Which Mic to get for around $300
- Thread starter jeronimo
- Start date
darrin_h2000
Banned
For a whole set of those mics, Id change my name from Wayne to shill Legally.
Harvey Gerst
New member
Well, I hope you all realize this is really almost gonna wind up being a "puff piece" review, but I think some real good may come out of it. Here's why:
First of all, I've already heard the first 3 mics and I was pretty impressed with them, as some of you may recall, so unless QC has gone to hell in a handbasket, I doubt if I'll find anything bad to say about the C1, C3, and T3.
The B1 and TB-1 are already getting good reviews around these parts, and I expect them to be different but very good.
What I DO hope to accomplish is to nail down the differences among the 6 mics, their strong points, and some rough suggestions as to what each model may be best suited for.
And that may turn out to be a good thing. The timing is perfect, too - we have some major names coming into the studio over the next four weeks and I hope to try them on a lot of different types of music.
In those four weeks, we'll have some well know rappers in, a heavy metal group just signed to Sony, and a fully equipt bluegrass group (bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro, and fiddle - all acoustic), and a variety of male and female singers. The Studio Project stuff will get some heavy use, and some direct comparisons.
First of all, I've already heard the first 3 mics and I was pretty impressed with them, as some of you may recall, so unless QC has gone to hell in a handbasket, I doubt if I'll find anything bad to say about the C1, C3, and T3.
The B1 and TB-1 are already getting good reviews around these parts, and I expect them to be different but very good.
What I DO hope to accomplish is to nail down the differences among the 6 mics, their strong points, and some rough suggestions as to what each model may be best suited for.
And that may turn out to be a good thing. The timing is perfect, too - we have some major names coming into the studio over the next four weeks and I hope to try them on a lot of different types of music.
In those four weeks, we'll have some well know rappers in, a heavy metal group just signed to Sony, and a fully equipt bluegrass group (bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro, and fiddle - all acoustic), and a variety of male and female singers. The Studio Project stuff will get some heavy use, and some direct comparisons.
Harvey Gerst
New member
Well, UPS just left, and I've opened the box. It's a very impressive looking total line of microphones. The C3 has a new snazzier hard case, complete with locking latches. The B series looks very similar (shorter, but about the same diameter). At first, the head grille of the B series looked identical to the C series, but on closer examination, there are some differences between the B and C series grille assemblies.
All the mics have the same satin gloss finish, and all of them have a hefty feel. The B1 mic mount is very space age looking, but I'm not sure it'll hold the B1 securely if you want to mount it upside down, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't really say for sure.
Some errors in the literature (it says the TB-1 is multi-patterned; it isn't), but the overall look and feel of the whole series is one of quality. Both series make a good first impression.
(Okay, I had to try and see if the B1 mic would slip out of the mount when it was upside down. It was a tight fit into the mount, but it could still slide slightly - except, when you turn the mic to where the diaphragm is facing the from, there is a hefty little metal extrusion at the base of the mic that prevents the mic from coming out of the mic by sliding it. Very clever, and very foolproof. The B1 can't come out of the mount when you position it correctly, period.)
Alan says the new B series uses internal shock mounts on the capsule, so an external shock mount isn't needed. Since the body diameter is identical to the C series, the standard C shock mounts would also fit the B series. I haven't hooked them up yet to see if the handling noise is eliminated by the new internal system, but I'll try it both ways - with, and without, the C series shock mount.
That's about it for now.
All the mics have the same satin gloss finish, and all of them have a hefty feel. The B1 mic mount is very space age looking, but I'm not sure it'll hold the B1 securely if you want to mount it upside down, but I haven't tried it yet, so I can't really say for sure.
Some errors in the literature (it says the TB-1 is multi-patterned; it isn't), but the overall look and feel of the whole series is one of quality. Both series make a good first impression.
(Okay, I had to try and see if the B1 mic would slip out of the mount when it was upside down. It was a tight fit into the mount, but it could still slide slightly - except, when you turn the mic to where the diaphragm is facing the from, there is a hefty little metal extrusion at the base of the mic that prevents the mic from coming out of the mic by sliding it. Very clever, and very foolproof. The B1 can't come out of the mount when you position it correctly, period.)
Alan says the new B series uses internal shock mounts on the capsule, so an external shock mount isn't needed. Since the body diameter is identical to the C series, the standard C shock mounts would also fit the B series. I haven't hooked them up yet to see if the handling noise is eliminated by the new internal system, but I'll try it both ways - with, and without, the C series shock mount.
That's about it for now.
Harvey Gerst
New member
Damn, this is starting to sound like one of those f**king magazine reviews, or even worse, a Musician's Friend page ("Wow, I dialed in my favorite tube amp, and there it was!"). Now I gotta find something nasty to say about the SPs, just for my own piece of mind.
LooneyTunez
New member
Harvey,
I humbly ask a favor...If you get a chance, please do a direct comparison between the TB-1 and V77...and compare them both with some other well known tube mic. There is a tube mic in my future, and it's got your good word written all over it.
To quote a line from one of my favorite movies, your assesment of inexpensive mics has been 'dead balls on accurate'!
Thanks in advance!
I humbly ask a favor...If you get a chance, please do a direct comparison between the TB-1 and V77...and compare them both with some other well known tube mic. There is a tube mic in my future, and it's got your good word written all over it.
