cominginsecond
Decentralized Media Mogul
That's exactly what I did to get my 2 603s. It's such an amazing time to be a home recordist.
Best SD cardioid condenser, overall
- Thread starter geekgurl
- Start date
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
The Oktava's are versatile, and will work quite well if you can't afford better. Better- Neumann KM84's or KM184's. In the middle- Shure SM81's.-Richie
cavedog101
Well-known member
The small d. food chain looks something like this from bottom feeders to tree dwellers or some such......
ALL chinese/russian/pomeranian etc. mics..all good and all of the same class...add to this level ADK CS-1 nice but an occasional noisy one right out of the box..i do like it better than the octavas and only slightly better than the marshall
And THEN you get
aUDIX sCx-1
Shure SM-94 budget little bro.
Shure SM-81 this could go higher for an older model
AkG C-430 a lot of people should check this one out
AkG C-460/451 awesome
Neumann Km-84
Km-184 the newer one
Km-183 the omni capsule record an acoustic in a great room with this thing and see Gawd.......
ALL chinese/russian/pomeranian etc. mics..all good and all of the same class...add to this level ADK CS-1 nice but an occasional noisy one right out of the box..i do like it better than the octavas and only slightly better than the marshall
And THEN you get
aUDIX sCx-1
Shure SM-94 budget little bro.
Shure SM-81 this could go higher for an older model
AkG C-430 a lot of people should check this one out
AkG C-460/451 awesome
Neumann Km-84
Km-184 the newer one
Km-183 the omni capsule record an acoustic in a great room with this thing and see Gawd.......
meriphew
New member
Neumann KM84
Neumann KM184
Josephson C42
Groove Tubes GT44
________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
www.meriphew.com
Neumann KM184
Josephson C42
Groove Tubes GT44
________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
www.meriphew.com
About the GT44
I've got a single GT44 in my studio for evaluation right now. It is actually the first SD mic I have ever had the opportunity to use.
I have only used it on vocals (which I didn't expect much) and acoustic guitar.
My usual chain for both of these applications is an AT4060 into the RNP. On vocals it was no contest between the 4060 and the GT44. The 4060 sounded much more full and balanced. I know that is probably comparing apples and oranges in that application but I'm a singer so I've got to try everything on vocals
On acoustic it fared much better. Very detailed and not brittle. You could definitely hear the tube but it was not overly "tube" sounding. It was a bit more detailed than the 4060 but then again I can't put my 4060 as close to the strings/body as I could with the GT44 or the whole thing gets too muddy. Still, I like the body of the 4060 on acoustic. In the end, it ended up being a toss up. So for my money I will stick with the 4060 and look elsewhere for a SD mic considering the price of the GT44.
I think a pair of GT44's run about $1000 so at that price I would be giving serious consideration to the competition (i.e. C42, THE, Neumann, etc) before making this purchase.
Bottom line, good but not enough to make me jump.
BTW - I'm not claiming to be the authority on this stuff. I just know info on the GT44 is hard to come by.
Just my opinion
Jason A
I've got a single GT44 in my studio for evaluation right now. It is actually the first SD mic I have ever had the opportunity to use.
I have only used it on vocals (which I didn't expect much) and acoustic guitar.
My usual chain for both of these applications is an AT4060 into the RNP. On vocals it was no contest between the 4060 and the GT44. The 4060 sounded much more full and balanced. I know that is probably comparing apples and oranges in that application but I'm a singer so I've got to try everything on vocals
On acoustic it fared much better. Very detailed and not brittle. You could definitely hear the tube but it was not overly "tube" sounding. It was a bit more detailed than the 4060 but then again I can't put my 4060 as close to the strings/body as I could with the GT44 or the whole thing gets too muddy. Still, I like the body of the 4060 on acoustic. In the end, it ended up being a toss up. So for my money I will stick with the 4060 and look elsewhere for a SD mic considering the price of the GT44.
I think a pair of GT44's run about $1000 so at that price I would be giving serious consideration to the competition (i.e. C42, THE, Neumann, etc) before making this purchase.
Bottom line, good but not enough to make me jump.
BTW - I'm not claiming to be the authority on this stuff. I just know info on the GT44 is hard to come by.
Just my opinion
Jason A
I asked about those Josephson C42's on Fletcher's forum at recpit. They were very highly recommended and he said "I use them any place he would use an original Km84, if that tells you anything."
To me that says a lot for these mics. I am looking to get a pair soon. That even maybe me change my mind from Km184's.
Beez
To me that says a lot for these mics. I am looking to get a pair soon. That even maybe me change my mind from Km184's.
Beez
Cavedog,
I'm going to have to debate you on your statement that "all Chinese/Russian/Pomeranian mics ... all good and all of the same class".
I think that lumping in the MXL 603's ($140 /pair) with the Oktava MC-012's from the Sound Room ($600 /pair) would be a mistake. Same is true to say that these mics are just the same quality as the NT-5's, or the soon-to-be-released Studio Projects C4's, or the AKG C1000S.
