Does anybody use or used to use Groove Tubes Model One mics?

Seeker of Rock

The One and Only
After a lot of research and reading I decided to buy one. Like anything else, it seems there are lovers and haters of them. I would like to use it for vocals, but have heard they sound great on guitar amps so I guess we'll see once it gets here. Pretty expensive for an amp-only mic, though. I'm curious if anyone else has experience with them and what you've used them for, love them/hate them, experiences, etc..

This is the Sylmar CA built mic, not the Alesis or M-Audio mergers that came after. This one V V V.
 

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I have a bunch of the GT Electronics mics, AM62, 61, 52, 51, 40.....but not the one in the picture.

Like any company/manufacturer that has disappeared, there's always rumors and legends that stir up about their products. I see some people get all excited about a particular Groove Tubes model/vintage on eBay, but I don't think Groove Tubes made any mics that were either exceptionally stellar or bad. They just made good mics, and regardless of the vintage, like all mics, it comes down to flavor and personal taste....so give it a try on anything/everything and see what you like (or not) about it. :)

I like all my GT mics. I have a pair of AM52 (I actually have 2 pairs) permanently dedicated drum kit OH duties in an M/S configuration. I've use the 60 series (60 tube, 50 FET, 40 tube) on guitar cabs and some vox, and the 40 on piano and on acoustic, but not that often.

I mainly use 2-3 of my "current" favorite mics on everything these days...so a lot of the others will sit in their cases, but I like having a lot of mics. I've become somewhat spoiled with having a bunch of mics (though not anywhere near moresound's level of sickness ;)).
I don't do much multi-person stuff, so I have little need for putting out a lot of mics on a session. I've been into a couple Cascade ribbon mics lately...and my ADK CC on vocals (that's pretty much an absolute until I get something better than the CC).
 
The Alesis era Groove Tubes get some decent write-ups but I think the overall design was drastically different on those. I'm looking forward to hearing this one. My only GT experience was with a tube mic at GC about a decade ago when I spend a couple of hours auditioning mics. I forget the model, but it was one of the few mics that complimented my voice really well. The Model One and the later "a" series is a different design than those, too, but we'll see how this one adds up. The build looks really solid. Of course, if I hate it I'll sell it. They seem to move pretty quick at the price I paid.
 
The Alesis era Groove Tubes get some decent write-ups but I think the overall design was drastically different on those.

Maybe different from the earlier GT mics....but after Alesis and GT parted ways, GT re-released pretty much the same line with minor cosmetic changes and pretty much similar electronics.
The models were almost named the same. I don't recall all the model numbers, but something like the AM62 becoming the GT67....etc.

I bought up almost all my AM mics right when Alesis/GT parted, and I got them brand new at fire-sale prices from American Musical Supply, as they were just selling them off since they were a discontinued item.
Man....I got them for some outrageous prices! I think I was paying 1/4 of their street price, and I bought two of everything....then later on a grabbed a few more.
I even have a stock of the extra tubes for the AM62 and AM40 mics...which are not easy to find, as they are odd mini-tubes, about pencil thickness and only about 2" long with leads instead of pins.

In my current SOP....would I rather have two VERY expensive brand-name mics instead of a half-dozen or more of these....maybe...but at the time I was buying mics with the plan to do more session recording rather than solo recording, so I grabbed as many as I could at those prices.

I think you'll find some use for it, for sure.
 
Maybe different from the earlier GT mics....but after Alesis and GT parted ways, GT re-released pretty much the same line with minor cosmetic changes and pretty much similar electronics.

The one I just bought predates all of this. It is a different product (both parts and design) than the Alesis/GT venture, so I'm curious to hear how it sounds. During this period, GT came up with the Model One (later renamed as "MD1") and then subsequently the MD2 and MD3, the latter two with Josephson capsules (the capsule in mine was made by Primo in Japan). I believe this was their initial commercial venture into the mic market.
 
The one I just bought predates all of this. It is a different product (both parts and design) than the Alesis/GT venture, so I'm curious to hear how it sounds. During this period, GT came up with the Model One (later renamed as "MD1") and then subsequently the MD2 and MD3, the latter two with Josephson capsules (the capsule in mine was made by Primo in Japan). I believe this was their initial commercial venture into the mic market.



Are you able to open it up to see how easily it would be to remove the inner mesh?
 
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Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

UPS deliveries ROCK!

Except when what's inside the box is broken. :( The box wasn't damaged at all, but must've been dropped pretty hard because it broke one side of the elastic suspension mount holding the capsule causing the wire to the capsule to break from its solder. I held the wire to the capsule and it seems to work so today I'm taking it to my amp tech to resolder the wire and I'll attempt the repair of the elastic suspension. I may file a claim with UPS (it was insured for $400) for whatever time and materials I spend to repair it.
 
I fixed the elastic suspension and my soldering expert amp/electronics tech re-soldered the loose wire to the capsule's connection point and the mic is up and running. I have only had a chance to say "check, testing, sibilance" into it because it is a 'working weekend' for me, but I look forward to doing some comparisons with my other mics and through different pres.
 
Actually, there were a few minor parts in the power supply that needed to be replaced, so I took it to Hayden at Florida Electronics. It is a nice mic, handles high SPLs really well, and has a really cool vibe to it.
 
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