Does Every Mic With A Chinese Capsule Suck!

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Vikki

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Well i've tried quite a few Chinesey mics on vocals and they all have that raspy top end, they try to hide it and smooth it over with a valve amp but you've still got a nasty, raspy capsule to start with. Am i right here, does anyone have a Chinesey mic that produces stellar results? If so what is it?
Perhaps i've got a raspy voice!
Vikki(uk)
 
i think alot of them do suck but it could be mostly you that suck. :D .........or not. maybe you're looking for something smoother. which chinese capsule mics have you tried?

how's about a sample of that raspy voice?

a couple of chinese capsule mics that i've tried and would'nt put in the sux box or describe as raspy are the m-audio nova and cad m179.
 
I have been using an old SP C3 through a focusrite PVMP on a female vox and it blew my sox off !! really great !
 
well i hope they dont all suck because i have just ordered an se electronics z5600a, i think it just depends on your voice, you should rent a few different mics an see what sounds good with your voice.
 
Karma mics (www.karmamics.com) definitely don't suck (I have their K-58 multipattern tube and 2 K-6 phantom-powered ribbons) and they give you a 7 day free trial. Unfortunately I see that they are sold out of most of their heavy hitters until mid-November right now... :o
 
Vikki said:
Karma k6 ribbon looks nice.
Vikki(uk)
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...if you're consistantly getting those results with condenser mics, you'd be best giving either a ribbon or dynamic (like the Shure SM7) a try...I've had great results with both the Karma K6 and the SM7 on thinner, reedy sounding female vocals...they add some "body" to the voice and don't accentuate the higher frequencies, as do many condenser mics (Chinese or otherwise)...just my $.02...

(you might be surprised how many higher-end condenser mics use Chinese manufactured capsules... ;) )
 
I had a Peluso 22 251, 2247 & 2247LE, Rode NTK, Karma K58, Cascade V55, ADK A48, & an Oktava MKL2500 all at the same time. Out of all those mics I still have the Karma K58 & Peluso 2247LE. The V55 is for sale in the classifieds.

It's a toss up between the 2247LE and the K58. Sometimes one will work better than the other on a particular vocal with the K58 usually winning out on female vocals. The main thing between the 2 mics is the K58 is under $400 street and the Peluso is $1695 street. If I were just buying one mic for vocals and was on a budget the K58 would win out. Out of all the mics listed above and I could only have one I think I would still select the K58.

As always YMMV and the best way to select a mic especially for vox is to try as many as possible. Call around your area and ask studio's what vocal mics they have and book an hour or two to try them out. The same goes for the music stores as well. If it's possible have your vocals burned to a CD so you can take it home and listen in your home studio enviroment to select which mic works best for you. Hope this helps and good luck.
 
My Dynamic Beyer tgx 580 works quite well, i was wondering if i should go with a Beyer M88 or the newer M99? anyone tried the M99? SM7 also looks interesting but quite expensive in the uk.
Regards
Vikki(uk)
 
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Vikki said:
My Dynamic Beyer tgx 580 works quite well, i was wondering if i should go with a Beyer M88 or the newere M99? anyone tried the M99? SM7 also looks interesting but quite expensive in the uk.
Regards
Vikki(uk)
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I haven't tried the M99, but the M88 is an outstanding mic, great for vocals and good for many other things. I've had an SM7 as well which is also great, but I don't miss it as I still have the M88.
 
About the ONLY Chinese mics I'd spend my $$ on would likely be the SE or CAD brands.....considering that CAD is really picky and QC's and dials them in at their U.S. facility prior to actually shipping product I respect that. The SE has really gained serious respect for their attention to detail and overal "musicality". As for the others I'll let other folks buy em......the stuff coming out of the 797 Manufacturing plant doesn't thrill me (like Studio Projects). I'll stick with my Neumann, Rode and Sennheisers thanks........ ;)
 
roadwarrior said:
About the ONLY Chinese mics I'd spend my $$ on would likely be the SE or CAD brands.....considering that CAD is really picky and QC's and dials them in at their U.S. facility prior to actually shipping product I respect that. The SE has really gained serious respect for their attention to detail and overal "musicality". As for the others I'll let other folks buy em......the stuff coming out of the 797 Manufacturing plant doesn't thrill me (like Studio Projects). I'll stick with my Neumann, Rode and Sennheisers thanks........ ;)
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You'd miss out on a lot of nice mics then.....
 
ljmaxx said:
I had a Peluso 22 251, 2247 & 2247LE, Rode NTK, Karma K58, Cascade V55, ADK A48, & an Oktava MKL2500 all at the same time. Out of all those mics I still have the Karma K58 & Peluso 2247LE. The V55 is for sale in the classifieds.

It's a toss up between the 2247LE and the K58. Sometimes one will work better than the other on a particular vocal with the K58 usually winning out on female vocals. The main thing between the 2 mics is the K58 is under $400 street and the Peluso is $1695 street. If I were just buying one mic for vocals and was on a budget the K58 would win out. Out of all the mics listed above and I could only have one I think I would still select the K58.

As always YMMV and the best way to select a mic especially for vox is to try as many as possible. Call around your area and ask studio's what vocal mics they have and book an hour or two to try them out. The same goes for the music stores as well. If it's possible have your vocals burned to a CD so you can take it home and listen in your home studio enviroment to select which mic works best for you. Hope this helps and good luck.
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Wow! I only had a Rode NTK at the same time as the K-58 and I sold the Rode w/in a month of getting the K-58. The K-58 was better in every application I used it for (plus it's multi-pattern as opposed to the cardioid only). The K-58 had a much nicer sound in the higher frequencies and was "clearer" overall. :)
 
ljmaxx said:
I had a Peluso 22 251, 2247 & 2247LE, Rode NTK, Karma K58, Cascade V55, ADK A48, & an Oktava MKL2500 all at the same time. Out of all those mics I still have the Karma K58 & Peluso 2247LE. The V55 is for sale in the classifieds.
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I didn't know Peluso was making their mics in China, are the transformers also being made there too?
 
sound125 said:
I didn't know Peluso was making their mics in China, are the transformers also being made there too?
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They aren't. The metal parts of the capsules are made there. The diaphragm might be suspended there, but it's sputtered elsewhere. Not sure how much of the rest of the work is done in China, but I wouldn't describe them as Chinese condensers.
 
kidvybes said:
...if you're consistantly getting those results with condenser mics, you'd be best giving either a ribbon or dynamic (like the Shure SM7) a try...
Click to expand...

I agree... ;)
 
Vikki said:
Am i right here, does anyone have a Chinesey mic that produces stellar results? If so what is it?
Click to expand...


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

This is not some new discovery. :D

And that's okay. I just found out the other day that ice cubes were cold, and last week I discovered that water is wet.

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

This is not some new discovery. :D
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That's right. Because it's not true.
 
sE Mics

roadwarrior said:
The SE has really gained serious respect for their attention to detail and overal "musicality".;)
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Ya gotta try em out! :rolleyes:
 
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...
 
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