Baywiew's Cascade Mics

A

adam

New member
Bayview is including some if its "Cascade" mics in various deals. Here is a link.

http://bayviewproaudio.com/SpecialSalePage.html

I am looking to buy an RME HDSP card and with one of the bundles they are throwing in 2 of the Cascade M-20s.

Cascade seems to the Bayview's own brand. Does anyone have any information or experience with them?

With the RME card, I was also looking for 2-3 mics that would work mainly acoustic guitar and vocals, and maybe overheads. These seem to fit the bill but I can't find ANY info on them, other than on the site.

Thanks in advance.
 
Bayview / Cascade

Given that Bayview is located in the general vicinity of the Cascade Mountains, I suspect that "Cascade" is their own brand.

I also suspect that these mics come out of the same two factories in China that lots and lots of low-priced condensor mics -- of various brands -- come from.

At one point, a couple years ago, somebody from one of the factories (797, I think?) posted some English-as-written-by-a-Chinese-person-who-doesn't-know-English-extremely-well messages on r.a.p. looking for interest in their products.

Since then, these dozens of brands and models of similar mics have appeared. I don't really know what the business / production arrangements are for all of them: I suspect that some brands and models (Marshall, maybe?) are specially manufactured to the distributor's own specs (perhaps with some parts supplied, or at least speced, by the distributor), and are subjected to further processing by the distributor (QC, at least). Others, I think they just say "Send me 10,000 of those in black cases with the enclosed logo printed on them." I have no idea where Bayview particularly fits into any of this. Their mics may be handbuilt by artesians in Tumwater, for all I know.
 
Yeah, I've been reading more and more about the various chinese mics, some are good some are bad, and it seems many are rebranded, even though they are essentially the same mic. Do any of these specs look familar?

"The Cascade model line is a division of Bayview Pro Audio. The M-20 offers an improved grill and upgraded specifications. The performance from it's 1 "gold vacuum, plated diaphragm help make the M-20 a great studio utility mic capable of excelling in all sorts of recording tasks and environments. Add to that it's -10dB pad and lo-cut f'dter switches and it's easy to see why the M-20 with it's smooth frequency response, transparency and dynamic range is a serious addition to a wide range of users.

Specification

Type: large diaphragm condenser
Frequency Response: 25Hz to 20kHz
Polar Pattern: cardioid
Sensitivity: >16m V/Pa
Output Impedance: <200 ohm
Output Noise: <17dB typical, A weighted
THD: <0.5% at 120 dB SPL
Power: +48V"


Or this picture?
http://bayviewproaudio.com/ProductDetail.asp?Products_Action=Find('ProductID','casm20')&Products_Position=FIL%3A++Manufacturer+LIKE+%27%2ACascade%2A%27ORD%3AABS%3A3KEY%3Acasm20PAR%3A
 
certainly interesting.. while those mics might not be useful for anything more than a door stop, given that they're charging the same price for most things as anywhere else, it certainly tips the scales, no? I've wanted a delta1010LT for a while but the local store has been out of stock... if i can work out the shipping with these guys (i'm in canada) then they've got my buisness, and i'll be sure to report on the quality of the mic.
 
The people at Bayview are really nice and give good customer service. They get my business when possible.
 
Adam,

Just to set the record straight, and nothing else. They are SE microphones made by Fielo in South China with a new housing...nothing more, or nothing less. No improvements or changes were made according to SE who I spoke with at NAMM. Bayview was terminated as an SE Distributor, so they agreed to sell OEM to Mike at Bayview under another name using a different body.

That is the real deal, so I hope that helps answer your question.
 
JFogarty said:
Hey alan, I hope you come back to stay....
Click to expand...

That may be a possibility.... We shall see what happens over the next couple of days, but thank you..

Alan Hyatt
 
Thanks very much for the information Alan. Interestingly was already eyeing the SE mics, so makes sense to me. Seems Similar the M-20 looks like it might be a SE 1100.

Thanks again!
 
FYI - i bought a delta1010LT from them and got a free M20. it came in an SE Electronics box and had SE2000 checked off.
 
FYI - i bought a delta1010LT from them and got a free M20. it came in an SE Electronics box and had SE2000 checked off.
Click to expand...

Cool. Have you had a chance to try them out yet?
 
nope. just got the nescessary cables today. my dmp3's still on order but i'll try it through my mackie and see how it is.. it's my first LD so i wont be able to review it so well. perhaps i'll post an mp3.
 
great. I just ordered the rme multiface with 2 of the M-20s. So i'll have my own review in a week of so.

The guy at bayview seemed very nice. The deals are good and he was trying to work out a deal for me for a preamp.

I did lots of research and figured the DMP3 would be good for me. It is small - with the RME it is only 1 rack space. Space is an issue today as I live in a NYC 1 bedroom apt. Hopefully only another 6 months or so. and I can use it as a direct too.

