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Post by thehightenor on May 2, 2022 12:45:07 GMT -6
This thread reminded me THE best SDC I ever used (I've now sold) was when I owned the BLUE Big Bottle mic system.
I bought the B1 SDC capsule for the system (it was pretty expensive) but boy what a fantastic sound - really stunning.
Only thing is the Bottle body is flippin' huge and so the practicalities of using in a small project studio room was a problem.
I eventually sold the system, as the vocal caps were a disappointment on my voice - but that B1 SDC cap on the Big Blue Bottle was a genuine WOW!
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Post by Omicron9 on May 3, 2022 9:18:07 GMT -6
Oktava MK 012 - acoustic instruments Shure KSM137, KSM141 - drums and amplifiers, cymbals DWA (me) omni microphones with JLI, Primo, PUI capsules. my version of the Stapes mics, the Avenson STO-2 kind of thing, love these little buggers, incredibly useful. I've been using my little $8 mic for lead vocals lately, percussion. Going to design a "fancier" version of these at some point, with a schoeps circuit instead of the P48 (2 components) circuit. Used to have KM184, wish I still did, I love those things. I like bright sounds, and these have that next level of detail, woodiness, whatever, expensive.Don't like the 451E CK1 enough to keep around, too much "crud" in the sound. Pro 37 are too crusty. ATM450 too thin and crunchy. AT4051 pretty good but I sold them. Peluso CEMC6 too bright. MXL/CAD/ETC are garbage dumpster quality, even after upgrades. Avenson STO-2, I am sorry I have to say this, overpriced, but decent. Rode Video Mic NTG, little shotgun thing, a sad joke. Can't take any SPL at all, you have to "be quiet" when this mic is on, sad/funny. Hard to find the good ones, see the top of my list (Oktava, Shure, DIY omnis, Neumann) Emphasis added. Of my list of "used-to-haves," the KM-184 is the only one I wish I still had. I had to sell them to raise funds for a new pre and I still miss them. If I were to re-buy anything on that list, it would be the 184s. -09
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bob
Full Member
Posts: 32
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Post by bob on May 3, 2022 10:27:03 GMT -6
DPA4011a Schoeps MK21, MK4 yep yep yep, these get my vote for current production mics. Not that there aren't others, but these very often win
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Post by jmoose on May 3, 2022 17:02:40 GMT -6
A friend whose ears I trust told me that his 184 always needed to be used with a transformer input preamp or else it could get painfully bright. We both suspect RFI. I've had that experience & always figured it was loading. Haven't logged any real time with things like DPA & Scheops... as an indie & (now mostly retired) live guy that stuff was rare. Love the 221B though excellent mic. Flip side is I've used most of the common pedestrian stuff and IMO a lot of it is pretty great. On average certainly better then what was around 20 years ago. Right before all the lockdown stuff I sold a few pairs of small diaphragm. Kept a set of AKG460b w/CK1 capsules... pair of Audix omni's that I forget the model but are the MBHO rebadge... and a Shure VP88 stereo which is one of my most favorite microphones ever. Planned on adding a fresh pair but never got around to it. The Josephson C42's were real high on the contender list. SM81? Never loved 'em. Workhorse that was never disappointing but never knocked me out. Kinda gritty & crispy? Oktava 012 - Bought a pair from GuiTarget back in the day. Actually bought several & matched my own set. Had these for years used them on all kinds of things... loved 'em on snare drum. Eventually they kinda started falling apart and I ended up selling them cheap to my ex studio partner when we lost the lease. In 1998 they were best of the era for that price point? I wouldn't buy 'em again today. Rode NT5? Have honestly recommended those to a lot of musician friends getting into more serious situations. That stereo mic NT4 is great too. Common live sound mic in these parts another great workhorse. KM84 vs 184? Despite 20 + years hanging out in studios I've never come across a KM84. Have used the 184 a zillion times on a zillion things its the only one I know and I like 'em. IMO the current reissue 451 isn't a bad mic at all. They don't sound like old ones but they also tend to be more reliable and less noisy... If I didn't have the 460's I'd be happy to rock those if/when I'm after the AKG sound.
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Post by nomatic on May 3, 2022 18:07:14 GMT -6
Teegarden Audio PPC-125 is just killer on acoustic sources and hangs with the 84s... I bought 4 for myself after demoing! (disclaimer I am a Teegarden audio dealer)
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Post by drsax on May 3, 2022 18:49:20 GMT -6
My fav small condensers are the Soyuz FET… why? because I own them and they sound great on most everything…. And I like them better than my vintage AKG 451 pair and better than my Vintage Oktava MK-012’s. (And I like both the AKG’s and the Oktavas).
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Post by nomatic on May 3, 2022 18:55:07 GMT -6
I am gonna have to get a pair of those too Dammit!