To quote a line from one of my favorite movies, your assesment of inexpensive mics has been 'dead balls on accurate'!Thanks in advance!
chessparov
New member
Re: "something nasty"
Harvey, you could say something like "at these prices, these microphones certainly don't DESERVE to sound this good!"
Just love those kind of "quotes"-even if they're true.
Chris
Harvey, you could say something like "at these prices, these microphones certainly don't DESERVE to sound this good!"
Just love those kind of "quotes"-even if they're true.
Chris
Harvey Gerst
New member
Yes, the TB-1 and the V77 will go head-to-head. The V77 is gonna be a hard mic to beat - I use it a lot around here. And I'll be comparing all these to the TLM103 as well.
The timing really sucked; they got here one day after Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock finished his sessions. But we'll have plenty of time to try them on Vanilla Ice in a week or so.
God, I love this business.
The timing really sucked; they got here one day after Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock finished his sessions. But we'll have plenty of time to try them on Vanilla Ice in a week or so.
God, I love this business.
LooneyTunez
New member
That's Beer Drinking Cheesehead to you, Mister!
Harvey,
Looking forward to the comparisons!
knownuttin
New member
So, does that mean Robbie's moved back in with his parents? I guess it's no more humiliating than going on FOX "Celebrity Boxing" to get beat up by the guy who used to say, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
-kent
-kent
Harvey Gerst
New member
When you run a studio for hire, you become a little less judgemental about the music and you're more impressed with the musicianship. When somebody is paying you money to sit and record them, you find that you're really praying that the person can actually sing or play the instrument well. Bad playing and bad singing is painful, regardless of the type of music being recorded.
I haven't heard much music by Vanilla Ice, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Linkin Park, David Allen Coe, or some of the other people this group knows, but if they're of the same musical caliber as this group, it'll be fun to have them in.
You don't hafta be a big fan of the style of music to appreciate the musicianship and production that went into making the record. As you get older, you find that you have two choices: Either your tastes narrow, or your tastes broaden.
Funny thing: Right now, we have Pimpadelic in the big studio (heavy metal/rap), and Up The Creek in the small room (an all acoustic bluegrass band). During breaks, they're each popping in to listen to the other's session.
I haven't heard much music by Vanilla Ice, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Linkin Park, David Allen Coe, or some of the other people this group knows, but if they're of the same musical caliber as this group, it'll be fun to have them in.
You don't hafta be a big fan of the style of music to appreciate the musicianship and production that went into making the record. As you get older, you find that you have two choices: Either your tastes narrow, or your tastes broaden.
Funny thing: Right now, we have Pimpadelic in the big studio (heavy metal/rap), and Up The Creek in the small room (an all acoustic bluegrass band). During breaks, they're each popping in to listen to the other's session.
jet-rocker
New member
"Funny thing: Right now, we have Pimpadelic in the big studio (heavy metal/rap), and Up The Creek in the small room (an all acoustic bluegrass band). During breaks, they're each popping in to listen to the other's session."
That's the way that it should be.
BTW. I think recording Vanilla Ice should be a gas.
-Jett
That's the way that it should be.
BTW. I think recording Vanilla Ice should be a gas.
-Jett
Hey guys, I´m sorry but I DIDN´T say you should not get Vanilla´s gig...
I DO agree with Harvey! Each word he said is true, but I just need to mentioned that you don´t need to get old to act like that... actually I´m 25 and I´m already like that... damn... is this a good thing????
I´ll give you an example:
I just finished my studio, around a month ago, I had some friends band that I´ll take care since production ´till duplication, and they supposed to be my very first clients, but we agreed that the band wasn´t tight enought, so, more reaharsals for them. Anyways, I got my first clients, their music sucks but some musicians are very good and very good to work with (nice guys) so, I don´t really care about the band, even if I don´t like their music, I´m enjoying record them.
Huh, did I make myself clear this time? I just said I hate Vannila Ice, would be a pleasure to have him and his actual band in my studio...
I DO agree with Harvey! Each word he said is true, but I just need to mentioned that you don´t need to get old to act like that... actually I´m 25 and I´m already like that... damn... is this a good thing????
I´ll give you an example:
I just finished my studio, around a month ago, I had some friends band that I´ll take care since production ´till duplication, and they supposed to be my very first clients, but we agreed that the band wasn´t tight enought, so, more reaharsals for them. Anyways, I got my first clients, their music sucks but some musicians are very good and very good to work with (nice guys) so, I don´t really care about the band, even if I don´t like their music, I´m enjoying record them.
Huh, did I make myself clear this time? I just said I hate Vannila Ice, would be a pleasure to have him and his actual band in my studio...
Harvey Gerst said:
"when you position it correctly" is the key phrase here. I guess I'm a little less satisfied than you are with the mounting mechanism of the B series, since the mic can & will fall out of the mic if upside down & turned to a position in which the extrusion lines up with the gap in the mic clip. This means you don't have the full 360 degrees of rotational positioning in the mic clip at your option when mounted upside down. It's not an insurmountable handicap or a design weakness worthy of disqualifying the mics but I believe it deserves mention as a weakness or something that could have been a little better implemented. I suspect over time in the hustle & bustle a few mics will hit the floor because of it.
-Stephen-