Pair of mics choice

noisedude

noisedude

New member
I'm selling my Behringer UB1204 and my AKG C1000S to raise some revenue for a pair of mics. I need them for overheads, but it would be great if they could try their hand at some stereo recording of piano, acoustic guitar and maybe electric and vocals (in decreasing order of importance).

So basically good OHs, then versatility is a bonus.

I'm talking really cheap here, guys. I don't often record drums but as of now don't have the capability to do so at home anyway.

I've got a couple of ideas - ADK SC-1s are £49 each. Then there's SP B1s, which are about £60 each and come with shockmounts. And lastly, SE Electronics SE-1A, about £70 each.

C4s, Oktavas etc are out of range unless you reckon all my ideas are gack.
 
noisedude said:
I'm selling my Behringer UB1204 and my AKG C1000S to raise some revenue for a pair of mics. I need them for overheads, but it would be great if they could try their hand at some stereo recording of piano, acoustic guitar and maybe electric and vocals (in decreasing order of importance).

So basically good OHs, then versatility is a bonus.

I'm talking really cheap here, guys. I don't often record drums but as of now don't have the capability to do so at home anyway.

I've got a couple of ideas - ADK SC-1s are £49 each. Then there's SP B1s, which are about £60 each and come with shockmounts. And lastly, SE Electronics SE-1A, about £70 each.

C4s, Oktavas etc are out of range unless you reckon all my ideas are gack.
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I was just looking at the se1a mics myself
http://www.gear4music.com/index.php?sec=proddetails&pcode=SE1A

Thomann have a lot of their mics made by SE we had a discussion about these before
http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw2_the_tbone_sc100ii_stereoset_prodinfo.html

You won't beat that price, thomann charge a flat rate shipping though at £15 - that's great when you're getting a PA, a few amps and a drumkit but not so great when you're getting say ... a pair of SDCs
 
Paddy - that T-Bone looks like the ADK / SE ones! But it has pad and hi-pass. I wonder what customer service would be like though ...
 
Thats a back-electret mic, now there are some good back electrets like my AT3035s but the vast majority are awful.

If your going to take a chance on back electrets theres these: http://www.musicstorekoeln.de/englisch/shop/produktinfo.asp?info=REC0003135-000

also available as a pair for €99 (£69) - musicstore charge flatrate postage too only €14 (£9) postage to the uk

A guy in stockport was selling the oktavas for £60 a while back .. He has them still

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15198&item=3765210786&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15198&item=3765213271&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15198&item=3765214177&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15198&item=3765214017&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I got my pair from this guy a while ago
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41466&item=3764731465&rd=1

$230 = £120
 
noisedude said:
I'm selling my Behringer UB1204 and my AKG C1000S to raise some revenue for a pair of mics. I need them for overheads, but it would be great if they could try their hand at some stereo recording of piano, acoustic guitar and maybe electric and vocals (in decreasing order of importance).

So basically good OHs, then versatility is a bonus.

I'm talking really cheap here, guys. I don't often record drums but as of now don't have the capability to do so at home anyway.

I've got a couple of ideas - ADK SC-1s are £49 each. Then there's SP B1s, which are about £60 each and come with shockmounts. And lastly, SE Electronics SE-1A, about £70 each.

C4s, Oktavas etc are out of range unless you reckon all my ideas are gack.
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Noisedude, FWIW, I learned the hard way (or expensive way) that you really get what you pay for (Buy Cheap, Buy Twice) and ended up replacing almost all my cheap budget mics. All the cheap under $200 preamps are pretty much the same, give or take a little and the same goes for the cheap budget mics... sure some are a little better than others, but they're all still cheap budget mics. On the other hand, if you don't have any mics or much money... just get any pair of cheap budget SDC for now, and start recording... you can always upgrade later. The Marshall MXL603SPR or Behringer B5's, among others, are ok entry-level mics. Oh and by the way, the Oktava MK-012's are only $100 each... ozraves wrote the following in another thread.
ozraves said:
the oktavas are not sold at musician's friend but only at their stores aka guitar center.

you can get them online for $100 each here... http://www.jrrshop.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=107&products_id=614
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I used the SE1 and thought it sucked. I haven't used the new version. I've read it's better but don't know this from actual use.

Of the ones you list I like the Studio Projects B1.

I like the Oktavas a lot for versatility and musicality.

