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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: caymanreview on May 06, 2003, 09:39:40 PM
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whats everyones opinion on this piece of equipment
any advice would be appreciated
i havent decided on mics yet to run, im taking a few listens before i decide, but happened to find a Denecke AD-20 for a decent price
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For a starter rig, it can't be beat in my opinion. Granted the UA5 is probably better, but how much do used UA5's go for and how much do used AD/20's go for?
It's small, compact and easy as hell to use. I owned one for a while and it produced some good tapes.
Again, this is all my opinion.
-JB
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Yep, I agree. Great for the money and very stealthable! Brightens things up, quiets them down, and kinda professionalizes it all.
The only thing I find fault with is the cybal decay is a little too crispy for me. Other than that... ;)
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what mics are you looking at?
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thanks alot guys
i havent really seen any around used as of lately, but micsupply has a used/new condition for 250
any more opinions would be great too
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im looking into gefell m300's, adk 51tls, and akg 391s at the moment
no decision till i listen to some fellow ts members recordings!
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yea, I remeber your other post....any of those should be solid.
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im looking into gefell m300's, adk 51tls, and akg 391s at the moment
no decision till i listen to some fellow ts members recordings!
I have a couple of 391(3)>B-18s>AT CP8201 (transformers)>Mod SBM-1>D100 if you want to take a listen. I am also using an MP-2 for the first time in my rig tomorrow (replace B18s and AT CP8201 - everything else stays the same) for particle, so I can make that available as well.
Let me know...
Nick
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I am using one right now with my startup rig. I think it sounds great with my AKG c1000s.
If you want a tape shoot me a line and i could do a bnp for ya or check on Jonnys server in a couple of days and i should have something up over there.
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I ran an AD-20 with the AKG 391s / 393s, with Gefell M210s, and with Core Sound Binaurals. I really liked the unit a lot. You can easily find a used one for closer to $200 if you wait around for someone to unload theirs on one of the boards.
There is a Black Crowes show on Jonny's server that I recorded with AKG 393 > BPS-1 > AD-20 > D8 if you are interested in hearing how it sounds with the D8. I liked the AD-20 a lot better with the AKGs and CSBs than with the Gefells. The Gefells are a higher class of microphone and brutally exhibited the flaws of the AD-20.
The AD-20 has an excellent midrange and would make a hell of a standalone A/D converter if they took out the damn preamp section. The problem with the unit is as Armen stated, bright on the cymbal decay and other very high frequency sounds to the point of being fatiguing after a while. It also has a somewhat loose bass response and can overload pretty easily when taping very loud sources. All in all, a great piece of equipment for the price.
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whats everyones take on a Graham Patten D-MIC20 ?
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whats everyones take on a Graham Patten D-MIC20 ?
I agree with Jamie and Armen's take on the AD-20. Nice box, minor flaws. Any pre/ADC at that price will have minor flaws. And yeah, sure would be nice if they removed the pre - a small, portable, stealthable ADC if I ever saw one!
To my ears, the GP DMIC-20 and ADC-20 both have very nice detail and instrument separation - better detail than anything else in its price range that I've heard. But, at the same time, they're very "digital" sounding to me, a little edgy and artificial. (This is difficult for me to put it into words, obviously, maybe I should go back and re-listen to some of those recordings).
I actually prefer the M1/D100 ADC to the GP DMIC-20 or ADC-20. But there are lots of folks who really like the GP pre/ADC.
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so if the m1 adc is a decent one, i have a m1 by the way
what would you use for a pre and go straight into my m1?
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so if the m1 adc is a decent one, i have a m1 by the way
what would you use for a pre and go straight into my m1?
I'd throw as much money as I could at the mics and run:
mics > PS-2 > line transformers > M1.
As many folks have stated before (prolly gonna put this in the archive section with a longer write-up), you'll get the most bang for your buck in terms of finding the sound you want by focusing on gear in this order:
[1] mics
[2] pre
[3] ADC
Some will reverse [2] and [3], but I haven't heard anyone dispute [1].
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i know where a ps-2 is for sale
but what about line transformers? what to buy? where?
thanks everyone for the advice!
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I would second Brian on the mics but I would go this route:
mics->pre->m1
For about $1000 you can get a new pair of AKG 393s and used mp2.
My tapes from the 2-26-03 Phish show were used with this setup and came out fantastic (to my ears anyway)
Shoot me an email if you'd like a copy.
Phish
2-26-03 Worcester, MA
(DFC/OTS) AKG se300b/ck93 -> mp2 -> D7
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Oh yea......I also ran AKG c1000s -> ad-20 -> d7 and liked the results....a bit much on the high end but I *thought* it was the mics. Never got to run the 393s with it. Definately worth the investment! I'd love to be able to disable the pre in one of these and run 393s->mp2->ad-20->d7 :D
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i know where a ps-2 is for sale
but what about line transformers? what to buy? where?
thanks everyone for the advice!
Any of these will do (from the archive section):
Audio Technica (http://www.audiotechnica.com)
CP8201
CP8305 (long cable, probably don't need this one)
Hosa (http://www.hosatech.com)
MIT-176
Shure (http://www.shure.com)
A85F
Radio shack offers one, too, I think. Regardless of which you go with, you'll need two - one for each mic. Should cost around $40 for the pair. If your local music store doesn't have them or can't get them for you, I know Oade Bros carries the Hosa line transformer.
Brian C's suggestion is a great one, too - lots of MP2s floating around these days. Just gotta ask yourself: would you rather spend more money on mics now and buy the pre later, or buy mics and pre and upgrade the mics later? Or...maybe you wouldn't upgrade at all. Who knows! That's part of the fun, IMO (this from an acknowledged gear slut!). :P
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If you're going to go with the AD-20, just be sure you don't run a preamp in front of it. Your levels will run way too high.
Also, I strongly recommend you modify the knobs. Setting the levels with an un-modded AD-20 is tough in a concert setting because the knobs are so damn tiny. If you have itty bitty dainty fingers, no problem. Otherwise, superglue some washers or Legos or ANYTHING to the fronts of the knobs so you have something to grip while you set the levels.
I recently purchased a used Apogee ad500e for $200 + tax/shipping. Then I bought a 12v battery & 15-pin cable from Pro Digital to power it for about $145, but you can find them cheaper used. You might be able to hunt around for a similar bargain for a great piece of equipment like that. However, unlike the AD-20, your levels will be too LOW if you don't run a preamp in front of the ad500e (could be an added expense for you). Just some thoughts for you.