choose between SP B1/B3 and AKG Perception 100/200

I

isfahani

Disciple of Wong Jing
I am looking to add to my cheap LCD collection and take advantage on the 'no payments for a year' plan at Sweetwater - that and supposedly prices in the music industry are going up in January!

Since they don't sell CAD mics, I am thinking about these - The Studio Projects B1 sits between the two in price, but compares in function to the Perception 200 with the pad and filter... But then so does the B3, which is multi-pattern too.

Anyone with experience of either or both please post it up. Thanks.
 
isfahani said:
I am looking to add to my cheap LCD collection and take advantage on the 'no payments for a year' plan at Sweetwater - that and supposedly prices in the music industry are going up in January!

Since they don't sell CAD mics, I am thinking about these - The Studio Projects B1 sits between the two in price, but compares in function to the Perception 200 with the pad and filter... But then so does the B3, which is multi-pattern too.

Anyone with experience of either or both please post it up. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I somehow doubt prices are going to go up in any meaningful way. They've been trending the other direction for the most part. I mean... maybe we'll see a few percent correction for the paltriness of the American Dollar right now, but even if we do, I would see that as a temporary blip.

As for the SP B3, it's an okay mic, but nothing spectacular. Kind of harsh compared with my other mics, IMHO. Probably ditto for the B1. For the $200 you'd spend on a B3, you're awfully close to the price of a used AT4040, which IMHO, you'll probably like a lot more.... (Wait, didn't the B1 sell for $99 not too long ago?)

If your target price is the $100-200 range, though, maybe an AT3035, though I've heard mixed opinions of that mic on vocals. They have a couple of AKG mics which might be decent, but I haven't used any of those or read much about any of them, so I can't give any advice in that area.
 
Thanks, it's a start. I am looking to complement my other cheap-but-good LDC's, the CAD 177... I have never heard the SP's referred to as harsh tho. BUT i am looking to use the new mics for vocals mostly.

I'd buy used, but then I wouldn't be able to use the buy-now-pay-later option, like I would with GC or preferrably Sweetwater.
 
Hi. I have the Studio Projects B1 and have found it to be a very good mic. On certain vocalists I have also found it to be a little harsh but on others excellent. I recently bought an MXL V67g to add to my collection which I've not yet tried to compliment my B1. General opinions are the MXL is darker than the SP mics.
The Audio Technica 4040 is definitely a good mic. You could also consider a dynamic mic like a Sennheiser E840 or Shure SM 57 within that budget.
Harvey Gerst also likes the Beyer Soundstar mk2 which would give you a different tone for harsher vocalists.
 
OK thanks for the input, I guess I was hoping to get an idea of how these two mics compare against each other if anyone has experience using the two. There's not much info on the perception line yet...
 
AKG Perception 200s

I use a pair of AKG Perception 200s for drum overheads. They work very well, for the most part. In the beginning I tried to capture the entire kit with just the two, but I've since started using a beta 52 on the kick and a 57 on the snare. The toms sound brilliant, though, and the cymbals are great.

They also sound excellent when recording an acoustic guitar. I put one of them on the fretboard and another one on the sound hole, and I like what I get. I've also used them on vocals, and as room mics for guitar. I'm very happy with them.

One thing I'll say about them, though. With the shockmount, they're fuckin heavy. Of course, if I spent the money to buy good mic stands it wouldn't be a problem, but im cheap so i finagled some couterweights for them.

If I remember correctly, I paid around 300 for the pair.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top