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Post by rob61 on Dec 1, 2017 8:43:10 GMT -6
The M249 is the M49 with a Touchel connector. The Touchel connector was able to mount the mic directly to a stand without the Yolk adapter. Also, it was discovered that the 701 tube could be light sensitive, so the "C" version (final version) lowered the noise floor and took steps to prevent light to reach the 701 tube.
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Post by avgatzeblouz on Dec 1, 2017 9:10:26 GMT -6
B is fixed bias. C is self bias. C12, 67, 49A/B, U47 are all some form of fixed bias, with cathode tied directly to ground. 250/251 and M49C are self bias and use cathode bypass circuits... You can read up on the differences online. But in general, self bias mics are softer sounding and have less noisy circuits. Fixed bias microphones have better/deeper low-ends, and more midrange clarity. This clarity makes them a bit punchier, and when well designed, they can be just as quiet as self bias. The main difference is in how they handle dynamics. A fixed bias mic won't change tone whether you push soft or loud notes. Self bias will change tone, as the operating point of the tube changes depending on source volume. Some guys call it pinching when they hit a mic with a loud note and the sound changes, but it's just the operating point moving around. Mics with weaker PSU's (more affordable mics) will struggle with louder notes as the mic draws more power. But self bias also needs a much less complicated PSU that is cheaper to build, which is why all affordable tube mics are self bias. Fixed bias needs a very good and well designed PSU to not be noisy, and that's expensive... Then as the tube in a mic ages, its ideal operating point moves around. A self bias circuit will adapt itself to the tube without any service needed. Fixed circuits need to be manually adjusted over the years to match the tube as it drifts. In other words, a fixed bias mic can lose performance if you don't service it regularly'ish. Same when you replace a tube in a self-bias mic, the circuit will adjust itself. In a fixed mic, you have to readjust everything manually. Don't be surprised you loved the M49C though – that's a real Neumann M49, with Neumann capsule, transformer, and a 701 tube. A good specimen was never going to sound anything but amazing. Wow, that's a very informative post, and very clear. Thanks, Jake !
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 1, 2017 9:57:08 GMT -6
Cool. Thanks jakeharris . That gives me a reference point about the circuits. On a side note, I will say that my favorite surprise of last night was the M269C. Much brighter than the U67 or M49C for that matter, it had a beautiful beefiness in the lows that was really magical. The beefiness was similar to the MK U67, but with a top end more like a U87. I've been saying it for a while, but I really want to hear my wife on one of these....or maybe I shouldn't. More later....
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Post by aremos on Dec 1, 2017 15:24:20 GMT -6
Vincent, the M49C & M267C were REAL Neumann's, correct?
I've had all the Flea's in here & have used/heard other clones & believe that nothing out there comes close. Of course, I haven't heard everything so there might be something out there that does.
In your other thread I posted that, In regards to the 67, Neumann could possibly redo it.
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 1, 2017 17:46:13 GMT -6
Vincent, the M49C & M267C were REAL Neumann's, correct? I've had all the Flea's in here & have used/heard other clones & believe that nothing out there comes close. Of course, I haven't heard everything so there might be something out there that does. In your other thread I posted that, In regards to the 67, Neumann could possibly redo it. Yes, Neumann M269C, Neumann M49C, Neumann U67, Sony C37A, RCA 44, & Coles 4038. Having recently tried a FLEA 49 with the AC701k I can say you'd be hard pressed to tell which was a real M49 and which was the FLEA. As for the stock ones, they don't have the same low end satuaration. It's all about the AC701k. That said, that saturation can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. I'll post something later.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Dec 1, 2017 17:59:16 GMT -6
Vincent, the M49C & M267C were REAL Neumann's, correct? I've had all the Flea's in here & have used/heard other clones & believe that nothing out there comes close. Of course, I haven't heard everything so there might be something out there that does. In your other thread I posted that, In regards to the 67, Neumann could possibly redo it. Yes, Neumann M269C, Neumann M49C, Neumann U67, Sony C37A, RCA 44, & Coles 4038. Having recently tried a FLEA 49 with the AC701k I can say you'd be hard pressed to tell which was a real M49 and which was the FLEA. As for the stock ones, they don't have the same low end satuaration. It's all about the AC701k. That said, that saturation can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. How was the Coles?