The C4s are somewhat impressive overheads as are a pair of CAD M179s. How much are these mics in the UK?
 
C4s are £220 ($450 USD) a pair. M179s are about £200 ($400 USD) each.

With the dollar being a bit crap at the minute I could look at buying from the states.

I feel like I should at least have tried a B1 at some point in my life. But I just haven't quite found a need to it yet.

I really am clueless what to do now. Thanks for your help to now, guys, but keep it coming because I'm still a little way off deciding.
 
Ok, here's a post to clear up pricing issues. BTW all these mics are going through my Soundcraft M12 to a Delta 44, so the rest of my chain is good for now. Mics are my weak link, then I'm gonna do monitors, then look at outboard FX etc maybe in a year.

Behringer B5 - £66 each (Cardioid and omni heads)
CAD M179 - £269 (I'm sure there's a better price than that somewhere, but still too much)
M-Audio Solaris - £179
MXL 603 - Not available on its own, but in a pack with 2001 - £169
Oktava MK012a - 1 capsule version, £89 each or £200 a matched pair
SE SE1A - £69 each or £200 a matched pair (WTF???)
SP B1 - £64 each with shockmount
ADK SC-1 £49 each

Dig me a bargain outta that lot then.
 
Guitar Center has been having a sale on Groove Tubes gt-33 and gt-44 mices for $99 and $199 each. DOn't know how you'd get those across the pond.
 
noisedude said:
Ok, here's a post to clear up pricing issues. BTW all these mics are going through my Soundcraft M12 to a Delta 44, so the rest of my chain is good for now. Mics are my weak link, then I'm gonna do monitors, then look at outboard FX etc maybe in a year.

Behringer B5 - £66 each (Cardioid and omni heads)
CAD M179 - £269 (I'm sure there's a better price than that somewhere, but still too much)
M-Audio Solaris - £179
MXL 603 - Not available on its own, but in a pack with 2001 - £169
Oktava MK012a - 1 capsule version, £89 each or £200 a matched pair
SE SE1A - £69 each or £200 a matched pair (WTF???)
SP B1 - £64 each with shockmount
ADK SC-1 £49 each

Dig me a bargain outta that lot then.
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I'd gamble on an unmatched pair of oktavas and a b1 - you should be able to do that for £200.

If I was really broke I'd get the tbone mics, thomann are reasonably good for customer service considering their size (think Dabs of the music world) but you have to do it on the phone. I only know one person that had problems with thomann and they gave him a free meterbridge for his mackie desk in the end.
 
paddyponchero said:
I'd gamble on an unmatched pair of oktavas and a b1 - you should be able to do that for £200.
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How do you think this would be possible? Where would I be able to get a deal like that?

Thanks for your help mate.
 
noisedude said:
How do you think this would be possible? Where would I be able to get a deal like that?

Thanks for your help mate.
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Well I havn't used them myself but jrrshop have the oktavas and the B1, you should call or e-mail for shipping costs

I've bought all my mics on for the last few years
 
Thank you, Mr Jones. I think that following Paddy's help that I may go for Oktavas, they're about £55 for jrrshop which is peanuts, so may ask if they do a matching service at all. The SM81s are almost four times the price.

Whether I'm looking for SDCs is up to you, the viewer. People have said nice things about B1s for overheads and acoustics, so who knows?
 
Hehe ... ok sorry. I'll leave it at this now. I'll have you know I've been good at aquiring gear recently ... a Yamaha MG10/2 followed by a Soundcraft M12, new software and some DI boxes and extra dynamics for my live rig ...

I reckon it's a pair of Oktavas and, for the beans of it, a B1 provided my budget stretches. It's rent time and my enery bills just came in, so it will be a couple of weeks now. But as soon as they're here I'll let you know how I find them.
 
noisedude said:
Hehe ... ok sorry. I'll leave it at this now. I'll have you know I've been good at aquiring gear recently ... a Yamaha MG10/2 followed by a Soundcraft M12, new software and some DI boxes and extra dynamics for my live rig ...

I reckon it's a pair of Oktavas and, for the beans of it, a B1 provided my budget stretches. It's rent time and my enery bills just came in, so it will be a couple of weeks now. But as soon as they're here I'll let you know how I find them.
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Just got a 10/2 for my guitarist from musicstore.de - extremely nice for the money and soooo dinky, was trying to think of an excuse to get one for myself, best of luck with your purchases :)
 
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