Fifty dollar mics

Mikey77 said:
This is one thread that should keep running.....

Just got a mic that retails for $18 in the USA ... Audio Technica ATR30.... Solid - Good Sounding - Why buy used at this price.

The Ham Radio guys love it as an alternative to the Heil PR40 at a tenth of the price.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1540

http://www.testfreaks.com/studio-microphones/audio-technica-atr30/

http://wize.com/microphones/p27511-audio-technica-atr-30-professional
Click to expand...

I use Audio Technica mics all the time and I really love them. I did not know about this model. Still available on amazon for $20. You know you're costing me 20 bucks here.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
hairylarry said:
I use Audio Technica mics all the time and I really love them. I did not know about this model. Still available on amazon for $20. You know you're costing me 20 bucks here.
Click to expand...

They're really solid mics... I can't believe they're only $20.

By the way my agent's fee is $19.....Whattthe....

let us know what you think of them.

Also today

I'm not sure what I've bought but I saw an ebay listing today for two AV CS15E mics. SDC condenser/electrets.
I'd never heard of AV mics so I googled and managed to identify them as EV CS15E mics. Not a mic I was familiar with but they were very cheap so I got them.

Anyone know what they're about?
 
Recent acquisitions from ebay:

Shure Unidyne 545D x 2.........$7...... plus $50 repair cost..... predecessor to the 57 and hard to beat.

Shure Unisphere 565SD.......$35.... predecessor to the 58 and twice as nice.

Electro Voice PL80......$16 Classic Stage Vocal Mic.... Sinatra liked this one.

Audio Technica ATR30......$5 ..... These are only $18 new.....Another solid 58 alternative from AT, built like a tank.

Audio Technica MB3000L.....$22....Great Stage Vocal Mic, little known and very underrated.... It's worth reading the Paul White-Sound on Sound review of these.

AKG D310........$22....... As used by ABBA.... whooHoo!....Great Stage Vocal Mic.... Looks like the Guggenheim on a NASA launch.

Electro Voice CS15E x 2 ... $8 ??? .... SDC as used by Elvis for vocals in his 70's Vegas days..... I've yet to receive these, but they're supposed to be pretty special.

Some of these aren't typical prices but any of us can strike lucky at times.
 
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Ev cs15

Mikey77 said:
They're really solid mics... I can't believe they're only $20.

By the way my agent's fee is $19.....Whattthe....

let us know what you think of them.

Also today

I'm not sure what I've bought but I saw an ebay listing today for two AV CS15E mics. SDC condenser/electrets.
I'd never heard of AV mics so I googled and managed to identify them as EV CS15E mics. Not a mic I was familiar with but they were very cheap so I got them.

Anyone know what they're about?
Click to expand...

Mikey,

I found this.

http://www.coutant.org/evcs15/index.html

No E. Is it the same mic? Generally speaking when you get an EV mic cheap it's a bargain.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Not yet

Mikey77 said:
Hey Larry did you blow your $20 yet?

To further confound the brain cells....

The ATR30 seems to be going down in price as we speak. I guess this is the end of its run so they're going out the door.

http://www.shopping.com/Audio-Technica-Professional-Unidirectional-Microphone-Audio-Technica/info
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Mikey,

Not yet. I've been spending my money on Christmas instead of microphones. I don't know what's come over me.

Radio Shack sold these. They get good reviews everywhere. I'll end up getting one of them out of curiosity.

I love my AT mics but none of them fit the $50 or less range. Yet.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Pg

brother rat said:
what about the behringer xm8500 or the Shure PG58 or any of the Nady mics?
they fit the under $50 requirement, but are they any good? or are they just typical $20 - $30 junk mics?
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Brother,

I don't own any of these but I have tried the PG mics and wasn't impressed enough to buy them in spite of their low price.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Mikey77 said:
Recent acquisitions from ebay:

Shure Unidyne 545D x 2.........$7...... plus $50 repair cost..... predecessor to the 57 and hard to beat.

Shure Unisphere 565SD.......$35.... predecessor to the 58 and twice as nice.

Electro Voice PL80......$16 Classic Stage Vocal Mic.... Sinatra liked this one.

Audio Technica ATR30......$5 ..... These are only $18 new.....Another solid 58 alternative from AT, built like a tank.

Audio Technica MB3000L.....$22....Great Stage Vocal Mic, little known and very underrated.... It's worth reading the Paul White-Sound on Sound review of these.

AKG D310........$22....... As used by ABBA.... whooHoo!....Great Stage Vocal Mic.... Looks like the Guggenheim on a NASA launch.

Electro Voice CS15E x 2 ... $8 ??? .... SDC as used by Elvis for vocals in his 70's Vegas days..... I've yet to receive these, but they're supposed to be pretty special.

Some of these aren't typical prices but any of us can strike lucky at times.
Click to expand...

Mikey,

Now you're in my neighborhood. The Shure Unidyne mics are great. I prefer them to the 57 for many things. Any time you get a 545 or 565 in the $50 range you're doing good. Not as cheap but highly regarded are the SM56 (I have one) and the 548SD (I want one).

The EV PL80 is one of the best stage dynamics ever made. It's a very smooth mic with great feedback rejection. My son, Uldis, has made multitrack recordings where everything was recorded with at PL80.

Here's "Lecherous Woman" by Uldis Heyl recorded to a Boss multitracker using the PL80 for everything.



They have been reissued. Has anyone tried a new one? I have three vintage PL80s and I've given two away. They're amazingly cheap if cosmetically challenged.

I have an Audio Technica MB4000C, a condenser mic that can use batteries. Surprisingly clean for a low end mic. I haven't tried the MB3000L.

