Apex Studio Pack

mayonaise33

New member
Hey I was wondering if anyone had tried out this set of mics. The Apex-SP3 Studio Package. It has a 205 ribbon, 185 pencil condenser, and a 415 wide diaphram condenser.

For the price 270 cdn it looks like a good deal. Do you guys think this set would be good for recording electric, acoustic and vocals? and what would you use for each?

Also what is the main use of the ribbon mic for?

So is this a good starter deal or should I get induvidual mics, like a SM57 for electric and a condenser for acoustic and vocals seperate?

Thanks

here is the link to the site:

http://www.apexelectronics.com/index.php?tmp=4&id=1291
 
o ya, also do you guys suggest any mixers for around $100,

I have been looking at either Beheringer or the Yamaha MX 10/2. I bascially want one for the Phantom power option, and to do a little eq. Will these be good for just plugging the mics in and running it to my tascam portastudio...

Thanks
 
I'd pick the Yamaha over the Behringer. I wouldn't try to use the EQ on either.

As for the Apex thing, the only mic I'm really interested in out of those ones is the ribbon mic. Long & McQuade can get them for 150 bucks each, but they only stock them in the studio pack with the other 2 mics right now. You'd probably have to order it separate to go that route.

As for the other mics, I know very little about them. They're nice & cheap, but might not make a good long term investment. Other mics by companies like CAD, ADK, MXL and Studio Projects are fairly well known as good value in the El-Cheap-O department. I'd be concerned about quality control and cheap components.

For electric instruments, I'd reach for a dynamic mic. Shure SM 57, Sennheiser 421/441, Shure SM 7, Electro-Voice 635a, RE-20. Beyerdynamic also makes excellent dynamic mics, but they seem hard to find in Canada. All of these mics are great for recording, although most of them cost more than the Apex deal.

For acoustic instruments, condenser mics are a better choice for getting more detail into the recording. Small condenser? Large condenser? Bright? Neutral? Coloured? Harsh & grainy? Condensers can be anywhere on the map. I have no idea where the Apex ones are. Generally small condensers are used for instruments being more accurate, but there's lots of LDC's that do well here too.

For vocals, whatever works is what gets used. Very often it's a large condenser of some kind, but a good quality dynamic mic can easily win over a cheap, sibilant condenser. Small condensers usually don't work here. It dependsss what you want your vokalsss to sssound like. Dynamic mics are usually prefered for loud, screamy type vocals, but some models need a preamp that delivers a lot of clean gain to get a decent signal out of the mic.

Ribbon mics are a special case. It behaves half way like a dynamic mic (it is a dynamic mic, really) and sort of more like a condenser with much greater "reach", and greater transient detail. On the right source, ribbons can sound great on just about anything, but they're very fragile and often need lots of clean gain on quiet sources. The better ones are well known for very good bass and midrange response without sounding screechy. Some of them are kind of dark, like the Apex 210. The 205 has much less wind deflection stuff on it, so it would capture high frequencies better. They're known for sounding smooth, and for taking to EQ well. Ribbons and condensers will capture room sounds very well from having long reach, so that's another consideration. Dynamic mics have short reach, so if your recording space doesn't sound great, this type tends to reject the sound of the room a lot more. Popular uses for ribbon mics are guitar and bass amps, horns, drum overheads for jazz or sometimes vocals or just about anything else. The ribbon on these Apex mics will disintegrate if you put phantom power to the mic, and it could be bent or broken from air movement. Try to keep the mic away from things like the inside of a kick drum, or dumb vocalists that like to blow into microphones. The air blast could bend or break the ribbon. Cover the mic with the bag it comes with when moving it around, and try to store it vertically. Ribbons can bring good stuff to your recordings, but they're a new can of worms. Very delicate.

The short version:

Yeah, that Apex pack looks like a good deal, but I'd be inclined to look at what kind of mics you have already, what kind of mics you need to expand your collection to make it versatile for what you're recording, what kind of budget you have and what kind of compromises these mics might have to make them so cheap. There's a lot of features in that box for very little money. They might be just fine to get you started, but might leave you wanting more at some point. There's a lot of options out there. At least they're cheap enough that you're not out a whole lot if they aren't everything you were hoping for.


Good luck.


sl
 
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