need your help to decide between mics

P

patelt78

New member
Hey everyone, I'm in the market for a budget condenser (<250).

I'm trying to get a warm/mellow smooth sound. I'll be powering it with my presonus firestation preamps.

I went over to the listening sessions website and listened to the C1, B1, B3, and AKGc3000.

I don't get all the hype about the C1. It sounded thin, nasal, and harsh to me. I actually used to have one, and I never needed EQ in my mixes. This was nice, but I never had any other good mics to compare it to. In my opinion both the B1 and B3 sound better.

I think I like the AKG3000 the best though. It seemed smooth. The sibilance sounds were not harsh. Detail and transparency without harshness is what I want. My question is, how does the AKGc3000 compare to the Shure KSM-27? Price wise, they are about the same.
 
patelt78 said:
Hey everyone, I'm in the market for a budget condenser (<250).

I'm trying to get a warm/mellow smooth sound. I'll be powering it with my presonus firestation preamps.

I went over to the listening sessions website and listened to the C1, B1, B3, and AKGc3000.

I don't get all the hype about the C1. It sounded thin, nasal, and harsh to me. I actually used to have one, and I never needed EQ in my mixes. This was nice, but I never had any other good mics to compare it to. In my opinion both the B1 and B3 sound better.

I think I like the AKG3000 the best though. It seemed smooth. The sibilance sounds were not harsh. Detail and transparency without harshness is what I want. My question is, how does the AKGc3000 compare to the Shure KSM-27? Price wise, they are about the same.
Click to expand...

Waht do you plan to use this new mic for? Warm, mellow and smooth is a tall order for a budget condenser.
 
patelt78 said:
I never needed EQ in my mixes.
Click to expand...

To me, this is huge. If the sound is properly sampled for the source, you should need little or no EQ, and it will sound great. However, if you don't like the sound *in the mix* (as opposed to alone), then cool.

For folks that don't sound well on the C1, I've had some success with the MXL 67. The two mics complement each other.

I have not used it myself, but I've heard lots of folks say good things about the AT4033. You can get one on Ebay for under your target price.

-lee-
 
Check out the MXL V69..cool mic..AT 4033 is pretty nice but I've never tought of it as "warm"..but you gots to listen for yourself :)
 
Yo Patelt- You will find many people who are not big fans of C3000B, but- I believe C2000B is a versatile, fairly priced mic that has served me well in a variety of situations. I believe it to be a better mic than the 3000, in almost any application.-Richie
 
I have a SP C3 and it is totally different than the C1. I don't think it's "warm" but definitely cleaner and more natural. I'm not sure what warm is.
 
My definition of "warm" changes almost daily! :D

Recently I have however begun to attribute warmth more to my compression settings than anything, especially when using a colored compressor like the Drawmer 1960 or something.
 
If you look at the frequency plot of the C1 you'll se why you didn't like it, theres a 'presence' bump on the C1 which is pretty much tht opposite of warm - can be great for some voices - the v67 sounds much better on my voice, - the transformer rounds things out nicely
 
Check out Groove Tubes mics. I think the GT44 and GT55 both fall into your range. On the brighter side, but smooth at the same time.
 
I guess when I say "warm", I mean "well rounded.". That means that the sound should not be excessively sibilant, or have too much presence around 2500 hz. Also, no scooping of the mids. The mids should be full. I guess I'd rather use eq cuts after the track is recroded than trying to boost the mids after recorded.
 
suggestion

Behringer makes a couple of very good condensers that are inexpensive but very good quality. Read some reviews about them.... B-1 and B-2Pro.
 
Also consider getting an Electro-Voice RE15 or RE16.

They were designed by EV awhile back to replace the (then) popular RCA 77 ribbon microphone in radio and TV applications.
Therefore they are quite smooth sounding.

You can pick up a new RE16 for under $200. The RE15 is only available used now. Search ebay with both "RE15" and "RE-15" type spellings BTW if you're interested.

And millions of records have been sold with them on lead vocals FWIW.:)
(very popular at RCA and Chess Records during 60's/70's)

Chris

P.S. Am a fan of the SP T3, they used to also offer an option to further
"flatten" its response free of charge-you may check that now.
 
patelt78... after reading all your post above, I have a feeling you'd really like the Shure KSM44, a lot. I don't know if the KSM44 is out of your budget or not... but if you can, you should at least audition one before you spend any money.
 
patelt78 said:
I don't get all the hype about the C1. It sounded thin, nasal, and harsh to me. I actually used to have one, and I never needed EQ in my mixes. This was nice, but I never had any other good mics to compare it to. In my opinion both the B1 and B3 sound better.
Click to expand...

I had the same impression, but that doesn't mean that the C1 won't sound good on many vocals.
 
After doing some research for a couple of days, it seems like there is a lot of quality to be had for about a hundred bucks. After reading other people's impressions of the mxl v67, I think I will take the plunge and get one. It seems to be a pretty mellow mic with a slightly dark open sound. Sounds good to me. The 99 dollar cost will free up some cash for me to get the Line 6 guitar port. (which looks really cool by the way- I downloaded the software and the interface is awesome) I think for 99 dollars, the mxl v67 has to at least be a great value. Someone started a thread today on this forum with a grande piano recorded with a stereo pair of v67's. I think it sounds pretty great. Since the mxl is designed for vox, I figure I will like it on voice as well. If not, I can always get another mic down the road.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top