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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: F717 on November 30, 2023, 03:11:29 AM

Title: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on November 30, 2023, 03:11:29 AM
I think we all understand current situation with shipping in Russia today.
Whether you are supporter of things going on or not, getting stuff shipped from US or Europe is mostly pain in the ass. Anyway, we ain't here to discuss politics.

As of now I'm recording with internal mics of my Tascam DR-07X, which I managed to get before prices doubling up and for some time I though of going bigger and getting first mics, more particularly stealth ones. Why stealth? Because taping in Russia is still a wild-wild west and you can count on fingers the people who care of it, understand its purpose and allow it.

My budget is 200-300$. At some point, I considered to get OKMIIs 'Classic' because some stores still have them in stock, however I also read on TS that they are not handling loud rock concerts that well.

Do you guys have any other good variants on cheap stealth mics? Maybe some that are manufactured in Europe or Asia?  :hmmm:
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: pillowman on November 30, 2023, 05:27:32 AM
don't buy those OKM classic mics,
those are not usefull for what you want to record.

I can highly recommend some Sennheiser ME104 mics,
those are my go to mics and those can handle high sound pressure without any modification or something.

I have one pair for sale and it would fit into your budget,
if you need more information pm me,
cheers !
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: moondust.and.solitude on November 30, 2023, 01:36:05 PM
I have used in those OKM mics (I still have them) but like Pillowman mentioned I would seriously think about the Sennheiser ME104's. There is nothing that they can't handle. High SPL, no problem. Acoustic, no problem. Very versitile mics.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: moondust.and.solitude on November 30, 2023, 01:39:31 PM
As for shipping to/from Russia, I have purchased several CDs since the War began and it's been averaging 3 weeks. Not too bad.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: audBall on November 30, 2023, 05:13:31 PM
Nevaton perhaps?

http://nevaton.eu/actual-situation/

No affiliation, obviously, but here are some MKE-400 lavaliers on Reverb located in Kazakhstan.

https://reverb.com/item/73997724-nevaton-mke-400-former-lomo-rare-post-soviet-electret-lavalier-microphones
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on December 01, 2023, 01:05:16 AM
I have used in those OKM mics (I still have them) but like Pillowman mentioned I would seriously think about the Sennheiser ME104's. There is nothing that they can't handle. High SPL, no problem. Acoustic, no problem. Very versitile mics.

Thanks for suggestions!

These Sennheisers seam to be an interesting option. I looked up if anybody is still selling them here and their prices went up to 500$  :shrug:

Nevaton is also an interesting option, these are done in St. Petersburg and probably is the most easiest route to go by, yet their prices are also quite bitting so I gotta think about it. Other mics that I know are manufactured here are Oktava and Soyuz, any opinions on them? Ive seen people in US use them sometimes yet idk if they fit stealth scenario. I also seen used Rode NT5s on Avito, these seem to be quite popular too.

Wildest option that I found would be to get soviet-era МКЭ-271 modified to XLR, they are very cheap and are very usable today, from what I heard, but at a same time they are very old (early-mid 1970s) and I'm not sure if they are really reliable lol.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: goodcooker on December 01, 2023, 08:49:01 AM

Those Nevaton MKE400 are amazing sounding mics. They have a bit of high frequency response lift that makes them great for audience taping.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on December 01, 2023, 11:47:46 AM

Those Nevaton MKE400 are amazing sounding mics. They have a bit of high frequency response lift that makes them great for audience taping.

I listened to various LMA tapes and they indeed sound great. Problem is that I can't seam to find them even in used state on any listing sites like Avito or Youla. I do see a few of them on Reverb tho, maybe I'll try to get a good deal there if I'll figure out shipping, haha :DD
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: if_then_else on December 01, 2023, 12:38:55 PM
I have used in those OKM mics (I still have them) but like Pillowman mentioned I would seriously think about the Sennheiser ME104's. There is nothing that they can't handle. High SPL, no problem. Acoustic, no problem. Very versitile mics.

Thanks for suggestions!

These Sennheisers seam to be an interesting option. I looked up if anybody is still selling them here and their prices went up to 500$  :shrug:

Nevaton is also an interesting option, these are done in St. Petersburg and probably is the most easiest route to go by, yet their prices are also quite bitting so I gotta think about it. Other mics that I know are manufactured here are Oktava and Soyuz, any opinions on them? Ive seen people in US use them sometimes yet idk if they fit stealth scenario. I also seen used Rode NT5s on Avito, these seem to be quite popular too.

Wildest option that I found would be to get soviet-era МКЭ-271 modified to XLR, they are very cheap and are very usable today, from what I heard, but at a same time they are very old (early-mid 1970s) and I'm not sure if they are really reliable lol.

I've got a matched pair of Soyuz 013 FET-MAC-B microphones and they're fantastic sounding mics. However, they're big and heavy and not in your price range, either.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on December 03, 2023, 08:35:55 AM
I have used in those OKM mics (I still have them) but like Pillowman mentioned I would seriously think about the Sennheiser ME104's. There is nothing that they can't handle. High SPL, no problem. Acoustic, no problem. Very versitile mics.

What about Sony ECM stereo mics? They are cheap and were used a lot in 90-00s and handle the volume quite well and there are a few that can be ordered in used state in Russia. Its not that I'm going to ultra-loud concerts like metalhead ones, but there sometimes can be situations where I can get quite close to the stacks.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: pillowman on December 03, 2023, 11:26:55 AM
I have used in those OKM mics (I still have them) but like Pillowman mentioned I would seriously think about the Sennheiser ME104's. There is nothing that they can't handle. High SPL, no problem. Acoustic, no problem. Very versitile mics.

