Finally able to spend some $$ on mics...

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Bguzaldo

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After moving and getting my finances settled I finally stabalized my cash situation enough so that I can start buying some mics. But I'm a bit torn, so I'm looking for some advice....

The low down:
I have around $2,000 to spend.
Mics I already own:
-Groove Tubes Gt 67
-Rode NT1000
-Cascade Fathead
-57 (2)
-i5 (2)
-e604
-e609(2)
-AKG precision 170 (2)
-Audix OM-2
-Audix fusion 7 piece drum mic package
-AKG D 112
-Beyer 201
-Shure beta 98
-MXL 990 & 991 (If it's worth mentioning...)
I'm pretty sure that's it.

Some ideas....Beyer M160 (maybe a pair). I got my first ribbon mic in december and I love it. KM 183s (a matched pair). An RE-20 or an MD 421. Maybe 2 414s. But I'm be open to considerations.

I record a lot of what I can only describe as psychedelic rock as well as punk, "Indie" type bands (due to an abundance of hipster in the chicagoland area....). I can't say that one area is lacking more than others, at this point I just feel all areas of my recordings could benefit from some nicer mics (DUH!).

My rooms are treated pretty sufficiently, monitoring is good, can't think of any area that needs some upgrading more than my mic locker...

Thanks,
-Barrett
 
Can't say enough good things about ADK mics...I have 6 ADK mics right now.
1 - TT/CE tube mic w/modified GK12 capsule
2 - stock TL condensers
1 - TL fitted w/ a TT capsule
1 - Hamburg
1 - Vienna

They have some sweet high-end mics that are not as pricey as some better known brands....and their support is great.

Best bet...call Larry Villella, he is one of the key people at ADK (President and CEO)...tell him what you are after, what kind of sounds you like...etc.
He will give you suggestions on what to consider from their line.

ADK MICROPHONES, U.S.A.
503-296-9400

http://www.adkmic.com/
 
moresound said:
With that kind of money you could get a used U87.







:cool:
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What makes a mic worth the price of the U87? Not trying to be a dick seriously. What does this do? I'm sure it does it otherwise Neuman would be out of business.
 
buzzard bass said:
What makes a mic worth the price of the U87? Not trying to be a dick seriously. What does this do? I'm sure it does it otherwise Neuman would be out of business.
Click to expand...

Well you would have to listen to how a mic of that caliber works at capturing the sound source. Through a lot of A/B ing. You will hear the difference.
And you have it right when you say "otherwise Neuman would be out of business.
And all major studios have a butt load of them.







:cool:
 
If you don't "need" a LOT of mics, a higher end mic has it's perks. Generally they are harder to get bad results with. No proximity quirks, SPL limits, sibilance, rigging born sounds, and all those other little things. Perhaps no is the wrong term, significantly less perhaps. Something which might leave you doing some heavy editing to get equal-ish results with on a cheap mic.

I try to upgrade to better gear that makes me work less in post. I long for something with better transient response and better low end reach. Which you can't get on most cheap ones. But I only do stereo field recording so no need for all the colors of the rainbow per say.

There's merits for lots of cheap mics to, if your clients are abusive of your gear, and other whatever happened to my ..?? quirks.
 
moresound said:
With that kind of money you could get a used U87.







:cool:
Click to expand...

A U87 would be SWEET. I'll have to keep my eyes on ebay, I see one on there now for 2100 with 2 hrs left.

Thanks for the advice,
-Barrett
 
Shadow_7 said:
If you don't "need" a LOT of mics, a higher end mic has it's perks. Generally they are harder to get bad results with. No proximity quirks, SPL limits, sibilance, rigging born sounds, and all those other little things. Perhaps no is the wrong term, significantly less perhaps. Something which might leave you doing some heavy editing to get equal-ish results with on a cheap mic.

I try to upgrade to better gear that makes me work less in post. I long for something with better transient response and better low end reach. Which you can't get on most cheap ones. But I only do stereo field recording so no need for all the colors of the rainbow per say.