The AKG D310 is a fantastic vocals mic. It's also very pretty. I recently acquired the better known AKG D312, another great vocals mic. Matt Lucas sang through my D312 on these recordings.

http://www.archive.org/details/ml2010-09-23

I think you'll have to agree, he was loving the sound of the AKG D312.

I also love my even older and very light feeling AKG D120E. I carry it with me all the time in my black catalog case I use for my road mics. Good for harp or vocals and my guess is it's a good cab mic too. I ran an AB test with the D120E against my Beyer M400 Soundstar Mark II and it compared very well indeed to this high quality European dynamic.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
hairylarry said:
Mikey,

I found this.

http://www.coutant.org/evcs15/index.html

No E. Is it the same mic? Generally speaking when you get an EV mic cheap it's a bargain.
Click to expand...

I'm still waiting for the mics to arrive but I found one info that said there were different capsules available so I think my ones are cardioid and there are also omnis etc.

Scroll down the page on this link and see the display of Elvis' stage mics..... There are some serious fans out there.

http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=56120&view=previous

Except for the RE and the rectangular thing, the rest are the EV CS-15E's.... so it must have been a favourite for Elvis in his last years.

The other cool thing is that I'm in the Australian Blue Mountains and I bought them off a guy in Tennessee.... so you never know eh.

"Thank you very Much"
 
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Mikey77 said:
I'm still waiting for the mics to arrive but I found one info that said there were different capsules available so I think my ones are cardioid and there are also omnis etc.

Scroll down the page on this link and see the display of Elvis' stage mics..... There are some serious fans out there.

For Elvis CD Collectors • View topic - ELVIS MICROPHONE?

Except for the RE and the rectangular thing, the rest are the EV CS-15E's.... so it must have been a favourite for Elvis in his last years.

The other cool thing is that I'm in the Australian Blue Mountains and I bought them off a guy in Tennessee.... so you never know eh.

"Thank you very Much"
Click to expand...

Wow! Cool stuff. Most of the mics Elvis used on stage we are now discussing in the fifty dollar mic thread. Hey, if they were good enough for Elvis.

And about the EV PL80 I have a story for you. My friend Larry Donn was setting up for a gig and he had a PL80 he was singing through. I told him I had one too and I liked the mic and used it all the time. He said it used to belong to Merle Travis, that he bought it from Merle's wife after Merle passed. Hey, if it's good enough for Merle Travis.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Correction AKG D321

hairylarry said:
Mikey,

The AKG D310 is a fantastic vocals mic. It's also very pretty. I recently acquired the better known AKG D312, another great vocals mic. Matt Lucas sang through my D312 on these recordings.

Matt Lucas Live at The Edge on 2010-09-23 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

I think you'll have to agree, he was loving the sound of the AKG D312.

I also love my even older and very light feeling AKG D120E. I carry it with me all the time in my black catalog case I use for my road mics. Good for harp or vocals and my guess is it's a good cab mic too. I ran an AB test with the D120E against my Beyer M400 Soundstar Mark II and it compared very well indeed to this high quality European dynamic.

Correction: Not AKG D312. AKG D321. That number dyslexia will get you every time.

Sorry 'bout that.
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Akg d120e

Hi,

I guess I'm going to have to start at 25 buck mic thread. I just got my second AKG D120E off ebay for $23.25. The first one I bought cost me $30.

These are ball mics, cardiod dynamics. I've used mine with good success for vocals and harmonica. I also put it on a guitar cab for a pedal steel player with a country band and it performed well there too.

These mics are very light but sturdy. Smaller than most ball mics with a cylindrical 3/4 inch shaft. But they sound big and that's what matters.

Made in Austria they were definitely at the low end of the AKG line but I guess they even built cheap mics good back then. Now that I have a pair I'm going to try stereo recording with them sometime and see how they do.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
The bay is expensive. I just got an AKG D70 for 15 euro, an AKG C3000 for 50 euro and a Sennheiser MD21 for 60 euro. All from local lists. If I compare with the prices on the bay, it's darned cheap!
 
cyrano said:
The bay is expensive. I just got an AKG D70 for 15 euro, an AKG C3000 for 50 euro and a Sennheiser MD21 for 60 euro. All from local lists. If I compare with the prices on the bay, it's darned cheap!
Click to expand...

cyrano,

Yes you can get better buys from individuals. Ebay has many experienced microphone buyers that know their value. Since I bid low I lose a lot of auctions, most often in the last minute. Still it's a kind of game to me.

The fifty dollar mic thread isn't really about the exceptional deal. I mean I got an SM57 for free but it's hard to find one for $50. It's about high quality mics that you can buy used or new in the $50 area.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Audio Technica MB3000L

This is a clip of me using the MB3000L that I mentioned earlier in the thread.

YouTube - Redemption by Mike Norton

I think it is a pretty special mic that is almost condenser like in a studio setting. They're discontinued now but are worth checking out.

Paul White in SOS gives them a very good rap, which is what set me off to find one.

The one down side is that they have this soft-feel vinyl grip on them that can look a bit shabby after a while.

I was wondering which AT mic has carried on the sound of this one in recent releases.
 
Mikey77 said:
This is a clip of me using the MB3000L that I mentioned earlier in the thread.

YouTube - Redemption by Mike Norton

I think it is a pretty special mic that is almost condenser like in a studio setting. They're discontinued now but are worth checking out.

Paul White in SOS gives them a very good rap, which is what set me off to find one.

The one down side is that they have this soft-feel vinyl grip on them that can look a bit shabby after a while.

I was wondering which AT mic has carried on the sound of this one in recent releases.
Click to expand...


I believe that it's the AT MB 1Kc isn't it?

I got some of the original MB and they seemed ok bur I was constantly fixing them especially the SDC one. I can't remember the model number off the top of my head.
 
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