Now, I don't contend that any of these mics are the same caliber as the KM184's, C451B's, etc., since I don't own them. But I think that you can only lump them together if you're deciding that you'd rather buy $1000 /pair and up mic's. Then, your comment is appropriate, because you aren't considering that end of the product line. Otherwise, there are many folks here who will tell you that the AKG C1000S doesn't play in the same league as the MXL 603.
Just trying to keep appropriate perspective here. Us bottom-feeders don't like to see too many generalizations about the cheap mics...
-mg
I'm going to have to debate you on your statement that "all Chinese/Russian/Pomeranian mics ... all good and all of the same class".
I think that lumping in the MXL 603's ($140 /pair) with the Oktava MC-012's from the Sound Room ($600 /pair) would be a mistake. Same is true to say that these mics are just the same quality as the NT-5's, or the soon-to-be-released Studio Projects C4's, or the AKG C1000S.
Now, I don't contend that any of these mics are the same caliber as the KM184's, C451B's, etc., since I don't own them. But I think that you can only lump them together if you're deciding that you'd rather buy $1000 /pair and up mic's. Then, your comment is appropriate, because you aren't considering that end of the product line. Otherwise, there are many folks here who will tell you that the AKG C1000S doesn't play in the same league as the MXL 603.
Just trying to keep appropriate perspective here. Us bottom-feeders don't like to see too many generalizations about the cheap mics...
-mg
Beezoboy said:
I have an good old KM84 and loaned a KM184 to hear the difference.
KM184, bright, borderline brittle.
KM84: natural, "warm", real,sexy etc.....
Hands down, the 84 smoked the 184
A lot more pleasing to listen to.....
The Rodents aren`t even close, I`ve used both NT4 and 5.
So, the Joshepson C42 is the obvious choice, for new mics....
Amund
cavedog101
Well-known member
Mgraffeo,
Your assessment of my previous statement is both true and just.I hadn't wanted to really break down the lower level of SD condensers but I'm willing to.I have owned several pairs and have worked with many more. I do a lot of acoustic recordings and for me the SD choices are few for high quality. Plexi's comments in the post after yours are very true words..he's a gearslut so he knows..I didnt include the c1000 in my comments because frankly, theres very few things i can think of to use them for....tamborine?maybe? Certainly nothing with strings on it. The Rodes I am familiar with are only the LD mics and even then not much. I did a session a couple of years back where a mandolin player brought in a Groove tubes mic that was a SD that knocked me out..wish i knew what it was now. The octavas from the sound room are in fact a much superior product to the MXL-603's,however that being said, the basic difference is youre paying for someone to weed out the junk in the case of the octavas.I own an octava MD-319 that i picked out of 20 or so that is an outstanding mic.But it was the only one...Suffice to say that your normal choice of octava from banjo mart will not come close to the 603's on average.at least the marshalls are fairly consistant. I also own a pair of the ADK's...and they're better than most at $200 a pair...But again, theyre not matched and you get a bad one every now and then.My post was intended to cover only mics that without a single listen you could buy one and plug it in and achieve very likely, pleasing results.So not to throw a shadow upon cheap or inexpensive mics at all.I own em too and find uses for them all everyday.TThat little ecm8000 is a perfect example...what are they, $40? and they sound great for a lot of things....as with all things...YMMV
Your assessment of my previous statement is both true and just.I hadn't wanted to really break down the lower level of SD condensers but I'm willing to.I have owned several pairs and have worked with many more. I do a lot of acoustic recordings and for me the SD choices are few for high quality. Plexi's comments in the post after yours are very true words..he's a gearslut so he knows..I didnt include the c1000 in my comments because frankly, theres very few things i can think of to use them for....tamborine?maybe? Certainly nothing with strings on it. The Rodes I am familiar with are only the LD mics and even then not much. I did a session a couple of years back where a mandolin player brought in a Groove tubes mic that was a SD that knocked me out..wish i knew what it was now. The octavas from the sound room are in fact a much superior product to the MXL-603's,however that being said, the basic difference is youre paying for someone to weed out the junk in the case of the octavas.I own an octava MD-319 that i picked out of 20 or so that is an outstanding mic.But it was the only one...Suffice to say that your normal choice of octava from banjo mart will not come close to the 603's on average.at least the marshalls are fairly consistant. I also own a pair of the ADK's...and they're better than most at $200 a pair...But again, theyre not matched and you get a bad one every now and then.My post was intended to cover only mics that without a single listen you could buy one and plug it in and achieve very likely, pleasing results.So not to throw a shadow upon cheap or inexpensive mics at all.I own em too and find uses for them all everyday.TThat little ecm8000 is a perfect example...what are they, $40? and they sound great for a lot of things....as with all things...YMMV
ScienceOne
New member
I LOVE my 603s'. Incredible, sweet, not-too expensive mics. I mostly use them on violin and acoustic guitar, but have had success with bass drum also (not a lot, but it got the job done). Most people have suggested it, and if Harvey did, then you know its well worth it. Its a mic you can grow with, you wont start to realize it sounds like shit when you gain a more experienced ear, because it doesnt sound like shit.
kid klash
The original Mr. Nice Guy
I'd vote for the Shure SM-81; I've used them for many years and would recommend them to anyone looking for an accurate, dependable SD condenser.