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Post by jeremygillespie on Dec 1, 2017 21:13:49 GMT -6
Yes, Neumann M269C, Neumann M49C, Neumann U67, Sony C37A, RCA 44, & Coles 4038. Having recently tried a FLEA 49 with the AC701k I can say you'd be hard pressed to tell which was a real M49 and which was the FLEA. As for the stock ones, they don't have the same low end satuaration. It's all about the AC701k. That said, that saturation can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. How was the Coles? I loved the Coles on him. Old school but hifi.
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 1, 2017 22:03:08 GMT -6
Yeah, the Coles worked better than the RCA on my voice. I turned to Jeremy and immediately said "Ah, now I know why so many people use them on violins." I generally wouldn't use a ribbon on my voice, but as I showed a lot of people with my crooning shoot out, it can work. Many people loved my old Altec 639a on the old school crooning vocals. It just sounded like it was "of a time." So after a few months of demos, mic tests, etc, I decided to pick up the FLEA 49 with the K47, but without the AC701K. Here are my thoughts on the AC701k. The AC701k has a great low end reach, but also a kind of coloration/ distortion. Not a bad one. It sounds great on my crooning stuff, but heavy handed on my opera. Since opera is my main thing I have to keep it as my focus. Also, I'd like to avoid the financial ramifications if I need to replace it down the road. So I'm going to forgo the AC701K. Without the AC701K the microphone becomes a little more modern sounding while maintaining many of the qualities I loved about the M49C. It sits a little bit more on top of the mix, etc. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but it's where I'm going. I can use that extra $1000 on an channel strip I'm looking at. One of the big things that helped the decision was the shoot out last night. I have been using my CM49 by Advanced Audio as my reference mic and hearing it next to the real deal and having tons of files of it from when I tried out the demo from VK I had a pretty good idea what it would have sounded like next to the real thing, and I actually think it would suit my voice and what I do best. Maybe I'll arrange a visit with Jeremy when I get it. I'd love to hear my wife through some of the mics at some point. It could be an excuse..... BTW, if you're in the NY/NJ area and are looking for an amazing studio to record in, reach out to jeremygillespie . The place was wonderful and the room sounded just fantastic. Anyway, for those of you curious and this is not a perfect test as each of these samples was done at a different studio and not head to head. Also there are differences in the topography of each mic, but one of these is the FLEA 49 with an M7 capsule and an AC701k recorded at Calistro Music. The other is the M49C from last night, which has a K47 and an AC701k. My understanding from Jeremy is it is all original with no major repairs, the original capsule and tube.... and it sounded amazing. www.dropbox.com/sh/y9cy5lg5wpx7kvy/AABTOtNWqHB6TrC6JNN9moXQa?dl=0Which do you think is which?
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Post by rowmat on Dec 1, 2017 23:44:25 GMT -6
B. is the more modern sounding of the two. A. is darker and thicker.
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Post by c0rtland on Dec 2, 2017 1:57:58 GMT -6
B. is the more modern sounding of the two. A. is darker and thicker. Yes
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 3, 2017 21:41:34 GMT -6
Well, you're right, but that's why I was sad these weren't head to head. One was through an extremely clean preamp into a very good converter, the other through an SSL console into a slightly older converter.
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Post by matt@IAA on Dec 4, 2017 11:21:15 GMT -6
You might also consider reaching out to Chris at Barbaric Amplification. He's familiar enough with a ton of different components so that he can mix and match to get you where you want to go. I've heard a prototype of 47 versus the Flea and I could barely distinguish them (and if anything his had slightly reduced sibilants). He'll also do builds with your components supplied, so if you have a capsule he can plug that in.
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Post by nudwig on Dec 4, 2017 19:08:57 GMT -6
I can vouch for Chris, he's who built mine (the 49 on his FB page in Oct). Super easy to work with and just as excited as I was to experiment. Off topic, but I also got one of his BA-37's which is awesome.
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 4, 2017 19:36:02 GMT -6
I wonder why he put a BV8 into an M49 style mic. Wouldn't that make it sound more like a U47?
