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Post by hadaja on Sept 14, 2022 15:29:28 GMT -6
Hey Mike, did you find the s84’s both sounded the same or similar? I forgot to check mine before lending them out. But that is always a good check of quality.
Also glad you liked them, i now see that my Soyuz 13’s will continue to sit in the case for a lot longer now.
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Post by drbill on Sept 14, 2022 16:29:33 GMT -6
Then you would almost certainly like them better than a real KM84 as I've found the Oktava 012's (which is I'm guessing what you are referring to) almost indistinguishable from 84's on close mic'd acoustic guitar 80+ % of the time. That said, I'd still personally choose a KM84 over any of the above. I have nothing but respect for you drbill, said that I have not tried KM84's, and mean no insult to Oktava or any manufacturer or their supporters, but simply just shared my experience FWIW. I don't know if the mod Oktava's 012's I've read about are different than the new one I bought and returned last year, or if I just got a bad one based on your great experience with them. I've also seldom to never IME found two mic's even of the same model or lot to sound identical FWIW. All I can tell you is my experience was not the same as yours that I respectfully stand by. Awesome! I meant no disrespect and didn't mean to throw any shade on your review. Just relaying my experience with the 84's and 012's - they are scary close on ac gtr. (And yeah, my 012's were modded by MJ, but I've heard good ones - especially the newer ones that sounded good too.) Awesome that the Serano's are working for you, and my thoughts still stand - I'm guessing you would like them better than KM84's!! Cheers! bp |
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Post by mike on Sept 14, 2022 19:24:46 GMT -6
Hey Mike, did you find the s84’s both sounded the same or similar? I forgot to check mine before lending them out. But that is always a good check of quality. Also glad you liked them, i now see that my Soyuz 13’s will continue to sit in the case for a lot longer now. Hey Hadaja,
I have not checked to see whether they both sounded the same or similar but will do that the next time they're out I'm sure. Glad you're liking your pair of Serrano's also among that nice mic collection of yours.
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Post by mike on Sept 14, 2022 19:28:02 GMT -6
I have nothing but respect for you drbill, said that I have not tried KM84's, and mean no insult to Oktava or any manufacturer or their supporters, but simply just shared my experience FWIW. I don't know if the mod Oktava's 012's I've read about are different than the new one I bought and returned last year, or if I just got a bad one based on your great experience with them. I've also seldom to never IME found two mic's even of the same model or lot to sound identical FWIW. All I can tell you is my experience was not the same as yours that I respectfully stand by. Awesome! I meant no disrespect and didn't mean to throw any shade on your review. Just relaying my experience with the 84's and 012's - they are scary close on ac gtr. (And yeah, my 012's were modded by MJ, but I've heard good ones - especially the newer ones that sounded good too.) Awesome that the Serano's are working for you, and my thoughts still stand - I'm guessing you would like them better than KM84's!! Cheers! bp No worries and thank you drbill! Mike |
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Post by thermos on Nov 25, 2022 8:47:21 GMT -6
How is everyone getting on with these?
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Post by rob61 on Nov 25, 2022 9:01:57 GMT -6
I like them. While I don't have a KM-84 for comparison, I do have AKG 451EB, Neumann KM-140, Octava MK-012 (modded). When I first got the S-84 I tried out all the capsules. I haven't taken off the "vintage" one since. Its really nice that you get 3 different capsules but for my use the "vintage" one stands out in a good way.
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Post by crillemannen on Nov 25, 2022 9:25:56 GMT -6
I have a Serrano 84 here in my studio which wil be tested and also compared to an original Km84. So far I think the vintage capsule is excellent, weighty with some nice sparkle. Definitely a very nice sounding SDC!
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Post by recordingengineer on Nov 25, 2022 14:10:38 GMT -6
Last weekend was the first time I had a chance to try one of them. I put it on snare through an old Brent Averill racked Neve 1272 and it sounded like the mic was cutting out. Then I quickly vaguely remembered someone saying something that it doesn’t take high SPL. Guess I have to stick to the ST31 there (though I replaced it with an SM81 this time) or wait for the new Samar to arrive. I’ll try the Elation KM202s there too when they arrive.
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Post by the other mark williams on Nov 25, 2022 17:46:12 GMT -6
Last weekend was the first time I had a chance to try one of them. I put it on snare through an old Brent Averill racked Neve 1272 and it sounded like the mic was cutting out. Then I quickly vaguely remembered someone saying something that it doesn’t take high SPL. Guess I have to stick to the ST31 there (though I replaced it with an SM81 this time) or wait for the new Samar to arrive. I’ll try the Elation KM202s there too when they arrive. Was it the mic capsule distorting, or was the output of the mic driving your 1272 input into distortion? I have a pair of the Serrano 84s, but I'm not recording live drums much these days... |
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Post by recordingengineer on Nov 25, 2022 18:35:24 GMT -6
It definitely wasn’t just distortion sounds, but distortion with an extremely-quick sound reduction, like the diaphragm hitting the backplate, possibly. The SM81 had no problem. I don’t remember if I had to pad on the 81 or not. Could find out for sure, as it’s still sitting in its case the way I used it.
The stupid thing is, the last day of the 3-day recording marathon, I did record an acoustic guitar for one song at the last minute, just open-strumming along with the heavy electric. I just pulled the bottom rack tom mic around (one of my Barbaric 19BA13). Had I thought of it, I would have tried one of the Serrano 84s again!
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Post by Vincent R. on Nov 26, 2022 8:55:23 GMT -6
That’s interesting. When I had them here I was singing full blast opera into them from about a foot away and had no issues.