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Post by stratboy on May 3, 2022 21:06:24 GMT -6
I have one KM-84. When I need to record stereo, I use my Shure SM-81 pair. The SM-81 is a very solid mic, IMO.
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Post by drbill on May 3, 2022 21:39:35 GMT -6
KM84 vs 184? Despite 20 + years hanging out in studios I've never come across a KM84. Have used the 184 a zillion times on a zillion things its the only one I know and I like 'em. I've heard you say that before and whenever I read it, it always strikes me as soooo odd. In LA, I don't think you can find a commercial for hire studio that doesn't have a handful.... Weird....
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Post by chessparov on May 3, 2022 21:47:25 GMT -6
Are the Warm 84's OK?
I remember Monkey didn't dig them that much. Overall concensus? Chris
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Post by EmRR on May 3, 2022 22:07:52 GMT -6
The only pair of km84’s I ever encounter are so beat up I am reluctant to spend any time putting them up. One actually looks like the Hulk twisted it. They can’t be right. I’m sure they make sound.
All the mentions of sm81’s is interesting to me also, i owned some for a minute around 1998, haven’t seen one since. Struck me as very ‘hard’ sounding at the time.
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Post by Vincent R. on May 4, 2022 6:31:26 GMT -6
Schoeps CMC6 are wonderful mics with both Omni and card caps. Really enjoying my Soyuz 013 with card and omni caps as well. Km54 451’s are a workhorse don’t care how many people seem to talk junk about them. Those are my go-to’s Which caps do you have for the CMC6?
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Post by Guitar on May 4, 2022 7:21:40 GMT -6
Are the Warm 84's OK? I remember Monkey didn't dig them that much. Overall concensus? Chris I think "Bushman" on the other site liked them a lot. You're right I thumbed my nose at them for some reason... very picky about SDC. Too much bass or something, to my ear, just wasn't sold on them.
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Post by Blackdawg on May 4, 2022 9:10:10 GMT -6
Schoeps CMC6 are wonderful mics with both Omni and card caps. Really enjoying my Soyuz 013 with card and omni caps as well. Km54 451’s are a workhorse don’t care how many people seem to talk junk about them. Those are my go-to’s Which caps do you have for the CMC6? Not directed at me but i have a ton: MK2 MK2H MK4 MK8 KA40 spheres too Have used mk21 as well and planning on getting a pair next year. Have an MK41 on order, been waiting months.. And a CMIT MS setup and a CMIT shotgun an MTSC 64 ORTF mic(freaking love this thing) which used mk4 caps, can put any on it though. And an outdoor ORTF set, which also uses mk4 caps right now. I like Schoeps you could say. have a lot of DPAs too, less models but lots in numbers.
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Post by Vincent R. on May 4, 2022 10:49:57 GMT -6
Which caps do you have for the CMC6? Not directed at me but i have a ton: MK2 MK2H MK4 MK8 KA40 spheres too Have used mk21 as well and planning on getting a pair next year. Have an MK41 on order, been waiting months.. And a CMIT MS setup and a CMIT shotgun an MTSC 64 ORTF mic(freaking love this thing) which used mk4 caps, can put any on it though. And an outdoor ORTF set, which also uses mk4 caps right now. I like Schoeps you could say. have a lot of DPAs too, less models but lots in numbers. Nice. A good pair of SDCs is all I am really lacking at my place for what I do here. The Schoeps CMC6 with MK4s are certainly on my list. Mostly looking for solid instrument mics, but I'm also interested in trying them on vocals too considering Pavarotti, Roberto Alagna, Juan Diego Florez and many more tenors record on schoeps. I'd be interested in grabbing a pair of omni caps too, but once I start looking at the cost of that you're almost better off grabbing another pair of omnis. Not really sure which caps would be the best for me. Either way they are on my list.
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Post by malkit on May 4, 2022 10:53:03 GMT -6
Lots of great mics, here!
I’m just going to toss my hat in the ring with a lesser-mentioned set-
3u Warbler 127 SDCs.
I don’t know how he did it, but Guosheng managed to get a beautiful balance between weight and air. And the “flat” capsule line goes a step further to the former. So much flexibility- with affordability as a bonus.
