kidvybes
New member
BigRay said:
...since that article was written in 2003, the question would be "have any newer model microphones come out since that would be better choices for any of the categories listed?"
...the obvious would be the many decent quality Ribbon Mics that have been coming out of Asia lately (not as good as a Royer or Coles, but a whole lot more affordable)...other than that, I would substitute the RODE K2 for the SP T3 (the prices have dropped on both, bringing the K2 down to about the same $599. figure)...I have both mics, and although the T3 is a terrific mic, the K2 has got something special going on that gives it great "presence" in the mix...just one man's opinion...any other suggestions?...
BigRay
New member
funny, a lot of the mics I see there are talked about here as well.
It is a good article, regardless, and the mics listed are still getting reccomended.
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Take it or leave it, I thought it was a good article, and Im passing it along.
2003 isnt that long ago...and a lot of what is flooding the market is cheap chinese shit. There are some MXLs worth mentioning but havent heard of many new budget mics that are to die for.
It is a good article, regardless, and the mics listed are still getting reccomended.
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Take it or leave it, I thought it was a good article, and Im passing it along.
2003 isnt that long ago...and a lot of what is flooding the market is cheap chinese shit. There are some MXLs worth mentioning but havent heard of many new budget mics that are to die for.
kidvybes
New member
BigRay said:
...well Dan Richards contributes here frequently as well...as far as the "cheap Chinese s--- " remark, many of the mics Dan recommended have been referred to the same way...maybe it's time to drop that generalization and evaluate each product on it's own merit......
BigRay
New member
Funny, because Mr. Richards feels that the market is being flooded with Chinese Shit too.
"How exciting! Another cheap Chinese mic. Just what we need more of in the world. : )"
Bottom line is I value what he has to say(he is well respected and knows his stuff), and I think any mics he reccomends would have some amount of staying power.
A lot of cheap chinese shit is flooding the market....
that isnt a generalization...thats a FACT.
Anyway.....Good article. Thats the bottom line..I hope someone will find some useful info...in spite of it being a whopping 2 years old.
"How exciting! Another cheap Chinese mic. Just what we need more of in the world. : )"
Bottom line is I value what he has to say(he is well respected and knows his stuff), and I think any mics he reccomends would have some amount of staying power.
A lot of cheap chinese shit is flooding the market....
that isnt a generalization...thats a FACT.
Anyway.....Good article. Thats the bottom line..I hope someone will find some useful info...in spite of it being a whopping 2 years old.
kidvybes
New member
...In the past few years, Chinese microphone manufacturers have improved quality control quite noticeably...companies such as Studio Projects (797Audio), ADK (the same Hamburg and Vienna models you recommended in another thread recently), sE (who broke away from Feilo and set up independent design and manufacturing), MXL (who also now control the manufacturing of their product rather than offering OEM mics), and even Nady (with their extended family of budget Ribbon microphone) are now offering affordable "best-bang-for-the-buck" product that benefits all of us interested in home/project studio recording with limited bankrolls...
...Dan Richards himself has re-evaluated his choice for best large diaphragm condenser since he wrote that article:
"Having used nearly every Chinese-made budget mic on the market over the past few years, I would recommend either the Vienna or the Hamburg as the best large condenser mics in their class."
"An advantage the Vienna and Hamburg have over popular mics in their class, such as the Studio Projects C1 — which is a popular mic that I have recommended often for years in this price range — is that both these ADK mics work equally well on vocals and instruments. I have recommended the C1 as a vocal mic only, and have always felt it was a poor acoustic [ especially stringed ] instrument mic. The Vienna and Hamburg raise the bar. There's also a smoother and better mid-range on these mics than most people would expect for mics with a street price of around $250. These mics have a litte bit of color to them, but not too much. So far both these mics have performed well — better than expected — on male vox, female vox, various acoustic guitars [ dark and bright ], guitar amps, and drum overheads. In every case there's a nice, smooth presentation in the upper midrange — which is usually where most Chinese-made mics fall short."
...on Gearslutz, when making recommendations from the selection of Chinese mics, Dan stated:
"MXL has some hits and has some misses. I don't like any of the 200X series. The V69 ME is an excellent tube mic and a definite hit. Very dark and colored. The 603 small condensers are pretty good for the money, and the kit they come with, including the shockmounts are some of the best out of 40+ small condensers we've used. At this point those are the only two I'd recommend from MXL."
"ADK. A lot of good stuff. Front of the pack as far as the Chinese-made mics, IMO. The Hamburg and Vienna are very good. The TC is the best neutral tube mic we've tried under $1K. The TL 4-pattern is transformerless, very clean and a serious mic. The TT and CE are beautiful tube mics. Very rich. A lot of tonal variations can be had with the CE. ADK also makes custom mics through http://www.adkcustomshoppe.com/ Gotta love it."
"Studio Projects. Good stuff, too. Lots of hits from this company. C1 very good hyped mic with sheen. Great kit with shockmount for $199. T3 is an impressive multi-pattern tube mic. Very versatile. The $79 B1 has set a new standard for an inexpensive workhorse mic. Neutral mics. Very good on acoustic guitar and instruments. Killer on toms and works really well on drum OH's. The B3 sounds like a cross between a C1 and a B1. The TB1 tube mic hasn't won me as much as the other SP mics for some reason. Maybe I just don't think the B series translates as well to a tube mic. I dunno. C4 SDC's are one of the more impressive mics under $500/pr - and they come stock with switchable cardioid and omni caps. The C4's could stand to some with better shockmounts."
