Musician's Friends & Accuracy of Ads - MXL V250 Deal of the Day

[arcaxis]

Would you call Musician's Friend for microphone advice? Probably better not to if they don't the difference between and LDC and SDC . The MXL V250 is made for Guitar Center and its affiliates, MF being one of them.
I bought a V250 a few years back on a Stupid Deal of the Day for $50 with intentions of using for a base for modding. Never got around to it. Not a bad sounding mic for what it is. For reference the Audio Technica AT2020 has a 16mm diaphragm.
Stupid Deal of the Day | Musician's Friend

MXL V250 | RecordingHacks.com

A few Youtube vids of the V250.....
YouTube

 

[mjbphotos]

They just copy the mfr's descriptions. They call the AT2020 an 'LDC', too, whereas Sweetwater properly labels it as a 'medium'.

 

[cyrano]

From what diameter does a mic go from SDC to LDC?

Or from SDC to medium and from medium to LDC?

 

[Steenamaroo]

This has been a thing with MXL for a long time.
I remember the 990 and 991 were sold as large and small, respectively, but didn't they have the same capsule?
If not, it wasn't as clear cut as 1/2" and 1", which seems to be an accepted rough guide.

I think, but don't quote, they're both 17mm diaphragms in 20-22mm capsules. I guess people pick the number that suits best.
It seems like it's pretty common for 'SDCs' to be slightly bigger, though; 16/17/8mm.

It's funny how you only feel deceived one way around.
If I see a 'pencil' mic described as SDC and think it looks a bit fat, I'll assume the diaphragm is a little bigger than normal. Who cares.
If I see a big basket 'LDC' and find out it's got a piddly little capsule in it, I'll feel robbed.

 

[arcaxis]

From what diameter does a mic go from SDC to LDC?

Or from SDC to medium and from medium to LDC?

I don't know that I've ever seen anything definitive. I have some pencil condensers with 16mm and 17mm diaphragms which are considered SDC's. The AT2020 is also 16mm. While my AT4033a has the deceptive look of an LDC, its diaphragm is only 11.5mm. Most of my 'LDC's' are up around 25mm to 27mm diaphragms. I've got a Shure KSM32 I've always considered a 'medium' at 19mm. As far as the term 'LDC', it seems to be a descriptor the retailer may tack on and may not seem to correspond with what the diaphragm size really is.

Neumann's spin on size....
What Is the Difference Between Large and Small Diaphragm Microphones?

 

[Gtoboy]

Recordinghacks.com has 25 mm as the split point which is approx. an inch. I think that's pretty reasonable. I agree that it's just manufactures ads that get copied that can be misleading. I don't know how much of that is down to ad copywriters imagination and what is company policies. I expect there is probably a difference of opinion among a given mfg engineers, management, sales and marketing as to what is acceptable. Sometimes the prevailing sales strategy looks questionable to informed consumers, but I don't think of it as malicious, just poor decision making. Like any other purchase it's always best to do your homework

 

[CoolCat]

I go with RecordingHacks too...1" is LDC.
I think Shure even mentioned the KSM44 and 27 are LDC while the KSM32 is just below the 25mm/1".

recordinghacks-KSM32 clip>
It is not a large diaphragm, according to the traditional definition of “large” as “1 inch diameter.” However, Shure claims the 0.75''-diameter diaphragm in the KSM32 confers other benefits:>

 

[arcaxis]

RecordingHacks has pretty much been my guide as well and they seem to be the most accurate for mic specs.

 

[cyrano]

There's only one pencil mic that qualifies as an LDC, IIRC. And I don't even remember the brand.

I take 25 mm as the line too. But I've had comments that 20 mm is an LDC too.

Personally, I think it has a lot to do with the housing. Pencil mics are SDC's to most people. Anything that isn't a pencil mic, is LDC to the marketeers. Deception is their business.

It's just unfortunate, as the pencil mic body is close to ideal, acoustically. The other type isn't ideal. I guess that's where some of the colour comes from...