ADK Vienna Vs. Hamburg

[borntoplease]

i am looking at adding another vocal mic, and i am intrigued by the new moderately priced ADK mics. so... whats the difference between the vienna and the hamburg. im not in a position to test one out before buying, which blows... so, i need advice from the board. from what i have read, it seems the vienna is pretty shimmery with a boost in the highs, and the hamburg a bit more mid-driven, so to speak. is this a correct assumption? i have a "smoky" voice... i sing alt-country folk kinda stuff... i have a mellow baritone voice. so would i want something that makes the highs shine, or something with a boost in the mids?

 

[Solafide]

borntoplease,

What are the other mics you already have. If they are the typical lower priced condensers you probably already have the hyped highs sound covered.

I've only had the adk hamburg for a month now, so I have only used it on a few sources (vocals and accustic), but this is an excellent mic. I think the hamburg would work very well with Country and folk myself. The highs are very smooth, and the mic has its own sound (quite colored it a very pleasent way).

I have a shure ksm44, ntk and the hamburg as my main vocal mics (besides dynamics like a md421, re15, etc.).

Even though the hamburg is the least expensive of the three (I got it new for $210 on Ebay) It easily fits in the same class. (can sound amazing on accustic too)

If it was your only vocal mic I would recomend getting something a little more neutral, but if you are looking for something that will add a little charactor, the hamburg is a good way to go (IMHO).

 

[dudge]

The word is that they are very similarly colored.
The Vienna has more upper mid and highend bumps than the Hamburg. Other than that they are reputed to sound the same.

It has been recommended to me to get the Vienna as you can easily cut some high end and you have the sound of the Hamburg. It's not as easy to boost the high end of the Hamburg to get the sound of the Vienna. Cutting rather than boosting Eq is generally better. I'm going to get a Vienna, soon.

 

[Solafide]

The word is that they are very similarly colored.
The Vienna has more upper mid and highend bumps than the Hamburg. Other than that they are reputed to sound the same.

Thant is not the way I understand it. I guess we are both talking from hear-say as neither of us have used both mics and a/b them.

Here is a quote from JP Gerard from adk in response to coments on the vienna sounding thin:

About the Vienna sounding "thin", it's indeed supposed to be clear with very little midrange colour, but if you feel that it's not right, you could probably arrange an A/B with another Vienna at your dealer, just to check if all is well.

The hamburg on the other hand is very colored in the mid range. What I'm hearing going on in the mids on my hamburg, I don't think you could replicate accurately with eq.

Also the hamburg and vienna are modeled after two totally different mics.

Again, I have never directly compared the two. So this is just mostly from reading user comments and the discussion at the adk forum, and my limited experience with the hamburg.

 

[baekgaard]

Check here...

Dot has a short summary here:

http://studioforums.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/694106689/m/419100789/r/419100789#419100789

and

http://studioforums.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=1436041581&f=694106689&m=898100789

According to Dan, you can make the Vienna sound more like the Hamburg with some EQ (as has been mentioned already).

I haven't tried the mics, but feel tempted to, based on Dan's reviews. Just not sure how different they are from my existing LDC mics (SP B1, C1 and Røde NT1000). Might go for a CAD multipattern instead?

Anyway, just wanted to point to this post on another BB, since I found it helpful.


-- Per.

 

[Solafide]

baekgaard,

Looks like I stand corrected!

Its wierd that at the adk form they seem to make the differences much more drastic.

Thanks for that post.

 

[Bassman Brad]

Thanks for posting those links, baekgaard.

Solafide,
How does the sound of your KSM-44 compare to your Hamburg? I'm planning on getting the single diaphragm version of this mic (the 27) and one of the ADK's, and just wondered how far apart they are, tonally.

Brad

 

[mixsit]

Really the best way is to cough up enough to get them both side by side for a whole in a few of your mixes, then return one of them. The extra money's only for a short time. (Caution. Decide up front what to do if you happen to love both!
Wayne

 

[Bassman Brad]

(Caution. Decide up front what to do if you happen to love both!
Wayne

Ha, ha, ha!

Yeah, that's the problem, though, isn't it? Seriously, though, I've already decided that I want both of these mics, I'm just trying to decide which one I want to get FIRST.

Brad

 

[baekgaard]

You're welcome, guys. I guess there are always many opinions on mics, and they are not all in accordance with one another...

Anyway, Solafide, how does the Hamburg compare to your NTK?

I have the NT1000 (which I guess is "cleaner" or "brighter" or "more boring" or "harsher" than the NTK, depending on your vocabulary), and have been wondering how those ADK sound compared to it -- and just noticed now, at 2nd reading, that you also have the NTK to compare the ADK with.

Rgds,


-- Per.

 

[borntoplease]

thanks for the replys... so... im thinking the hamburg would be better for the folk thing... a little more color is always a good thing.

 

[Bassman Brad]

so... im thinking the hamburg would be better for the folk thing...

I have a hunch that the Hamburg would, indeed, be a better choice for a voice that you described as "smoky." Indeed, it sounds like the Hamburg was designed to sound especially good on these kinds of voices. Which is precisely why I'm leaning toward the Hamburg, myself, notwithstanding the articles that baekgaard was so kind to provide.

a little more color is always a good thing.

