The General opinion on the Apex460 tube condenser mic?

L

Luc the Tinkerer

New member
I just bought one yesterday (belayed birthday present! ;) ) as it's the only large diaphragm mic I can afford for vocals. I've read all of the reviews and decided regardless to upgrade the stock vacuum tube - The Tube Shop recommended the Ei 12AX7 as a definite improvement over the stock tube, in fact I ordered a pair: one for the mic and the other for my ART Tube mic preamp.

Since I'm not an experienced engineer I could be running in circles trying to nail that elusive "clear, clean, open sounding vocal" sound, so all input is appreciated ...

My digital audio interface is a E-MU 0404, I own various Behringer gear (Eurorack 6 channel mixer, Composer Pro Compressor and Digital Virtualizer) a ART ube mic preamp and a pair of Apex mics: the 435 and 460, and a pair of AKG headphones.

At this stage the vocals sound boomy and seem to lack clarity & top end on both mics, thus the tube upgrades (though I must admit the 460 is more sensitive and responsive than the 435).

I tried bypassing the compressor, preamping with the mixer, then bypassing the mixer and recording straight to the soundcard from the ART preamp ... I can spruce up the vocal sound a bit with the Patchmix effects, but the end result still lack that polished, well produced sound.

Knock on wood the tube upgrade leads me onee step closer to 'sonic Nirvana' ;)
 
I think i would look at your mic technique first, as well as what your doing at mixdown time. That ART preamp, while not the greatest, should not make the sound boomy, nor take away top end.
 
You can get a good sound out of this mic on most things. It has a slightly scooped sound, which can be improved to a degree with a tube swap. I know you ordered a pair of 12AX7's, but really you would be better off with a 12AY7 (6072A) or even a 12AT7. The reason being that the 12AX7 has an amplification factor of 100 vs the 12AY7 having a factor of 44. The sound between the two isn't really that different, but the lower amplification factor prevents the tube from saturating the transformer with loud or fast transient signals.

The other problem with this mic is that they use both halves if the twin triode tube. The first half is the main amp stage and the second is used as a cathode follower to lower the impedance output of the tube. This means they can use a cheaper transformer, which can also degrade the sound quality.

One other thing I've discovered is that the 3 layer grill seems to impede the midrange and probably causes a time-smear of the high end. I improved mine by removing the inner 2 layers of screen. This can be difficult and should only be attempted if you know what you're doing. Otherwise, leave it alone.

The biggest flaw of this mic is the capsule. It could be better, like a Peluso 34mm or even a 797 dual diaphragm.

Like I said, it'll do well on a lot of things, but with a few improvements it could really rival a high-end mic.
 
PhilGood said:
You can get a good sound out of this mic on most things. It has a slightly scooped sound, which can be improved to a degree with a tube swap. I know you ordered a pair of 12AX7's, but really you would be better off with a 12AY7 (6072A) or even a 12AT7. The reason being that the 12AX7 has an amplification factor of 100 vs the 12AY7 having a factor of 44. The sound between the two isn't really that different, but the lower amplification factor prevents the tube from saturating the transformer with loud or fast transient signals.

The other problem with this mic is that they use both halves if the twin triode tube. The first half is the main amp stage and the second is used as a cathode follower to lower the impedance output of the tube. This means they can use a cheaper transformer, which can also degrade the sound quality.

One other thing I've discovered is that the 3 layer grill seems to impede the midrange and probably causes a time-smear of the high end. I improved mine by removing the inner 2 layers of screen. This can be difficult and should only be attempted if you know what you're doing. Otherwise, leave it alone.

The biggest flaw of this mic is the capsule. It could be better, like a Peluso 34mm or even a 797 dual diaphragm.

Like I said, it'll do well on a lot of things, but with a few improvements it could really rival a high-end mic.
Click to expand...

I chose the Ei 12AX7 tubes at the recommendation of the tech at The Tube Store.com.

The main purpose of that mic is to record vocals (namely my own voice) can it do well for that purpose? ;)

I've read somewhere that swapping the op-amps in the Tube MP will do more for the overall sound than swapping the tube, but at this stage I am considering parting with the Tube MP (and perhaps even the Apex 435 - I DI all instruments, the voice is the only thing I need a mic for) for an improved mic preamp.

I once owned this dual channel solid state Mic preamp that was hailed by most as the best thing since sliced bread (I forget the name) , some of them from this very message board, however it was so static-ey it ended up in a trade for another piece of gear or other ...

For my purchase of the Apex you pretty much have gathered my budget is limited, so I can't afford the high-end gear ... :(
 
Luc the Tinkerer said:
I chose the Ei 12AX7 tubes at the recommendation of the tech at The Tube Store.com.
Click to expand...

Well, the guy doesn't know much about mics. :p

Luc the Tinkerer said:
The main purpose of that mic is to record vocals (namely my own voice) can it do well for that purpose? ;)
Click to expand...

Depends on what the vocals are like and if they will work with the mic. Its very personal.

Luc the Tinkerer said:
I've read somewhere that swapping the op-amps in the Tube MP will do more for the overall sound than swapping the tube, but at this stage I am considering parting with the Tube MP (and perhaps even the Apex 435 - I DI all instruments, the voice is the only thing I need a mic for) for an improved mic preamp.

I once owned this dual channel solid state Mic preamp that was hailed by most as the best thing since sliced bread (I forget the name) , some of them from this very message board, however it was so static-ey it ended up in a trade for another piece of gear or other ...

For my purchase of the Apex you pretty much have gathered my budget is limited, so I can't afford the high-end gear ... :(
Click to expand...

There are some mods to toob pres that work OK. I did one for a Bellari 105 that turned out great!! I haven't heard the finished mod for the Tube MP, but since its a starved plate design the op amp change will be the biggest improvement, especially if they are burr browns.
 
i would hold on to the apex 435. i've found it pretty useful on a number of INSTRUMENTS (not vocals). you may want to record acoustically and not d.i. at some point and this mic will come in handy.
 
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