Decent workhorse condenser?

I

IanW-UK

New member
I have a bit of cash coming my way soon and I think I'm going to use it to buy a "proper" condenser for general use. A U87 springs to mind as the obvious choice but when I thought about it I have no idea what other mics exist that are on par with the Neumann at a similar price.

What should I be looking at? Or should I just go with the U87? I will be using the mic for everything, Drums, acoustic/electric guitar, vocals percussion, etc

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Ian.........
 
IanW-UK said:
I have a bit of cash coming my way soon and I think I'm going to use it to buy a "proper" condenser for general use. A U87 springs to mind as the obvious choice but when I thought about it I have no idea what other mics exist that are on par with the Neumann at a similar price.

What should I be looking at? Or should I just go with the U87? I will be using the mic for everything, Drums, acoustic/electric guitar, vocals percussion, etc

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Ian.........
Click to expand...

The Studio Projects B1 is currently being inducted into the "workhorse" category and is alot cheaper than a U87. For the cost of 1 U87, you can get many good mics.


Or


Get the U87 and be sure that you have a mic that will still be relevent 25 years from now. It is a good all around choice.
 
get the B-1, and the good thing is it's like disposable gear - if you don't like it then save it for those occassions when you want an extra ambience mic and you've used all your others. loads of people love it and for the price (£65 or less - www.digitalvillage.co.uk) you can't really go wrong. check out other posts on here if you're interested in the B-3 or C-1 they also do. on the other hand, DJL posts tonnes on here and doesn't like the studio projects lines at all. suck and see!!
 
Although most pro's would have a U87 in their mic locker, it wouldn't be their only mic. You'd have a lot more options soundwise if you invested in a number of cheaper mics. Admittedly, they might not be as killer on specific instruments/voices as the Neumann would be, but what about all those times where the Neumann (for whatever reason) just doesn't hit the spot. On the other hand, if you have a range of mid-price/budget mic's already, a U87 would be a great addition to your collection.
 
Sorry I probably should have said, This will not be my only mic I already have a fair number of "budget" mics. sd/ld condensers, 1 ld valve mic, sm57s etc. I'm really looking for a quality mic to compliment what I already have. So with that in mind what do you all think I should be looking at besides the u87?

Cheers,

Ian.........
 
For U87 money, I think I'd buy an AKG C414BULS and a Blue Dragonfly or maybe a Soundelux U195. I would think that would cover pretty much the whole spectrum of voices. The 414 is a flat out great instrument mic, and would probably sound great on the odd voice here and there that won't work on your main vocal mic, whatever that turns out to be.

Happy shopping.
 
IanW-UK said:
I will be using the mic for everything, Drums, acoustic/electric guitar, vocals percussion, etc
Click to expand...


:confused: :confused:
You're going to use this mike on everything?
The U87 may have many uses, but it's not going to work well on everything.
What mikes do you have now?
How much can you spend?
 
That's not really what I meant, I should have said "I'm looking for a decent ld condenser that is good on a variety of sources" I will not be literally using it on everything. I currently have a jm45, a pair of red 5 rv4 sd condensers, a red 5 rv15 valve mic and a few dynamics sm57s, audio technica mb100 etc. I'm going to be ordering a pair of oktava mc012s to replace the rv4s soon too.

I will have about £1500 to play with ($2250 ish)

Cheers,

Ian...........
 
Keep in mind where you're at, here. :D

Only a few of us have any real experience with $2000-ish condenser mics. And my own experience with anything in that league is very limited.

That said, I'll give you my 2 cents. Generally, the mics I see out there in the $2K-ish range command that kind of dollar value because of a particular coloration or signature they might have that is difficult to duplicate less expensively. Oftentimes, they're tube mics, or they have very nice transformers or other types of designs that aren't efficient for a big company to mass-produce profitably off an assembly line. And they tend to be more application-specific; usually for vocals.

For the most part, all-purpose workhorse mics don't fall in to that category as often. You'll see a lot of very high-profile engineers using AKG C414s, AT4050s, and sm57s alongside Telefunkens and Brauners. Shure KSM-44s are becoming very popular these days, also. In fact, that one might just have to get my vote right now, coming in at around $700 US.

The nice thing about workhorse mics is you don't necessarily have to spend $2K to get a really good one. You might want to save that for your specialty mics, or for that one really nice vocal mic, where the higher price tag might bear greater fruits.
 
How about the CAD M179? This is my fire and forget mic; I use it a lot for stereo micing ensembles and I recently used it to record voiceovers for a student film.

(Although I have heard that CAD's been dropping in QC lately...I hope that's not the case! I'm interested in their new Equitek^2 range...)

I'd also back that KSM44 suggestion. It would be a great addition to your current collection.

I also wonder if the Rode NT2000 (coming at a similar price point) is worth looking into.

I'd also suggest the 414 TLII...
 
IanW-UK said:
That's not really what I meant, I should have said "I'm looking for a decent ld condenser that is good on a variety of sources" I will not be literally using it on everything.
Click to expand...
But, what will you be using it for mostly?
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys.

DJL, I most frequently record acoustic/electric guitar and vox, occasionally drums and piano but not too often.

Cheers,

Ian.........
 