What about Sony ECM stereo mics? They are cheap and were used a lot in 90-00s and handle the volume quite well and there are a few that can be ordered in used state in Russia. Its not that I'm going to ultra-loud concerts like metalhead ones, but there sometimes can be situations where I can get quite close to the stacks.

SONY lavalier mics are mostly sounding harsh, thin and have a bad bass response. Those bigger SONY mics are bulky and more difficult to go stealth.
just my 2 cents .. better save some money and went on to another route ..

here is something I recorded last night with my go to mics SENNHEISER ME104,
those mics are not well known but to my ears they are underrated and very good sounding.
Build quality is very good and with the removable caps you are very versatile ..

the sample is for everyone who never heard of those little SENNHEISER's ..  :yahoo:

here you go:

Download-Link
https://we.tl/t-awREeQ1eCx

good for 7 days ..
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: bonghitwillie on December 03, 2023, 10:13:26 PM
i think sound professionals make something that handles high spl. they usually wire 2 mics into a batt box and then stereo 1/8" trs out to your recorder. i think the sp mics are less then $300. i use dpa4061s and you can get a foot away from pa speakers and they do not distort. but they are expensive. i also have some church cardiod mics that need alot of spl for them to work, but i use them when i cant get close.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on December 04, 2023, 01:32:16 AM
i think sound professionals make something that handles high spl. they usually wire 2 mics into a batt box and then stereo 1/8" trs out to your recorder. i think the sp mics are less then $300. i use dpa4061s and you can get a foot away from pa speakers and they do not distort. but they are expensive. i also have some church cardiod mics that need alot of spl for them to work, but i use them when i cant get close.

Lol, I've seen SP-CMC-4U for 32 bucks (!!!) on Ebay not that long ago and considered using a delivery service for purchased goods from the USA to get em here (shipping costs 40-60$ aprox, sometimes bigger), but I'm not sure if there's something wrong with them cause who'd sell them from such a steal price...unless they are having some problems I guess.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: pillowman on December 04, 2023, 06:14:01 AM
i think sound professionals make something that handles high spl. they usually wire 2 mics into a batt box and then stereo 1/8" trs out to your recorder. i think the sp mics are less then $300. i use dpa4061s and you can get a foot away from pa speakers and they do not distort. but they are expensive. i also have some church cardiod mics that need alot of spl for them to work, but i use them when i cant get close.

Lol, I've seen SP-CMC-4U for 32 bucks (!!!) on Ebay not that long ago and considered using a delivery service for purchased goods from the USA to get em here (shipping costs 40-60$ aprox, sometimes bigger), but I'm not sure if there's something wrong with them cause who'd sell them from such a steal price...unless they are having some problems I guess.

please keep in mind for loud, amplified concerts those AT853 need the low sense modification !
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: Psinka on December 04, 2023, 08:41:40 AM
Hi, F717
If you want order something to Russia you can use mailforwarders like https://pochtoy.com/ or similar
I brought here on TS some stuff from darktrain and other members and use this mailforwarder to ship in Moscow)

Do you tape open or  >:D ?  Wich bands and where?

I think for now it's not good time to start taping  (((
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on December 04, 2023, 08:58:50 AM
Hi, F717
If you want order something to Russia you can use mailforwarders like https://pochtoy.com/ or similar
I brought here on TS some stuff from darktrain and other members and use this mailforwarder to ship in Moscow)

Do you tape open or  >:D ?  Wich bands and where?

I think for now it's not good time to start taping  (((

Hey fellow Moscow citizen!

I record various music - jazz bands, underground rock bands, classical concerts and etc. I'm mostly taping in stealth, yet I made friends with some of the bands that I've shown my recordings to and they are ok with me doing it (so basically its open for them). Closest venue to me is Eldar Kino Club, yet I also go to Esse Club, Sklad №3, Tsaritsyno Palace and etc. In future, I'm planning to record bigger artists that are worth paying the tickets for (lol), but so far most of the stadium/arena concerts are occupied with bands that are either not affordable / not in my taste / i dislike for non-musical reasons.
You mentioned it being "not good time to start taping" and I strongly disagree. Now that most of the concert goers are more focused to record vids from cams, I think taping of small bands is especially important, cause some of them don't even reach a point of recording a studio record. In case of bigger bands, I'm usually not satisfied with phone recording clips that show up in cuts of Instagram and YT, why not record a full show in good quality?   :coolguy:

Anyway we were talking about the mics :DD
Yes, I'm planning to use the mail-forwards for further purchases, but I'm still thinking of variants of which mics to get...

P.S - must say that your recordings were one of the things that inspired me to start taping, thank you for your work.
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: F717 on April 29, 2024, 09:36:36 AM
Just a small update since many months had passed by since I asked this question.

On winter holidays I got Behringer C-2 pair as a present from my sister. They are a good budget mics for myself to get used to using externals instead internals.

Maybe at some point later I'll grab something else (probably when going abroad, cause there will be greater range in selection of products than in Moscow)

 :guitarist:
Title: Re: good mics to buy or ship to Russia?
Post by: rocksuitcase on April 29, 2024, 01:59:32 PM
Thanks for the update.
You guys all be careful wherever you stealth!    >:D 8)