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Post by Blackdawg on May 4, 2022 11:02:23 GMT -6
Not directed at me but i have a ton: MK2 MK2H MK4 MK8 KA40 spheres too Have used mk21 as well and planning on getting a pair next year. Have an MK41 on order, been waiting months.. And a CMIT MS setup and a CMIT shotgun an MTSC 64 ORTF mic(freaking love this thing) which used mk4 caps, can put any on it though. And an outdoor ORTF set, which also uses mk4 caps right now. I like Schoeps you could say. have a lot of DPAs too, less models but lots in numbers. Nice. A good pair of SDCs is all I am really lacking at my place for what I do here. The Schoeps CMC6 with MK4s are certainly on my list. Mostly looking for solid instrument mics, but I'm also interested in trying them on vocals too considering Pavarotti, Roberto Alagna, Juan Diego Florez and many more tenors record on schoeps. I'd be interested in grabbing a pair of omni caps too, but once I start looking at the cost of that you're almost better off grabbing another pair of omnis. Not really sure which caps would be the best for me. Either way they are on my list. Id be giving the the MK21 a hard look instead of the MK4. Not that the MK4 is bad, but the 21 allows it to be more useable I think on more things. Either would work on vocals though. Also you could consider the MK5 which is switchable from cardioid to omni. The Omni has a very high presence lift though. That can be desirable though for micing more from distance. Can't remember but im sure the cardioid isn't exactly like an MK4 either. But still, two capsules in one.
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Post by terryrocks on May 6, 2022 0:42:58 GMT -6
Lots of great mics, here! I’m just going to toss my hat in the ring with a lesser-mentioned set- 3u Warbler 127 SDCs. I don’t know how he did it, but Guosheng managed to get a beautiful balance between weight and air. And the “flat” capsule line goes a step further to the former. So much flexibility- with affordability as a bonus. These have been the house ohs here the last few months. I’ve used modded oktava mk012s for close to 15 years as principle ohs, but the 3u 127s work really well too.
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Post by paulcheeba on May 6, 2022 13:00:07 GMT -6
Soyuz 013, Neumann KM85 and M582 are all very nice.
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Post by hadaja on May 6, 2022 16:17:38 GMT -6
I really found the Beyer mc930 quite respectable and will always keep a pair of them on hand. The Soyuz 013 are amazing in the fact that they are very hot signal so you can use some older special preamps that may only have 40db of gain. The Soyuz does have an extended high end more so then the km84 but not brittle in any way. Never tried the Oktava’s. I am thinking i would love to try out the Schoeps one day. And the Warblers 127 flat never gets used but they do a decent job as well. We are really spoilt for options in todays recording market.
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Post by christophert on May 6, 2022 17:07:11 GMT -6
+1 on the Soyuz 013's - excellent sounding mics.
A REALLY great contender is Line Audio CM4's, and the Omni's - I have 6 of them for spot mics / percussion / drums - will work on anything. They will out compete the KM184 almost every time - and they are $200. They also compare favorably to my Schoeps mics.
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Post by thecolourfulway on May 6, 2022 23:12:48 GMT -6
KM86 which is one of my favorite mics I own, wish I had a pair. Mine is actually a KM76 (12v) and I wonder if it would pair well with an 86 but prices have gone nutty anyway, and I mostly work in mono so ehhh, guess I’m alright I can’t say I love the SM81 but I will say I got the best sitar recordings of my life with one (not classical context mind you, but for a rock/pop song it cuts through gorgeously, very Revolver)
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Post by nick8801 on May 7, 2022 6:09:31 GMT -6
Another vote for the Beyer mc930’s. I’ve had mine for over 10 years now, and I have no intention to sell them. That says a lot coming from me, as I flip gear all the time. They just work.
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Post by jhsmastering on May 7, 2022 6:35:20 GMT -6
+1 on the Soyuz 013's - excellent sounding mics. A REALLY great contender is Line Audio CM4's, and the Omni's - I have 6 of them for spot mics / percussion / drums - will work on anything. They will out compete the KM184 almost every time - and they are $200. They also compare favorably to my Schoeps mics. I was going to jump in with Line Audio, but you beat me to it! I have 6 of them, 4 for live use with my band, and 2 for the studio. I really like how true-to-the-source they sound, and from a bluegrass tracking engineer perspective, that's very important. Our band's producer has like a dozen or more different pairs of 84's. Funny story on how he got some of them. Apparently back in the day when he was a teenager, churches were still using them as choir mics. He and his family would be performing at a church, and he'd be snooping around the sound system closet and find a pair not being used anymore. He'd ask about them, and be given them as a gift, since the church never used them anymore, and had no way to sell them. Crazy huh?
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Post by Omicron9 on May 9, 2022 15:01:32 GMT -6
A bit more....
A few days ago, I borrowed my partner's Oktava MK-012 pair with both cardioid and omni caps.
The Oktavas are better mics than I recall. I remembered them being fine, but not exactly what I wanted. I think they're really good; better than I remembered. However, still not what I want. The top end is detailed without being harsh, so that's good. The bottom end in cardioid is really boomy when close-mic'ing due to proximity effect. Too much for my mic'ing techniques. The omni capsule obviously solves that, but then sounds a bit thinner than the cardioid cap.
Conclusion: still not for me, but better than I remembered.
-09
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