hypercard recordings.  I like both better than the MBHOs I owned and better than all the cheaper hypers I've owned.  I like the Beyer mc950s better than the AKG ck63 hypers, and may even like the Audix m1290hc better than the AKGs.  I always thought the Audix m1290s had a similar sound as the AKGs, but they don't seem to have the fatiguing sound I hear in the AKGs.

Nice write up.    OOK

[SmokinJoe]

I've owned the AKG ck63s, Gefell m21, MBHO ka500 hypers, Neumann ak50's, and currently own the Beyer mc950's.  That's from the list, I've also own the Audix m1290 with hypercard capsules (and card capsules) and have owned the AKG 393 bluelines, Charter Oak m900s, and Busman-modded Aventone ck? hypers (which are supposedly the same as the Busman mics, at least the initial version).

Every time I start to think I have a serious problem with over the top sluttage, I read a post like this, and I don't feel so bad. 

[OOK]

I've owned the AKG ck63s, Gefell m21, MBHO ka500 hypers, Neumann ak50's, and currently own the Beyer mc950's.  That's from the list, I've also own the Audix m1290 with hypercard capsules (and card capsules) and have owned the AKG 393 bluelines, Charter Oak m900s, and Busman-modded Aventone ck? hypers (which are supposedly the same as the Busman mics, at least the initial version).

Every time I start to think I have a serious problem with over the top sluttage, I read a post like this, and I don't feel so bad. 

Ah Hello... denial is just not a river in Egypt....

8 Mics: Schoeps CMMT30,MK241 / Gefell M200,M20,M21 / ADK-TL / AKG 460's,CK61's,CK8's,CK1X's / AT853's / DPA4061's
Pres: V3 / Littlebox / ST9100
Decks: Oade Concert Mod R4Pro / Busman Hybrid R4 / R09 / R05 / Korg MR-1
Big Rig: split snake > Focusrite & Presonus Pres > ADAT > Alesis HD-24
Daughter's rig:  AT4050ST > Busman Hybrid R4

[cashandkerouac]

the AKG ck8 capsule is also worth mentioning.  i consider it a short shotgun, but AKG calls it a hyper.  it gives me a more "reach" compared to the MKH8050 and is an excellent solution when recording from the OTS.  the ck8 also has good bass response and a smooth high end.   

[page]

the AKG ck8 capsule is also worth mentioning.  i consider it a short shotgun, but AKG calls it a hyper.  it gives me a more "reach" compared to the MKH8050 and is an excellent solution when recording from the OTS.  the ck8 also has good bass response and a smooth high end.   

dpa's 4017 is considered a hyper as well, but it's really a shotgun for most intents and purposes here.

everyone's a critic.   

[Myco]

I've owned the AKG ck63s, Gefell m21, MBHO ka500 hypers, Neumann ak50's, and currently own the Beyer mc950's.  That's from the list, I've also own the Audix m1290 with hypercard capsules (and card capsules) and have owned the AKG 393 bluelines, Charter Oak m900s, and Busman-modded Aventone ck? hypers (which are supposedly the same as the Busman mics, at least the initial version).

Every time I start to think I have a serious problem with over the top sluttage, I read a post like this, and I don't feel so bad. 

You are a slut Joe, just admit it. 

[ts]

As long as we're talking fatigue. My old rig: JW's>CK63>V3. That rig took fatigue to a whole new level.

[F.O.Bean]

As long as we're talking fatigue. My old rig: JW's>CK63>V3. That rig took fatigue to a whole new level.

You need 41s not 4s