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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: adamrparr on March 25, 2015, 05:15:16 PM
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Hey All. I'm drowning in a sea of unending choices, information, prices, etc. I'm hoping to benefit from your experience & expertise.
Long story short, I'm going to start taping Panic shows again pretty shortly, and have to buy some new mics. I simply don't know what to choose, and why. My current mics are years old, and simply don't function anymore. (Mini cardioid stereo.)
I'm recording into a Roland/Edirol R-09HR digital recorder. http://www.rolandus.com/products/r-09hr/ (http://www.rolandus.com/products/r-09hr/)
I need to remain somewhat budget-conscious, though I am certainly open to a power supply/bass roll-off box, if need be.
What would you recommend for someone like me, who's getting back into taping, and who wants to get reliable, reasonably high quality without breaking the bank? Reasons behind your suggestions?
Many thanks in advance for your help & feedback.
Adam
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For the very budget conscious minded taper:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172254.0
$99 gets you back in the game with a new set of mini-cards.
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Many thanks! I'll read that shortly. After doing some more reading on here, it seems that many people are steering toward the Church Audio stuff, and the CA 14 pair seem like a good choice. I wouldn't be opposed to spending about $300, but I don't really want to spend much more than that at this point.
It's also pretty obvious that many people are die-hard Schoeps fans, and I suppose peerless quality is the reason, but unless there are cheaper Schoeps options than what I've already run across, I'm not in a position to drop approx. $1,000 on mics, power supply, etc.
Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance for any advice.
Adam
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I used the MBHO's for years and really enjoyed them. I'm not familiar with this exact pair and how they compare to the 603's. Somewhat similar sound to Schoeps with maybe a bit less low end. Great value..
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172193.0
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Either Nakamichi CM300 or clones. Classic mics...were used to record many Dead concerts.
Spyder9 has a re-branded pair for $150 here or they show up on ebay all the time for around $75 to $100 each...
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172296.0
One of the best sounding recordings I made with them.
https://archive.org/details/sts92012-06-29.me80_24bit
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Fantastic! Thanks so much guys. This was exactly the kind of response I was hoping for.
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CA-14's are outstanding for the price. My CA14's running through the CA-9100 preamp into my Sony PCM M10 has produced some of the most consistently great recordings. I've had them up against different, more expensive rigs to compare, and they have always delivered solid results.
You can't go wrong with those mics, but be prepared to wait approx 6 weeks for them. There was a CA9100 up in the yard sale recently… here you go: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172235.msg2132876#msg2132876
Church discontinued those, so if you can snag one you should.
Another option is the AT853 package from tgakidis. I bought one from him a couple of months ago and am so happy with that purchase. Qualitly is evident in every piece and you can't really beat the value. $200 and you have the option of plugging straight into a deck with plug in power, or you can use the phantom power modules for a deck with xlr inputs and phantom power.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=171726.msg2127155#msg2127155
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172176.0
Good luck!
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Since you mentioned wanting to record Panic, here is an example of Church Audio stuff at their Chicago show last summer.
CA-14 cards > CA-9100 > DR-2d
http://www.panicstream.com/vault/widespread-panic-06202014-chicago-il/
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I came in to say what tonedeaf said. You'll have to watch the YS and Ebay closely but some will pop up. The problem with those on Ebay is often a seller won't know how to check the mics or even check if the battery is corroded inside... There's some luck involved unfortunately. Patience is key.
CA mics are a great bargain and sound way better than they cost. The huge difference between the CAs and the Naks is the size. CA-11s and CA-14s are small and can be adapted for stealth too. But if you are only running open, you might not mind having full-bodied Naks or other mics.
If you have the budget, go and get a 4ch rig. You can do it for slightly more than the $300 budget. That way you have open and stealth options, and can run two pairs of mics at once. DR-2d has 4 channels (but recorded to separate files), that's around 100-130. You can get CAs for around 100, and a pair of Naks for around 100 (if lucky, you gotta watch the sites). There's a lot of options but that's what I would recommend in that price range.
WSP Lockn '14 / CA-14s(C) - http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=577182 (http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=577182)
WSP Lockn '14 / Nak CM-100s/CP-1s - http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=575366 (http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=575366)
WSP Starlight '14 / Nak CM-100s/CP-1s + CA-11 Center Omni - http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=575365 (http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=575365)
WSP Starlight '14 / Nak CM-100s/CP-1s (no center omni) - http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=573414 (http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=573414)
WSP Lincoln '14 / Nak CM-100s/CP-1s - http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=573412 (http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=573412)