Does Every Mic With A Chinese Capsule Suck!

[Harvey Gerst]

Just about every Chinese-made capsule has a shrill top end.

This is not some new discovery.

Actually, I'm not gonna argue with ya. In fact, keep it up. So far, off this group alone, I've scored a pair of broken MLX603's for the cost of shipping, a really nice V69ME for 75 bucks, and some ECM8000's for dirt cheap.

I bought the MXL 604 Omni capsule set for under $50, and the 603's now work great.

So, I now agree with you, Chessrock; all Chinese mics suck!!! If anybody out there has some sucky Chinese mics they wanna dump for really cheap, lemme know.

 

[TragikRemix]

i think all mics suck.

yep. all of them.

mics are getting played out.. theres bound to be newer and better ways to record a vocalist...

i for one, use a converted 18" woofer/microphone to record soprano female vocals. that suits my needs well. psh.. microphones.. any 'capsule' less than 12" diameter sucks for recording purposes.








this whole post is pointless. chinese or not, an experienced engineer (not myself) can make it sound good. Just ask Harvey..

harvey has the largest selection of MXL's anyone could imagine.

 

[apl]

Actually, I'm not gonna argue with ya. In fact, keep it up. So far, off this group alone, I've scored a pair of broken MLX603's for the cost of shipping, a really nice V69ME for 75 bucks, and some ECM8000's for dirt cheap.

I bought the MXL 604 Omni capsule set for under $50, and the 603's now work great.

So, I now agree with you, Chessrock; all Chinese mics suck!!! If anybody out there has some sucky Chinese mics they wanna dump for really cheap, lemme know.

LOL! That's hilarious!

 

[noisedude]

I would say that the problem does not have much to do with the fact that it is chinese made. More likely it has to do with the fact that they are simple cheap designs with the intent of being manufactured extremely cheaply. I am sure that the chinese factories are perfectly capable of making good equipment, but most manufacturers are hiring them to make things inexpensively and not with higher quality in mind. A good mic is a good mic no matter where it is made, and a nasty mic is a nasty mic, even when made in Germany, USA etc...

I would say that a lot of it is down to the difference between a mic being 'built' or being 'built to a price'.

I don't know about the US, but in the UK right now late 70s and early 80s Japanese guitars are really en vogue and collectable. Everything from JV Squiers to Westones ... and Yamaha SG2000s and Ibanez Artists go for crazy money. But I guess they're just cheap knock-offs compared to proper American-built guitars, right? No serious player would be seen playing a Fender Jap-built re-issue, right?

Please guys, use your ears to decide what gear's good and bad ...... not your map book.

 

[apl]

Yamaha SG2000

On my list of absolutely will own one someday.

 

[noisedude]

On my list of absolutely will own one someday.

One of our regulars has one, and he also has one of the newer re-issues. It's weird ... like a case of them both kinda being the same guitar, but one really does feel like the real thing. Maybe it's all the scratches.

Good luck with finding one at a sensible price!!

 

[apl]

One of our regulars has one, and he also has one of the newer re-issues. It's weird ... like a case of them both kinda being the same guitar, but one really does feel like the real thing. Maybe it's all the scratches.

Good luck with finding one at a sensible price!!

I'd pay an unsensible price for one. It seems like you can get one off eBay pretty regularly for $1000~$1500, and that'd be OK with me if I had it to spend.

 

[TragikRemix]

noisedude- your pic in your signature is one of the most originally funny things ive ever seen!

quote+pic= priceless.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

chinese or not, an experienced engineer (not myself) can make it sound good. Just ask Harvey..

harvey has the largest selection of MXL's anyone could imagine.

It does seem like we have a lot of mics but you hafta realize we also have 2 studios, 3 very large drum kits, 10 snares, and often, two full rock bands recording at the same time. We have a lot of mics going at the same time when that happens.

 

[chessrock]

So, I now agree with you, Chessrock; all Chinese mics suck!!!

Easy, there. I don't recall saying "all Chinese mics suck." (Although your post was funny, I admit).

But if you don't like shrill or exaggerated high end bumps ... then you're probably best served to approach Chinese capsules with caution, because they're pretty much notorious for that stuff. Now I see some guys trying to play Tony Snow and dance around the subject, and I see other guys just in flat-out denial about it.

But we're not talking about a preposterous argument here. The idea of Chinese capsules generally speaking, being harsh and/or hyped in the high end ... is not a new idea. It's been around for quite some time. And just because Harvey Gerst is trying to blow it off and make cute/clever comments ... does not change the fact that many, many users have found it to be true -- and you can now add the original starter of this thread to that growing list. Take that for whatever it's worth.
.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Easy, there. I don't recall saying "all Chinese mics suck." (Although your post was funny, I admit).