The guy at bayview was giving me more info about other choices, he mentioned the Presonus Blue tube. That doesn't get great comments on this board, and I have an ART tube MP which I don't really like. Just looking for clean ins.

The mixer option is interesting, and seems economical, but space is an issue for me right now. He mentioned the Soundcraft M series, and others on this board seem to have good things to say. I just don't think I have the space for it right now.

Sorry to ramble, but I am not the kind of person you want to offer new suggestions to right before I'm ready to buy :p LOL!

I'll probably get the DMP3 anyway and when I have more room, revisit the board idea. The RNMP also seems interesting...
 
Now that Adam and Shadowfax have had a chance to use these mics for awhile, what,s the chance of getting a review on them?
 
Since I received the Cascade mics I have recorded vocals for 2-3 songs, some acoustic stuff and some percussion. Before I make comments, I should state that these are my first LDs. My only comparions are 58s and cheapo mics.

I'll make it short, but follow up with more depth and some of the mp3s I recorded -- maybe i'll have time this weekend.

Overall I am very satisfied. Build quality is very good. Very stirdy mics. For my voice, they sound much clearer and complex than the 58. Also, there is more of an airy quality, and I think it sits in the mix better than the very focused 58 sound.

I have used them in some unorthodox ways to get good percussion sounds. Their extra gain really helps. Like throwing it in a guitar case, and banging on it like a bongo. Or stapping a watch around it to record the ticking sounds.

They have also been great in catching room ambiance, and close mic acoustic. For acoustic, the sound is not as full as the 58 but clearer. I actually like 'small' guitar sounds (e.g. Marc Ribot). It does this well (especially with the bass roll off). Then I can blend it with the DI sound and amped sound with some long trailing reverb. To me a great sound.

Haven't loved it on amped sounds though..

Maybe when I post the mp3s I can also iso the vocals (*shutter*) so you can hear just the mic qualities.
 
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shadowfax said:
FYI - i bought a delta1010LT from them and got a free M20. it came in an SE Electronics box and had SE2000 checked off.
Click to expand...
Same here, except I bought mine with an Aardvark Q10. I compared it briefly to my SP C1 on acoustic guitar and vocals. The C1 seems to have a little more high end, but other than that, the M20 compared favorably (to me anyway). It works well in situations where the C1 is a little too bright.

Mike was only going to sell the Q10 $50 less without it. So for $50, you can’t go wrong (unless you don’t have the $50 to start with…;) )
-Flatpicker
 
Resurrecting a long dead post.

I notice Bawviewproaudio is still offering these mics, and looks like they have expanded on the line, and the deals.

I have some mp3s with the mic featured prominently.

http://adamrose.iuma.com

"Acoustic closer" (featured pafge) was but together very quickly, 1 pass on the guitar and 3 on the vocal. The acoustic sound is OK, my voice sounds pretty decent, given my other experiments (with the exception of a few band notes). :( I believe I used only 1 of the cascades pointed at the 12th fret. I had used a 58 pointed at the bridge but I had some phase issues, so I didn't use it.

The acoustic sound on "Procession" (albume3) was really pleasing to me, and better than the first clip. I used 2 of the cascades -- one pointed at the 12th fret, the other over the shoulder near ear level. This sounds much bigger to me. I am very satisfied with this sound. (BTW, this is an incomplete version of this song, no vocals or 2nd half yet).
 
Thanks for the update!!

Adam, thanks much for the addendum to your earlier posts!

I also received one of the M-20's for free when I purchased an Aardvark DP 2496 from Bayview, and as it was my *only* LD condenser mic for a while, it was a savior!! Since the time I originally got it, I have purchased a C1, as I wanted that *true* Neumann sound that was promised by several reviewers of the mic (hee-hee :))!

I think the M-20 has a tone that works well for acoustic guitars, but I like the C1 much better for vocals. I think that the M-20 is a nice mic for the price, which for me was free, but I don't know if I'd actually pay money for it. I know I probably would never pay their listed "retail" price for it....

I will be experimenting some more with both mics for an acoustic project I'm working on ...I'll post any really interesting findings in the thread here.

-Mr. Moon
 
Re: Thanks for the update!!

Mr. Moon said:


I think the M-20 has a tone that works well for acoustic guitars, but I like the C1 much better for vocals. I think that the M-20 is a nice mic for the price, which for me was free, but I don't know if I'd actually pay money for it. I know I probably would never pay their listed "retail" price for it....
Click to expand...

Yeah, as I mentioned, I have limited experience with different mics. I find on the vocals the m-20 to be maybe a bit narrow and somewhat dark, if that makes sense. While there is more "air" as I said before, it has a somewhat proximity sound.

Can you describe some of the differences between the c1 and m-20? I am interested particularly bc I have limited mic experience. Thanks!
 
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