See, you're being barraged. They don't want to tell you about big bucks mics because they wisely question the wisdom of blowing a wad on one good mic, believing that it's going to be good for everything (which it won't). On the other hand, the U87 is a damned versatile mic. But.. when you talk the price of a U87, you're into territory where you could have a Soundelux ifet7 and a C414 (any type), with cash left over. I'm a fan of B.L.U.E. Kiwi, U195 is good. Lawson is good. While the U87 is a very good mic, that Kiwi can be had new for $1700. Mostly, I believe the only real reason to buy a big ticket mic is because it sounds good on some singer you got.-Richie
 
IanW-UK said:
DJL, I most frequently record acoustic/electric guitar and vox, occasionally drums and piano but not too often.
Click to expand...
In that case, first I would focus more on getting a mic that you like for your voice... most likely it will work on some of the other sound sources you want to record too.
 
The RV15 sounds great on the singer I record the most and on Saturday, Erland used it and it sounded pretty cool on him too. I'm getting the mc012s to try n get a better acoustic sound. I guess you guys all think the u87 or similar is overkill then? I am building up what I've got with a view to doing this professionally at some point. I could and probably will pick up a pair of b1s at any point for the price they go for. But I think at some point I'm gonna need some non budget stuff in order to take my tracking up a notch. I bought a uad-1 a few months ago and that made LOADS of difference to my mixes imho so the next logical step is the mics/pres. I'm making a pre at the moment (4 ch api 312 clone) Maybe the u87 price range IS overkill, I always assumed that going from budget to mid priced stuff would be a bit half arsed but it is definately appealing to get more mics rather than just 1.

Anyhoo thanks for the eye opener,

now I have no idea at all what to do LOL :D

Ian..........
 
chessrock said:
Oftentimes, they're tube mics, or they have very nice transformers or other types of designs that aren't efficient for a big company to mass-produce profitably off an assembly line.
Click to expand...

Valves and transfos are costly, but more often than not, the quality of the capsule is what truly suffers. Many of them look like 20 grit sandpaper has been taken to them!


Here are the options I would consider for myself:

- AEA R84 for $900. www.wesdooley.com

- BLUE Dragonfly, Blueberry, Kiwi with a price range of $800-$2k. www.bluemic.com

- Brauner Phantom-C for $1300. www.dirk-brauner.com

- DaviSound DS-1950 for $400. www.davisound.com

- Earthworks TC30K, SR77, QTC1 with a price range of $475-$875. www.earthwks.com

- InnerTUBE Audio MM-2000. I can't remember the exact price, but I bet it's no more than $2500. www.innertubeaudio.com

- Josephson Engineering C42 for $430, Series Six with a C606 Body for $650 or so and a capsule of your choice for around $500... Buy additional capsules now or in the future. http://www.josephson.com

- Lawson L47SH, L47C, L47MP with a price range of $1k-$2k. www.lawsonmicrophones.com

- MBHO MBNM 608 for $1400 or MBP 603 Body for $400 with your choice of capsule with a price range of $250-$750. Buy additional capsules now or in the future. www.mbho.de

- Microtech Gefell M 300, M 930, M295, M 296, UMT800, M990 with a price range of $750-$2250. www.microtechgefell.de

- Milab V-44, DC96B, EMBLA, VIP-50 with prices ranging up to about $1500. www.milabmic.com

- Neumann KM 183, KM 184, TLM 103, TLM 127, U87 Ai with a price range of $730-$2500. www.neumann.com

- Oktava MC012 Body for $130 with M1 or M3 capsule for $380. Additional capsules for $65 - From The Sound Room Only. www.sound-room.com

- Pearl CC 22, CO22, TL66, TL66K for all well under $1k. www.pearl.se

- Royer Labs R-121 for $1100 or R-122 for $1500. www.royerlabs.com

- Soundelux U195 for $1200 or U99 for $2500. www.soundeluxmics.com

- THE Audio KA-04 Body for $400 with capsule of your choice with a price range of $350-$630. www.theaudio.com


Depending on what mics I already had (regardless of price), I'd start narrowing the options down.

I'd also start working the money I had total to spend on this purchase and see what different combos of mics I can put together from this the list.

I'd largely consider a Neumann/Telefunken KM-56 in excellent condition on the used market; especially since I know where to get one for $1750. I'd then look at mics on the list I could get with the remainer of my money for this purchase.

Later, I'd my consider having Stephen Paul Audio mod my KM-56.

I'd also consider buying the first Stephen Paul Audio mic that is suppose to be released and the first run of 50 distributed at the next big Los Angeles, CA trade show. It will still be quite some time before a steady run will be able accomodate the demand though.
 
the akg solid tube??

i don't know to much about high quality mics either, but would you consider maybe a akg solid tube mic?? I have used them numerous times in studio projects and for my own band and they work good for room mics on drums, acoustic guitars, many room things for whatever instrument, and they can handle pretty good spls... Also the big thing they are good for is vocals (duhh...) That is mainly what i use em for. They sound very warm with a nice pre and are kind of an all around good mic. Sometimes they emfesize(how do u spell that??!?) s sounds to much, but hell nothing a good desser can't fix! ha. well thats my 2 cents. thanks for reading.
 
That Stephen Paul Mic is coming soon and that is supposed to be a really good one...Id watch the reviews on it and see how it goes first.
 
Here's an idea out of left field. Why don't you e-mail Andy Lawrence and ask for a trial of his Type B Valve mic? It's a hand built mic (no Chinese parts at all) made right here in the UK. And the best, and most suprising thing, is that he sells them for peanuts (around £400 to £500 last time I asked). What's more he's quite happy to let people try before they buy.

Note: There's also the Solid State Type A, which he sells for about £300.
 
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