And just because Harvey Gerst is trying to blow it off and make cute/clever comments ... does not change the fact that many, many users have found it to be true -- and you can now add the original starter of this thread to that growing list.

Jeez, I just can't win, can I? I disagree with you and I'm wrong; I agree with you - and I'm still wrong? You can make "cute/clever comments" about how "most Chinese mics suck", but I can't?

I'm starting to think it's personal.

 

[junplugged]

whenever i listen to those famous old recordings made with those deep, low bassy sounding classic mics, all i hear is midrange. now that Asian mics are being used, i hear a lot more low end than back in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. With one exception, the BBC spoken word broadcasts over shortwave AM radio. That sounds like 60 tubes and a German tube mic.

 

[Big Kenny]

Jeez, I just can't win, can I? I disagree with you and I'm wrong; I agree with you - and I'm still wrong? You can make "cute/clever comments" about how "most Chinese mics suck", but I can't?

I'm starting to think it's personal.

Nah, it's Harvey envy....

 

[ofajen]

Easy, there. I don't recall saying "all Chinese mics suck." (Although your post was funny, I admit).

But if you don't like shrill or exaggerated high end bumps ... then you're probably best served to approach Chinese capsules with caution, because they're pretty much notorious for that stuff. Now I see some guys trying to play Tony Snow and dance around the subject, and I see other guys just in flat-out denial about it.

But we're not talking about a preposterous argument here. The idea of Chinese capsules generally speaking, being harsh and/or hyped in the high end ... is not a new idea. It's been around for quite some time. And just because Harvey Gerst is trying to blow it off and make cute/clever comments ... does not change the fact that many, many users have found it to be true -- and you can now add the original starter of this thread to that growing list. Take that for whatever it's worth.
.

To add my two cents, over the last few months I've had an email conversation with David Josephson about condenser omni mikes, among other things. He commented that the Chinese and eastern bloc condenser omni mikes all tend to have a huge HF boost and that it's hard to get rid of that bump in a mass-produced capsule. I really haven't been interested in adding any more directional mikes so I haven't bothered to ask him if he observes the same trend there, too. Of course, some people might want an omni mike with an HF peak, but my preference is for flat response. Now, I will admit that the fact that something like the MXL 604 can sell for a mere $100 is pretty amazing, HF bump notwithstanding.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[Big Kenny]

I have a pair of oktavas that flatpicker modded for me and they are SCHAWEEET! Nothing offensive at all.

 

[noisedude]

Jeez, I just can't win, can I? I disagree with you and I'm wrong; I agree with you - and I'm still wrong? You can make "cute/clever comments" about how "most Chinese mics suck", but I can't?

Pretty much.

The idea that any product is defined by the country in which it was made, rather than its design and the skillset of the individual team/factory where it was constructed, is still utterly ridiculous.

It's like saying all American guitars are good, when clearly Fender (amongst others) completely lost the plot in the 1970s. Or that all German cars are efficient, rather than that many of the designs and processes that German manufacturers use produce efficient cars.

It's still the friendly face of racial discrimination ... I'm not saying it goes any further but it's pretty tedious that people continue to trot it out after all this time.

 

[chessrock]

Or that all German cars are efficient, rather than that many of the designs and processes that German manufacturers use produce efficient cars.

Alright then. How about this: It is my opinion (and that of many others) that many of the designs and processes that Chinese manufactuers use ... tend to produce microphones with highly-exagerated to outright nasty sounding high end response.

Better?

 

[kidvybes]

Alright then. How about this: It is my opinion (and that of many others) that many of the designs and processes that Chinese manufactuers use ... tend to produce microphones with highly-exagerated to outright nasty sounding high end response.

Better?

Or possibly: It is my opinion (and that of at least a few others including Harvey Gerst) that many of the statements made by Chessrock include assumptions that are often exaggerated and sometimes misspelled.

 

[roadwarrior]

I think that sums it up rather well Chessrock

 

[chessrock]

I'm starting to think it's personal.

I just like to mess with you when you play your Jedi Mind tricks on me.

I actually like some Chinese-made mics and find them very worthwhile. However, even the ones I like have exaggerated high end bumps. I like the Marshall 603 and 990, for example. But I'm not going to pretend that 8-10K bump doesn't exist. Even the CAD M-79, which I like a great deal, has a moderately healthy dose of sizzle in the 12K range. I just happen to like it and find it a useful high end bump ... but no, I won't pretend it's not there.

Come to think of it, the only Chinese-assembled mics that I personally have experience with that I don't find to have an exaggerated top end ... would be the Groove Tubes GT33 and GT44 small diaphragm condensers. But have I tried every single Chinese capsule in existence? No. Have I tried an awful lot of them? Yup.
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