Topic: Mic upgrade help

[nickgregory]

Yep, I run the MG 200s, and have done so with a handful of configurations and love them....no more mic changes for me, except for getting the JK Labs active setup. 

First, my description of the MG20s, without comparing them to other mics (dont want to offend anyone).  They have a very flat response to me across the spectrum until you get to the upper end, which is slightly emphasized.  The mids are fantastic and detailed, and the low end is very accurate.  The highs are detailed as well, but are emphasized slightly in the mix.  This makes the MG20s damn near perfect for recording rock shows, and really any other show that has significant low end in the mix...the upper end emphasis helps to balance out the lows.  For acoustic shows, I have found that depending on what is paired with the MGs that the upper end can be a bit fatiguing.  I ran the MG20s with the MP2->Mod SBM1 and a V3.

For the MP2->Mod SBM1, I found that the acoustic type shows sounded solid, not fatiguing, but had an exaggerated low end, which while pleasing to the ear, were not accurate to what the show sounded like.  On the flip side, for rock shows I found the MP2->Mod SBM1 fantastic...nice fat, warm sound, very easy on the ears.  Only problem was that for a show like mule in a boomy venue, the MP2->Mod SBM1 was too much for most playback systems.

The V3 coupled with the MG20s gave me a very detailed recording....I dont know how else to describe it, other than to say that I feel like I heard each individual note defined vs a combination of the whole (dumb description I know).  Made for really fantastic recordings of my first handful of shows with it, which happened to be rock shows, which didnt need the bass emphasized like the MP2->Mod SBM1 combo can do.  However, for acoustic shows, the V3 coupled with the MG20s could produce some tapes that were so detailed that they wer hard to listen to...given that the music was mostly from the upper end of the spectrum.  This is what I defined as fatiguing.  Given that I did make a fantastic acoustic MG20->V3 tape (tres tangled truckers) that didnt exhibit the "brittleness" so to speak, so the fatiguing effect could actually be coming from the way the engineer ran the PA for acoustic shows.

I have since sold everything except the mics and am waiting for delivery of my 722, so more tests to follow....initial view of the sound after one show with a buddies 722, the MGs coupled with it created a tape that was somewhere in between the MP2->Mod SBM1 combo and the V3...more detail than the former, but warmer than the latter...

hope this helps...

oh yeah, here are some tapes on the archive with MG20->V3

http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=20988

http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=20989

I also have a mule show made with it I would be happy to send to you if interested...let me know.

Nick

[jnorman34]

i've owned schoeps cmc64s, DPA 4011s, km184s, gefell m300s, rode NT5s, c391b's, r-121s, and many others, and i can honestly say the AKG C480/ck61 is by far the best quality for the money you can get (IMO).  the c481s are wonderfully neutral and transparent, and nearly interchangeable with my 4011s in sonic character.  i use the 481s on nearly everything in my studio, and they are a near perfect ORTF pair for remote work.  i dont think you can do much better no matter how much you spend.

[marc0789]

i've owned schoeps cmc64s, DPA 4011s, km184s, gefell m300s, rode NT5s, c391b's, r-121s, and many others, and i can honestly say the AKG C480/ck61 is by far the best quality for the money you can get (IMO).  the c481s are wonderfully neutral and transparent, and nearly interchangeable with my 4011s in sonic character.  i use the 481s on nearly everything in my studio, and they are a near perfect ORTF pair for remote work.  i dont think you can do much better no matter how much you spend.

nearly interchangeable with 4011....mebbe, other than the midrange. world of difference imo.

[creekfreak]

get a pair of these...





http://www.gefell-mics.com/grp_1_prod_1.htm

[dklein]

If you like the KM140s and don't need an active setup, then the KM-184s are worth a look.  Same mic, fixed capsule.  Very reasonably priced given the other stuff you're looking at.  I've been very pleased with mine, especially since feeding them into a Grace pre.  I won't bother describing the sound - there's lots of samples out there and I find that even when we're all listening to the same comparison we can't seem to agree on which source is 'darker' or 'muddy' or 'etched' or whatever words people like to use.

As far as tonal characteristics go, I use eq whenever I think it will increase my enjoyment.  I think that trying to find a mic that sounds right for different bands, venues, sound guys and p.a. systems is an exercise in futility...if that's what you record.  Studio work is a whole other game.

If you tried a used pair of 184s I'm sure you could flip them for even money.  But hell, a used pair of Schoeps turned out to be a great investment over the last few years.  The used set I saw for $1700 a year and a half ago will fetch $2500 today!  Stupid market forces 

[jeromejello]

I prefer a tighter, compact low end as opposed to a fat, loose bottom end.

who doesn't 

sorry i am no help...