All-round condenser - which of these?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Incarnation
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Which of these mics?

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    45
I

Incarnation

New member
Hi!

I'm looking for a condenser mic mainly for recording male vocals and acoustic guitar. Still it would be nice if the mic could be used almost in every situation when a condenser is needed. So as the title says, I'm looking for the best all-round condenser in price range of about 100-150 euros (about 150-225 USD).

Do you think one of those mentioned above would work?
 
Shure KSM 27
best all round condenser IMO

however any of the above mentioned willl work just dandy;)
 
from what i know, the sp b1 is a very all round mic. it can be used for nearly anything.

The v67 works very well with male vocals and guitar

by the sound of it another mic receiving good reviews is an mxl 960. it is a tube mic and is selling for $150us at www.musiciansfriend.com It is extreamly similar to the mxl v69 which sells for 300us. it may be a good mic to look at aswell. very good for the price as most cheap chinese tube mics are harsh and very poor.
 
I'm not gonna vote, because I only have two of those (the 990 and the 319). Neither is good for everything, and I doubt the other two are either (and I kind of doubt any condenser is), but I can say that my 990 sounds bad, and of the two 319s I have, one sounds pretty good, and the other was horrible, until I sent it to Mr. Joly and got the FDPE mod, and now it's fantastic. I might try and put new capacitors in the 990, but if I mess it up, I won't miss it.
 
The CAD M177 (cardioid-only version of m179) has gone on sale a few times in the last year for ridiculously cheap (around 70 bucks if I recall correctly) on musicians friend.... don't think they have it there now.... If I were in the market for some mics, and that sale came around, I'd grab a bunch, even though I already use m179's on just about everything.
 
ADK Vienna or Hamburg. I picked my Vienna up used off ebay for under $200. Soooo much better than my SP B1 and my Cad M177's. No comparison. Sounds stellar on vocals and acoustic guitar.
 
Daveg62 said:
ADK Vienna or Hamburg. I picked my Vienna up used off ebay for under $200. Soooo much better than my SP B1 and my Cad M177's. No comparison. Sounds stellar on vocals and acoustic guitar.
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A great mic to have in your collection but not a good all purpose I'm afraid. I like it alot on some stuff but it really produces as much suckiness on others.
 
AT4040 if you can get it used, AT3035 if you can't. I haven't used all of those on your list, but if I needed a cheap LDC, that would be it.
 
If you avoid buying any mic made in China, you'll do just fine.

If you buy a China made mic, you'll always be looking for something better....

If you look for Austrian (AKG), American (Shure), or Japanese (AT) made mics, you'll do fine.

Some Australian (Rode) made mics are ok, some German (Sennheiser) made mics are ok, but your odds are best with Austrian, Japanese and American made, me thinks.
 
soundchaser59 said:
If you avoid buying any mic made in China, you'll do just fine.

If you buy a China made mic, you'll always be looking for something better....

If you look for Austrian (AKG), American (Shure), or Japanese (AT) made mics, you'll do fine.

Some Australian (Rode) made mics are ok, some German (Sennheiser) made mics are ok, but your odds are best with Austrian, Japanese and American made, me thinks.
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Have you ever been trying Studio Projects mis? MXL V69 and V77 mics perhaps? And what about the AKG C1000 and C3000?
 
soundchaser59 said:
some German (Sennheiser) made mics are ok, but your odds are best with Austrian, Japanese and American made, me thinks.
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Yeh, I'd stay away from those German-made scummy microphones..


I mean who ever hears good things about Neumann, Schoeps, Microtech-Gefell or Brauner?
 
tc4b said:
AT4040 if you can get it used, AT3035 if you can't. I haven't used all of those on your list, but if I needed a cheap LDC, that would be it.
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i think the 3035 sounds cheap compared to cheap mics. i never really felt that one at all
 
MessianicDreams said:
Yeh, I'd stay away from those German-made scummy microphones..


I mean who ever hears good things about Neumann, Schoeps, Microtech-Gefell or Brauner?
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How does your comment fit in with the OP's comment here??

Incarnation said:
So as the title says, I'm looking for the best all-round condenser in price range of about 100-150 euros (about 150-225 USD).
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Yeah, I agree with you, I've never heard anything good about all the various Neumann, Schoeps, and Gefell mics they are selling in the under-$200 dollar price range.
 
Han said:
Have you ever been trying Studio Projects mis? MXL V69 and V77 mics perhaps? And what about the AKG C1000 and C3000?
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I will never buy another Studio Projects or MXL. The C1000 sucks compared to the better AKG mics, but it is a better deal than the Chinese mics. The C3000 is a better deal than the C1000. The C535 will beat any $200 dollar Studio Projects mic for versatility and natural sound, and there is one on ebay right now for $100 bucks. I'd buy it right now if I didn't already have one.
 
my honest oppinion. buy 2 different mics. the only way that you will have mics that are good on everything. grab an mxl v67 or 906 and a studio projects b1 or b3 and you will have an allround combination . You cant expect cheap mics to do good on everything.

Otherwise get a mic that isnt overly bright or dark, not overly transparent or colored. the m range of cad mics are good for that. so are shure 'sm7b' and 'sm57', senheiser 'md 421' and 'adk ce'. the prices of those mics will vary alot. the cad mics are your best shot in your price range with a condencer. Import one from ebay.
 
soundchaser59 said:
How does your comment fit in with the OP's comment here??
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What are you, the fucking thread Nazi?


I was, in fact, commenting on your comment relating to nationality of micropones. i was just pointing out that your generalisation was, shall we say, slightly flawed.
 
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