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Post by cserrano on Nov 26, 2022 10:03:57 GMT -6
Last weekend was the first time I had a chance to try one of them. I put it on snare through an old Brent Averill racked Neve 1272 and it sounded like the mic was cutting out. Then I quickly vaguely remembered someone saying something that it doesn’t take high SPL. Guess I have to stick to the ST31 there (though I replaced it with an SM81 this time) or wait for the new Samar to arrive. I’ll try the Elation KM202s there too when they arrive. Hmm. There might be an issue with one of them. Feel free to email me about it. info@serranoaudio.com |
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Post by reddirt on Nov 26, 2022 17:05:36 GMT -6
IME , a KM 84 wont handle a strong snare without at least using the pad.
Cheers, Ross
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Post by crillemannen on Dec 12, 2022 11:10:28 GMT -6
Hey guys!
I just released an episode with the Serrano vintage 84 and you'll also find a comparison against one of my Km84s. The Serrano sounds very nice and I think the vintage was my favorite, I appreciate having the options of the other capsules though! The vintage sounds quite "woody", full lowmids and nice toppend.
You can download the raw files if you want to check them out. And I also included some percussion which I think I'll try use on more of my videos, it wasn't easy though haha! Respect to shakers and egg players around the globe 😁
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Post by ragan on Dec 12, 2022 13:37:40 GMT -6
Hey guys! I just released an episode with the Serrano vintage 84 and you'll also find a comparison against one of my Km84s. The Serrano sounds very nice and I think the vintage was my favorite, I appreciate having the options of the other capsules though! The vintage sounds quite "woody", full lowmids and nice toppend. You can download the raw files if you want to check them out. And I also included some percussion which I think I'll try use on more of my videos, it wasn't easy though haha! Respect to shakers and egg players around the globe 😁 I didn’t realize this was you. Your reviews are great! |
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 12, 2022 14:53:16 GMT -6
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Post by kcatthedog on Dec 13, 2022 10:27:29 GMT -6
The vintage sounded really good.
Great demo: thx!
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Post by nick8801 on Dec 13, 2022 10:41:36 GMT -6
Great demo! Sounds nothing like the real 84 though. Doesn't sound bad at all...I really like it. But it doesn't sound like the 84.
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Post by mcirish on Dec 13, 2022 11:39:40 GMT -6
Great demo! Sounds nothing like the real 84 though. Doesn't sound bad at all...I really like it. But it doesn't sound like the 84. Since he used an exact KM84 electronic design, the real difference is in the capsule. This was a similar experience to when I built some KM84 clones. The electronic parts are all exact. The capsules on mine (made by Maiku) were darker than the real KM84 I compared them to. Sort of similar to what we hear in the examples above. side note... I know this is a broken record, but an Oktava MK-012 is so close to a KM84 on a close mic'd acoustic guitar that they could be swapped at will and no one can tell the difference. |
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Post by drbill on Dec 13, 2022 12:11:47 GMT -6
side note... I know this is a broken record, but an Oktava MK-012 is so close to a KM84 on a close mic'd acoustic guitar that they could be swapped at will and no one can tell the difference. Ditto. |
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Post by robo on Dec 13, 2022 14:56:47 GMT -6
The vintage sounds very nice. I actually think the regular capsule sounds a little closer to the Neumann here. The Omni capsule shows how much proximity plays into the tone in front of a guitar like that.
If I hadn’t found some used Calrecs recently I’d pick up a pair of the Serranos. I still might if I’m feeling rich in a few months.
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Post by krackle on Apr 4, 2023 15:54:29 GMT -6
Hey y'all,
Saw a pair of Serranos near me for sale..Vintage 84's. Been reading a bit and saw this thread the other day..
Thought I'd ping here to see if you guys are still digging this mic maybe post honeymoon?
Are they still getting use? Sold off?
Any warts revealed over time? Build quality?
Dreaded harshness issues?
Thanks..
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Post by ab101 on Apr 4, 2023 16:16:36 GMT -6
Hey y'all, Saw a pair of Serranos near me for sale..Vintage 84's. Been reading a bit and saw this thread the other day.. Thought I'd ping here to see if you guys are still digging this mic maybe post honeymoon? Are they still getting use? Sold off? Any warts revealed over time? Build quality? Dreaded harshness issues? Thanks.. Good question and welcome again to the forum! I would like to hear more about the off axis issue with the Serranos. And Samar has a new SDC - MG20 - that may be competition for this type of mic. |
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Post by the other mark williams on Apr 4, 2023 16:22:32 GMT -6
Hey y'all, Saw a pair of Serranos near me for sale..Vintage 84's. Been reading a bit and saw this thread the other day.. Thought I'd ping here to see if you guys are still digging this mic maybe post honeymoon? Are they still getting use? Sold off? Any warts revealed over time? Build quality? Dreaded harshness issues? Thanks.. Mine have been on dialog duty here for several months: boomed just out of frame, 8-9" away from the mouth, pointing down at an angle. The included windscreens are on. Even at that distance and angle, plosives can sneak in. But voices sound very good and natural - no odd resonances or anything. I usually rotate various mics into that role every few weeks/months for variety. The Serrano 84s have stayed longer than usual. I like them in that role. |
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Post by robo on Apr 4, 2023 18:09:06 GMT -6
Hey y'all, Saw a pair of Serranos near me for sale..Vintage 84's. Been reading a bit and saw this thread the other day.. Thought I'd ping here to see if you guys are still digging this mic maybe post honeymoon? Are they still getting use? Sold off? Any warts revealed over time? Build quality? Dreaded harshness issues? Thanks.. I’ve only had them for a month or so, but the Omni capsule is my new go-to for acoustic guitars. The vintage caps are excellent as drum overheads if you’re looking for that km84 thing - detailed and present without harshness. Build quality seems excellent so far. I’ve also had a Serrano 87 for some time, and no problems with that. |
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