I'm not sure that I'd agree that more color is "always" a good thing, though.

Brad

p.s. It sounds like ADK is trying to move these two mics farther apart in tone with the Model II's. They say that the Vienna will have clearer, more sparkly highs, whereas the Hamburg Model II will be "softer" on the highs. Makes sense, from a marketing perspective, I suppose.

 

[ljmaxx]

thanks for the replys... so... im thinking the hamburg would be better for the folk thing... a little more color is always a good thing.

I have a matched pair of Hamburgs and if you'd like to hear them on acoustic guitar and vox PM me and I'll send you a link to check them out. The Hamburgs are the real deal for folk or country type vox IMHO. Good luck.

 

[Dot]

I spoke with Larry Villella of ADK after I'd had a chance to use the Hamburg and the Vienna side by side. He said I was correct that both mics basically sounded the same with the Vienna being tuned a little brighter. I was surprised they sounded as close as they do, and the only difference I hear is in the EQ curve. Larry also said that they were both designed so that people wouldn't have to use any EQ on them to get the right tone.

They're still great mics and in that price range both the Hamburg and Vienna knock the C1 off its long-held position at the top of the mountain for budget LDC mics. The C1 is still a very good vocal mic, IMO, but the Hamburg and Vienna are even better and worth the little bit of extra investment. They both have smoother mids and work equally well on vox and acoustic instruments.

Even though the Vienna is brighter, it doesn't have the "hyped" sound you get from a lot of Chinese-made budget mics. And there's not the grainyness of the AT4033 and AT4040. I'd say if you know you want a mic that's a little toned down then get the Hamburg. If you want something that sounds more open get the Vienna. If you're undecided which one to get then get the Vienna - which I've commented can be made to sound like the Hamburg by cutting a little dB around 3K and maybe even a touch around 12K.

I think if you have one of them it's not worth getting the other one. I know ADK might like folks to think there's enough difference, but coming from an objective guy [ me ] who listens to all kinds of mics through a really high-end critical system - they just ain't that different.

Either way you go I don't feel there's a better LDC mic on the market at this point below $300 than the ADK Hamburg and Vienna.

There's also an excellent soundfile by "gonzo-x" multi-tracking acoustic guitar with the mic in various positions using the Hamburg through an A Designs MP-1 linked from my notes at http://studioforums.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/694106689/m/419100789

 

[flashgame]

this is a good place for us.

 

[Bassman Brad]

Anybody had a chance to compare the two ADK mics to a Shure KSM-27. I'm planning on buying the KSM-27 and either the Hamburg or the Vienna. I want to buy the one that is furthest away in tone from the KSM27, to give me the maximum flexibility for recording.

Thanks,
Brad

 

[Dot]

Brad, if you want to get either the Hamburg or Vienna as a complement to the KSM then I'd recommend the Hamburg, which a bit darker, is somewhat colored, has a bit of "sheen" and is smoother than the KSM. But the furthest away from the KSM27 would be something like the MXL V69ME. The KSM is neutral and a little bright. The MXL is a dark, colored tube mic. It's an excellent mic and I highly recommend it. Runs about $299.

 

[Bassman Brad]

Brad, if you want to get either the Hamburg or Vienna as a complement to the KSM then I'd recommend the Hamburg, which a bit darker, is somewhat colored, has a bit of "sheen" and is smoother than the KSM. But the furthest away from the KSM27 would be something like the MXL V69ME. The KSM is neutral and a little bright. The MXL is a dark, colored tube mic. It's an excellent mic and I highly recommend it. Runs about $299.

Now THAT is probably the most useful information I've ever gotten on here. Exactly what I needed to know.

Thanks Dan. YOU 'DA MAN!!!
Brad
(edit typo)

 

[Bob's Mods]

ADK makes a vague reference to vintage german microphones in its Hamburg ad. Gee....I wonder what they are implying? Does this blackjack actually play in that league? The U47 was the venerated mic of the past...so a Hamburg is a sonic clone of sorts? Close, well maybe similar, dead ringer. What are they trying to imply?

Bob

 

[Bassman Brad]

Notice that ADK doesn't specify WHICH "vintage German mic" they are referring to. Don't know if it is the U-47 or U-67 or whatever. And, since they don't publish freq. response graphs, we also don't know how close they match the specs of the original, whichever one it is. However, I seem to recall that the U-47 & U-67 are both TUBE mics, whereas ADK uses an FET circuit. From what I understand, ADK has "voiced" their mics to match certain other, classic mics. (The C12 for the Vienna and the unspecified Neumann for the Hamburg.) All mic producers "voice" their mics, meaning that they design the finished mic to have a certain frequency response plot. This does not mean that they have the same tonal character of another mic with the same freq. response.

However, from what I understand, the ADK mics truly do "run with the big dogs" in terms of being very well-regarded, highly professional mics that will see lots of use, even in studios that have access to some of the high dollar prestige mics. As you've probably heard, the recent Grammy winner "Genius Loves Company," the duo album by Ray Charles, used many ADK mics. Some of which were even used on his piano and vocal.

Don't know if this is really true or not, but they've sure sold me. I'm buying one.

Brad