On a side note, I ordered my FLEA 49 with K47 capsule and stock tube. It's not what a lot of you would have ordered, but it was the sound I was looking for. It's a special order item. FLEA said 2 weeks. I'm really excited.
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Post by matt@IAA on Dec 4, 2017 19:40:07 GMT -6
How was the 49? Did you compare it to anything?
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Post by matt@IAA on Dec 4, 2017 19:41:32 GMT -6
I wonder why he put a BV8 into an M49 style mic. Wouldn't that make it sound more like a U47? On a side note, I ordered my FLEA 49 with K47 capsule and stock tube. It's not what a lot of you would have ordered, but it was the sound I was looking for. It's a special order item. FLEA said 2 weeks. I'm really excited. My understanding is that the BV11 and BV8 are the same except ratio. Since there's no shot at an AC701k tube, he's using the BV8 to pair with the 5840W tube.
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 4, 2017 19:56:51 GMT -6
How was the 49? Did you compare it to anything? The one I ordered was the same version I demoed from Vintage King. I had it here at my studio and put it next to my U87ai, MK U67, Advanced Audio CM49, Blue Bottle Rocket with the B7 cap, jtc111's FLEA 47, and demoed the REDD right afterward and put it through the same tests. So I kinda know how they sound next to each other. I don't love some of the frequencies the M7 enhanced in my voice. Also did tests with rhe real M49 and other greats at Barbershop Studios in New Jersey and tested a stock FLEA 49 and a FLEA 49 with an M7 and AC701 tube at Calistro Music, which is where I ordered the mic. Craig is a nice guy, so if you're in the market for something reach out. So yeah I did a lot of testing before buying. The stock version with the M7 had a little more low mids and was a bit beefier. The AC701 version was super close to the original I tried. The K47 is a little bit more detailed on the top end, but still very rich and smooth. I also learned that my studio records a bit brighter than the other places I tried. Could be the room. Could be the converted. Who knows? I think a lot of it is the room actually.
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Post by EmRR on Dec 6, 2017 10:09:59 GMT -6
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 22, 2017 14:33:34 GMT -6
FLEA advised my custom FLEA 49 with a K47 capsule is completed and ready to ship. They will ship it out on Tuesday, as if they ship it today it will be stuck in a shipping depot until Tuesday anyway and will be better off staying with them over the next few days. I'm very excited.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Dec 22, 2017 16:25:45 GMT -6
FLEA advised my custom FLEA 49 with a K47 capsule is completed and ready to ship. They will ship it out on Tuesday, as if they ship it today it will be stuck in a shipping depot until Tuesday anyway and will be better off staying with them over the next few days. I'm very excited. Very cool - excited for you. Hopefully we can get together again so we can throw it up against some other stuff. 3 days ago I found a box in another mic locker we have - it has 8 ac701 tubes in it. I’m pretty excited to get one In our silver 49 and see how it matches the black one!
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Post by Vincent R. on Dec 22, 2017 16:32:34 GMT -6
FLEA advised my custom FLEA 49 with a K47 capsule is completed and ready to ship. They will ship it out on Tuesday, as if they ship it today it will be stuck in a shipping depot until Tuesday anyway and will be better off staying with them over the next few days. I'm very excited. Very cool - excited for you. Hopefully we can get together again so we can throw it up against some other stuff. 3 days ago I found a box in another mic locker we have - it has 8 ac701 tubes in it. I’m pretty excited to get one In our silver 49 and see how it matches the black one! That's awesome, and yes I'd love to bring the RMS 269 and the FLEA 49 out once I have them.
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Post by Vincent R. on Jan 3, 2018 14:10:06 GMT -6
E&V Studio is now home to a custom FLExible Audio 49. Of course it's in the studio acclamating to the temperature. Gonna leave it till tomorrow. I don't want to take any chances, but I'm really excited and ready to start recording our Christmas Album and a few new YouTube videos.
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Post by bradd on Jan 3, 2018 16:20:28 GMT -6
Congrats! I will be excited to hear it.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Jan 3, 2018 17:34:19 GMT -6
Congrats! I will be excited to hear it. I hope you fall in love and decide your spending next years gear budget on one!
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Post by bradd on Jan 3, 2018 19:23:38 GMT -6
Nope! You know it’s the year to upgrade the console.
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