Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: Myco on October 02, 2004, 05:10:38 PM
-
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this board. I've been taping for years, but mainly as a patcher. I have a set of AT-853's & the bass roll-off/battery box with level controls right now. I'm looking to upgrade to some mid-level mics. Could someone knowledgable be able to summarize some of the models in this class range for me? I've heard some good things about ADK's & DPA's but I need some advice. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Myco
-
Depending on your definition of "mid-level", any of the following (and many others) may fit, in no particular order:
ADK A51TL (multi patterns)
ADK SC-1 (fixed pattern)
Audix Micros M1290 (cards, though hypers and omnis may also be available)
MBHO 603 or 603A + KAxx caps (interchangable caps, x denotes cap pattern)
Neumann KM18x (fixed pattern, x denotes pattern)
AKG SE300B + CK9x caps (interchangable caps, x denotes cap pattern; also known collectively as AKG 39x)
AKG C480B + CK6x caps (interchangable caps, x denotes cap pattern; also known collectively as AKG 48x)
Microtech Gefell M300 (cards)
DPA 406x (omnis only)
Earthworks SR71 (cards)
Earthworks SR77 (cards)
Oktava MC012 (interchangable caps)
Audio Technica 4041 (cards)
Audio Technica 4051 (hypers)
Studio Projects C4 (interchangable caps, cards and omnis)
I'm sure there are others I've forgotten. Your best bet is to listen to recordings with the mics in which you might be interested to see if you enjoy their sound. Rather than detailing the sonic characteristics as perceived by other tapers for each mic that may or may not fit your definition of "mid-level", tell us what kind of sound you like in your mics and we can try to identify mics that share those sonic characteristics. Basically, we need more information:
[1] What mics were used in live recordings to which you really enjoy listening?
[2] What sonic characteristics do you appreciate or dislike in recordings you've heard?
[3] What's your budget?
[4] Are you looking for mics only (w/ power supply, of course), or mics + preamp, or mics + preamp + ADC?
[5] Open taping or stealth or both?
-
nice work brian
-
brian-
gotta make a correction- Studio Projects C4, not CP4
-
gotta make a correction- Studio Projects C4, not CP4
Fixed. Thanks, Jonny.
-
since you are going to (most likely) need a phantom power supply along with new mics anyway, why not mod the 853's to accept phantom and try that 1st?
-
the cheapest upgrade you can make is to get those mics modified for phantom
-
Thanks everyone for your input! I will look into what you've told me.
-
slight correction to above - the AT 4041 and 4051 are both cards - the 4051 is a considerable improvement over the 4041, btw.
of all the mics listed, the akg c480s are generally the flattest response, and therefore, generally the most useable in a variety of situations. many of hte mics listed have high-end lifts, which can flatter some sources, but can be devastating to others. it is far easier to add a bit of top end EQ to a flat mic than to round off the top on a mic that has given you a harsh top end recording. i have owned and used many of the mics listed, and would suggest that the little akg c391b's are a good starting point for anyone. a bit up the ladder are the neumann km184s and gefell m300s, both of which can be made to work on most sources, though they often must be used lisghtly off-axis to avoid being too bright. the little DPA 406x series are great for very close applications, somehat noisy at a distance or on soft sources. further up the food chain, the gefell 295s with nickel diaprhagms, the schoeps cmc641s, and DPA 4011s are all superb. my main mics at this time are DPA 4011s and akg c481s for almost everything, with pairs of AT 4051s when i need a little bit brighter mic, and dpa 4061s for very tight spot micing or direct mounting on an instrument. while i have also been through a number of LD mics, i have never liked the poor off-axis response of LDs, and often will use a good SD condenser even on vocals in the studio. i generally advise people to bite the bullet and invest in the most expensive mics and other gear that you can - way too many people fall into the trap of thinking they can get away with cheap gear, only to find themselves quickly dissatisfied, and losing money on every trade-up that they make. if you cannot afford to buy all high-end gear at once, buy at least one piece of pro-quality stuff (starting with mics, then preamps, etc down the signal chain), and upgrade the rest piece-by-piece. avoid intermediate steps. investing in good gear to begin with gives you good results from the get-go, and high-end gear will hold its value far better than cheap stuff when it comes time to sell it. good luck.
-
just to clear up the confusion on the audio technica 4051a's. the body is the 4900 series.
adding the caps omni, hyper and card. these are way better than the 4041's
omni - 4049a
card - 4051a
hyper - 4053a
these mics can be found on ebay usually for anywhere between 500-900 a set depending on the
retailer and/or used salesman
-
I would also suggest for you to unmod those mics. I think mine are pretty bodacious, and although I have never had ones powered by a battery box, I have heard that running phantom power into them improves their response dramatically.
I would go far enough to say that I am liking them almost as much as the TL's- both sonically and for their convenience.
Look at DPA 4061's too. Ebay has em.
-
just to clear up the confusion on the audio technica 4051a's. the body is the 4900 series.
adding the caps omni, hyper and card. these are way better than the 4041's
omni - 4049a
card - 4051a
hyper - 4053a
these mics can be found on ebay usually for anywhere between 500-900 a set depending on the
retailer and/or used salesman
I kinda miss my at4051a's.... :)
I woulldn't mind picking up another set for the heck of it... but think I'll get some Gefells or something first :)
-Jim