"The quality control on all three of these brands is pretty good."
(that sounds a bit different than "Chinese s---").
...the article you offer the link to (actually first appeared in Mojo Pie in late 2002) is a very relevant and usefull reference...I only suggested that there have been some improvements in the range of products available over the past couple of years...the difference is that a few years ago, the Chinese s--- mics you referred to were the majority of product...today that aspect is quickly dimishing as the Asian marketplace responds to the call for better and more innovative product...
...it wasn't long ago the Korean Hyundai cars were s---...today they're beating the Japanese at their own game, just as the Japanese whooped ass on American product (and challenged the German luxury car makers as well)..it was American engineers who taught the Japanese to build cars, just as it was German engineers who taught the Chinese to build microphones....
...I'm old enough to remember when "Made in Japan" was laughable...it's only a matter of time before the Chinese overcome that same stigma...
...Dan Richards himself has re-evaluated his choice for best large diaphragm condenser since he wrote that article:
"Having used nearly every Chinese-made budget mic on the market over the past few years, I would recommend either the Vienna or the Hamburg as the best large condenser mics in their class."
"An advantage the Vienna and Hamburg have over popular mics in their class, such as the Studio Projects C1 — which is a popular mic that I have recommended often for years in this price range — is that both these ADK mics work equally well on vocals and instruments. I have recommended the C1 as a vocal mic only, and have always felt it was a poor acoustic [ especially stringed ] instrument mic. The Vienna and Hamburg raise the bar. There's also a smoother and better mid-range on these mics than most people would expect for mics with a street price of around $250. These mics have a litte bit of color to them, but not too much. So far both these mics have performed well — better than expected — on male vox, female vox, various acoustic guitars [ dark and bright ], guitar amps, and drum overheads. In every case there's a nice, smooth presentation in the upper midrange — which is usually where most Chinese-made mics fall short."
...on Gearslutz, when making recommendations from the selection of Chinese mics, Dan stated:
"MXL has some hits and has some misses. I don't like any of the 200X series. The V69 ME is an excellent tube mic and a definite hit. Very dark and colored. The 603 small condensers are pretty good for the money, and the kit they come with, including the shockmounts are some of the best out of 40+ small condensers we've used. At this point those are the only two I'd recommend from MXL."
"ADK. A lot of good stuff. Front of the pack as far as the Chinese-made mics, IMO. The Hamburg and Vienna are very good. The TC is the best neutral tube mic we've tried under $1K. The TL 4-pattern is transformerless, very clean and a serious mic. The TT and CE are beautiful tube mics. Very rich. A lot of tonal variations can be had with the CE. ADK also makes custom mics through http://www.adkcustomshoppe.com/ Gotta love it."
"Studio Projects. Good stuff, too. Lots of hits from this company. C1 very good hyped mic with sheen. Great kit with shockmount for $199. T3 is an impressive multi-pattern tube mic. Very versatile. The $79 B1 has set a new standard for an inexpensive workhorse mic. Neutral mics. Very good on acoustic guitar and instruments. Killer on toms and works really well on drum OH's. The B3 sounds like a cross between a C1 and a B1. The TB1 tube mic hasn't won me as much as the other SP mics for some reason. Maybe I just don't think the B series translates as well to a tube mic. I dunno. C4 SDC's are one of the more impressive mics under $500/pr - and they come stock with switchable cardioid and omni caps. The C4's could stand to some with better shockmounts."
"The quality control on all three of these brands is pretty good."
(that sounds a bit different than "Chinese s---").
...the article you offer the link to (actually first appeared in Mojo Pie in late 2002) is a very relevant and usefull reference...I only suggested that there have been some improvements in the range of products available over the past couple of years...the difference is that a few years ago, the Chinese s--- mics you referred to were the majority of product...today that aspect is quickly dimishing as the Asian marketplace responds to the call for better and more innovative product...
...it wasn't long ago the Korean Hyundai cars were s---...today they're beating the Japanese at their own game, just as the Japanese whooped ass on American product (and challenged the German luxury car makers as well)..it was American engineers who taught the Japanese to build cars, just as it was German engineers who taught the Chinese to build microphones....
...I'm old enough to remember when "Made in Japan" was laughable...it's only a matter of time before the Chinese overcome that same stigma...
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O
ozraves
New member
That article was originally published here:
http://www.mojopie.com/micproj.html
I put together my own recommendations for 2005 here:
http://www.mojopie.com/micproj2005.html
I'm putting together a 2006 version which will go up after the first of the year.
My core budget mic recommendations remain the AT4040, Oktava MK012 pair and an ATM25. I'm adding a recommendation for someone with more budget to be the AT4047, Avenson Audio STO-2 pair, and an ATM25.
I'm cutting out the Groove Tubes GT33 and GT44 references.
http://www.mojopie.com/micproj.html
I put together my own recommendations for 2005 here:
http://www.mojopie.com/micproj2005.html
I'm putting together a 2006 version which will go up after the first of the year.
My core budget mic recommendations remain the AT4040, Oktava MK012 pair and an ATM25. I'm adding a recommendation for someone with more budget to be the AT4047, Avenson Audio STO-2 pair, and an ATM25.
I'm cutting out the Groove Tubes GT33 and GT44 references.
D
Dot
New member
TLS has continued testing mics, and the mics in that article have all held up well in the three years since it was written. I'll be writing an updated version. Glad you guys enjoyed the article.
