Budget dynamic mic...

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ecc83

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General-Purpose Dynamic Microphone | Maplin

No REALLY budget! Maps used to sell them at £19.95 but have dropped them down to £4.99! Snag! Very few stores have any but I have just received a box of 4 ordered online.

The mics are really nicely made. A matte silver finish and a strong wire mesh top. They weigh about 20g short of a 57. The XLR is very robust AND is wired correctly. I say that because the mic is supplied with a ~5mtr XLR to TS unbal cable and often these cheap setups have the MIC XLR wired ubal. Not this one and so you don't have to mod it. The lead has a moulded jack plug and so chop off the XLR and you have a spare guitar lead.

The mic carries no brand name. Around the top is "Professional Dynamic Microphone Imp 600 Omega (it actually has a DC resistance of about 550R) At the XLR end is a "CE" mark and "2013.09". Downside? It has a switch! Hate 'em on mics! Still, I shall just leave it on and gaffer it up.

I am going to use two of these, wrapped in cling film for wildlife sounds in my garden. I sent one to my son some months ago and he has used it for vocal PA and reports it ok.

I strongly suggest UK bods, get a couple of these! Got to be ok for a gitcab and who does not need a knockabout mic sometimes that would not make you weep if it got bust or nicked?

I shall try to do a 57/mapcheapo shootout and post it shortly.

Dave.
 
Got a frequency response chart?

I was very impressed with the GLS 57 clone I picked up form Amazon.Orange OCUnty last year @ $30 each. I guess they realized what a steal they were, because they're $60 each now!
 
mjbphotos said:
Got a frequency response chart?

I was very impressed with the GLS 57 clone I picked up form Amazon.Orange OCUnty last year @ $30 each. I guess they realized what a steal they were, because they're $60 each now!
Click to expand...

Come ON! Mjb! Even some very prestigious mics come with little or no specification, in fact mic makers are a bit notorious for not giving proper response curves (if at all!) and many just say "Frequency response: 50Hz -20kHz" Well of course the "response " at 20k could be it caught fire!

As I said, as soon as I can I shall strap one alongside an SM57 and make you all suffer some of MY guitar strumming!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Come ON! Mjb! Even some very prestigious mics come with little or no specification, in fact mic makers are a bit notorious for not giving proper response curves (if at all!) and many just say "Frequency response: 50Hz -20kHz" Well of course the "response " at 20k could be it caught fire!

As I said, as soon as I can I shall strap one alongside an SM57 and make you all suffer some of MY guitar strumming!

Dave.
Click to expand...

very true on mfr specs. I'm never real concerned on anything over 16K - I can't hear that high any more! I've seen an independent frequency chart on the GLS and it was very favorable compared to the SM57 (hotter, too).
 
Right! You ask.....No! You didn't actually.

Oh well, here is a take of a Turner £500 acoustic 6inches from the cheapo and a 57 running into a Scarlet 8i6. Who want to have a stab as to which is left or right?

If the guitar sounds a bit weird (apart from my playing!) it is because Son put it away minus a top E string and I don't have one handy. Down the town the morrow!

N.B the two mics are pretty close for sensitivity.

Dave.
 

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ecc83 said:
Oh well, here is a take of a Turner £500 acoustic 6inches from the cheapo and a 57 running into a Scarlet 8i6. Who want to have a stab as to which is left or right?
Click to expand...

Listening through ear plugs from the lcd display jack (ewww, I know, but not at home presently) I like the left channel better: sound is more round/warm and has more bass, while right channel sounds somewhat harsher.
Should have heard you playing live in order to judge if your playing was more like the left channel or the right one! :eek:
Which is which?
 
RecNewbie said:
Listening through ear plugs from the lcd display jack (ewww, I know, but not at home presently) I like the left channel better: sound is more round/warm and has more bass, while right channel sounds somewhat harsher.
Should have heard you playing live in order to judge if your playing was more like the left channel or the right one! :eek:
Which is which?
Click to expand...

The playing was equally grotty for both tracks. It was "stereo" all done in one take.

Not telling yet I would like a few more opinions...PREFERABLY on better kit!

Dave.
 
Oh my, one of the "sake of the form" editing I made actually erased the whole thing, ah well...

The gist of it:

2i2, Sennheiser HD457 (at least decent equipment)
it was obvious that it was a single take, exact match
I meant: "was room+instrument sound+your playing more similar to left or right? warm or sharp?"
that's as far as "true to life" is concerned

left is somewhat boomy and bass is muddied, but much warmer & full (like a reverb was used)

right can probably be worked on with some EQ, it feels like the high E string is separated from the rest
right has probably more detail in it but, as it is, it sounds harsh, metallic

I'm a sucker for warm sounds so I like left better
 
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Right side had definitely more high end. I'd guess it was the 'cheapo' on the right. How did you have them mounted - one directly above the other? If side-by-side, angled enough that they both pointed to the same guitar spot?
 
Your not in heaven ... till you get a 57.

My new slogan. ;)
 
mjbphotos said:
Right side had definitely more high end. I'd guess it was the 'cheapo' on the right. How did you have them mounted - one directly above the other? If side-by-side, angled enough that they both pointed to the same guitar spot?
Click to expand...

Stacked one above the other secured by a lot of lakky bands. Just for the craic I might replace one of the dymos with an AKG P150. But I shan't say WHICH dymo!

Dave.
 
Last infliction...Promise!

This time we have EITHER the cheapo or the 57 and an AKG P150* SDC stacked with front grills in the same plane.

I have used my KA6 for this test and find the dymo needs the gain flat out (guitar 6-8" from mics, which are aimed at the body-neck junction) and the cap' is at 11 o'clock for a bit under neg 20 in Samplitude pro silver.
I was striking the strings with a pick this time and across the centre of the sound hole (except when I plainly wasn't!).

I doubt any of you will have trouble differentiating the two mics but which dymo was it?

BTW. The MP3 was encoded at 256 bps and VBR at max quality. The original was 24bits at 44.1kHz .wav but I can't attaché those, not even 10 secs of 16 bits! Sam Silver is really handy for MP3 work.

*The current version is the P170, said to be virtually the same mic but with a 20dB pad rather than 10.


Dave.
 

Attachments

Right side has some highs that are totally missing from the left side, was it the 57 on the left?
 
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