Fifty dollar mics

with help from a friend, I just picked up 4 old mics on CL for $100. 2 RE11's, an akg d1000e and a shure something or other. I will take possession in 3 days.
 
Fishmed said:
Nice score!
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The re11's are in great shape but the foam is crumbly. $18 replacement part from EV...or I may try cutting my own from a foam windscreen. The diaphragms look really clean. I have a friend who has a sonic cleaning tank. I will put the grille and the screen shield in for a sonic bath. The foam is gone from the d100e, which must have held the capsule in place. The mic sounds vey good, but the capsule jostles around while handling. The 4th mic is a Shure PE 515 Unidyne B. The 1/4" cable is hard wired to the mic. Not sure what I will use it for.
 
On a mic buying binge here. My bluegrass band played over the Behringer XM8500s last night (without me as I had another commitment). They loved the mics. No feedback whatsoever. I just took delivery of 3 ADG D770s from Ebay. $85. They really sound nicer than my Shure SM's. Why do these companies make a winner like this and then stop making them?
 
wretchasketch said:
On a mic buying binge here. My bluegrass band played over the Behringer XM8500s last night (without me as I had another commitment). They loved the mics. No feedback whatsoever. I just took delivery of 3 ADG D770s from Ebay. $85. They really sound nicer than my Shure SM's. Why do these companies make a winner like this and then stop making them?
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Answer- supply and demand. Companies don't make something because it's good. They make it because it sells. The D770 and D690 are among my go-to cheap dynamics. I use them anywhere most folks would use an SM57/58. D770 is a don't-leave-home-without-it mic.

And as far as the XM8500 goes, here's a hearty "I told you so". It really doesn't suck (like it should, at that price).
 
I got my shure unidyne 545SD on ebay for around 26 bucks. Its very similar to an SM57 but with an on/off switch, variable impedances, and a smoother midrange. I also got a Sennheiser E602 for 56 bucks due to it being repainted. Though this is not a common deal you can save a lot of money on mics that have cosmetic flaws.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Answer- supply and demand. Companies don't make something because it's good. They make it because it sells. The D770 and D690 are among my go-to cheap dynamics. I use them anywhere most folks would use an SM57/58. D770 is a don't-leave-home-without-it mic.

And as far as the XM8500 goes, here's a hearty "I told you so". It really doesn't suck (like it should, at that price).
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Thanks again for the recommendation. Looks like the 58's and 57's are going to be around another 50 years because Shure does a great job of selling them. I guess I will hang onto mine, even though I'm much more excited about other choices.
 
That 545SD is a real score. I have one and I love it. I've recorded blues harp through it. In my opinion it is a better mic than the SM57. At least it has it's own unique vintage sound. A real Rock and Roll microphone. They usually go a lot higher than the 57 so you did good.

Used mics with cosmetic damage can work great. I have an EV RE11 that looks like it was run over by a truck. I got it real cheap because of that and it still works perfect.

Thanks
 
I just picked up 3 old EV BK-1 condenser mics for $25 each in working condition. Gonna try them at a gig tomorrow playing bluegrass. 5 piece banjo, mando, guitar bass and fiddle. Three singers. I am inclined to try them for vocals. Any opinions? I also have 3 d770s and six of those behringer 58 clones Richard recommended...plus a couple 57s and 58s.
 
I love my Naiant mics, all under $50 except the MSH-4 tube mics (they were $65). The Karma Silver Bullets are a little too noisy for my tastes but, for $4 (new), they give me something to keep in my live kit for those who want to sit in and use their own, unamplifiable acoustic instruments. I have some GXL-57 and EV CO-4 dynamics but I don't find either one a true match/clone for the SM-57---not bad, just different. Just like the Behri 8500 mics (~$20 new) are really not a match or clone for the SM-58 but inexpensive enough and good enough for rehearsal or live audience-participation (spare) mics. I did recently take advantage of the Blue 2-for-1 sale at Sweetwater and bought a pair of encore 100 mics for $100---I guess that qualifies them as a $50 mic; they're nice pieces of iron.

I picked up MXL 603s mics for $30 (new) and V63-BP mics for $35 (new), JoeMeek JM-27 mics for $45 (new), EV Co-4 mics (2/$50), M-Audio Pulsar mics (2/$100 in a wood-boxed matched set with stereo bar and X-Y adapter) and recently, a Tascam TM-80 for $30 (new) during MF stupid deals of the day or sales, and Oktava MC-012 and MC-319 mics for $50 (new) and MXL 990-991 sets for $50 (new) at GuitarCenter closeouts but right now (10-3-15) PSSL is selling MXL LSC-1 3-capsule handheld condensers for $50---and the capsules work with MXL 603/604 (and probably 991) mics.

I'm generally not a used-mic-from-the-net guy---it's just not my forte. Most of the used mics I've purchased have been dynamics and more expensive than $50.

9/28/2015:
MXL LSC-1 Handheld Vocal Condenser Microphone | PSSL

UPDATE: (10-3-15): The LSC-1 is still available for $50, new. I got mine yesterday. They come in a plastic case, 3 capsules, clip, cleaning cloth, & 25-ft MXL/Mogami cable. 16dB self-noise and a HPF switch. Seriously, check them out. If you don't have a hand-held condenser, this isn't a bad place to start.

Paj
8^)
 
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