There's merits for lots of cheap mics to, if your clients are abusive of your gear, and other whatever happened to my ..?? quirks.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm a poor college kid so I definitely can't afford to waste money for "a lot of half decent mics". So I have to save up 2000 bucks over the course of 3 months to buy one microphone haha, and I'd like it to be a worthy one. The way that I like to work is probably similar to you consider I try to leave as little amount of work for post as I can. I think I'll just focus all of my funds into one mic.

Thanks!
-Barrett
 
...well I wouldn't suggest putting the entire sum of money into one mic...have you considered a few custom built/modded mics from a reputable modder?...you can get the sound of a $2000-3000 mic for a fraction of the cost of "boutique" brands...

...I'd recommend talking to Langston or Jim at JJ Audio...tell them what kind of vocals you track, send a sample of your tracks to them, and they will recommend an array of options based on your specific needs...great guys, great mics!...

http://jjaudiomic.com/
 

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kidvybes said:
...well I wouldn't suggest putting the entire sum of money into one mic...
Click to expand...

Yeah...I agree.

While there's nothing really bad to be said about a U87...I wouldn't consider it "THE" mic to get above all else by itself. It's not necessarily great for everything, and might not even be a good choice for some things, but I wouldn't mind having a couple in my mic locker! :D
Though honestly...I wouldn't trade my ADK TT/CE for a U87...not a chance.

The reason a U87 costs SO much...well, quality is certainly one reason, but "name" is another. It's like the whole Gibson/LP thing. They are great guitars, but IMHO, well overpriced when you compare them to other brands that can give you everything a Gibson LP can...
…EXCEPT THE NAME! ;)

There are all kinds of nice mics out there, and if I had your (OP's) current mic lineup and $2k to spend, I would probably get one high-end tube to be my go-to vocal mic (and for other stuff too)...which I think can be gotten for about $1k if you look around a bit and don't drop the extra $1k just for a name. I dual-diaphragm multi-pattern tube mic will give you quite a lot of flavors, not just one signature sound.
Then for the second $1k I would get a pair of identical higher quality condensers that can cover a wide variety of needs. You already have a lot of "middlin" mics and enough dynamics, so I don’t think you need more of that stuff.
Maybe drop the entire $2k on one high-end tube and one high-end ribbon...?
 
The first thing I would add to that mic locker would be a Shure SM7b then maybe something like a Rode K2
 
You want more than one mic. There are uses for ghetto gear. If you cross borders to other countries and you don't want the customs hassle / risk. If it's an outdoor gig and likely to rain. If the client probably isn't going to pay you anyway. yada yada yada...

There's a lot of U87 (or U47) like mics out there for a fraction of the costs. Not a U87, but some aren't too far from center. But the age old adage holds true most of the time though, buy cheap, buy twice.

In my case, my upgrade path would look something like...

Avenson STO-2's (where I'm currently at)
->
Audio Technica 4022's
->
Sennheiser MKH 8020's
->
and on and on and on and ....... until my mics costs more than the president makes in a year of service. And/or I start manufacturing my own mics... I doubt I'll ever reach that point. Even getting to the 8020 level might be pushing my limits to their max abilities.
 
I'm very interested in these ADK mics. The GT 67 that I have is a multi pattern tube condenser and I love it, my go to mic at this point. I can't find anywhere to buy these ADKs though?! Maybe I'll get one of these ADKs and the M160, I've had my ear on that one for awhile.

Thanks guys, great advice as always,
-Barrett
 
Bguzaldo said:
I can't find anywhere to buy these ADKs though?!
Click to expand...

Call them...the number is in my first post.

I'm sure they can hook you up. :)

Oh...there is also a used TT on eBay for $640 ...though it has the earlier power supply (white case). They came out with an improved PS that has a black case. You could probably get it from ADK for a straight swap.
This is actually the TT/CE (Commemorative Edition). The newer ones (like the one you found) now all have the same styling as the earlier CE version, while the original TT had a different windscreen shape.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADK-Area-51-TT-...164?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c58090cec
 
...or, if an ADK is what you're looking for, consider this multi-pattern ADK Custom Shop offering:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ADK-A48-large-d...734?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb1a20776

...I spoke with Kevin at ADK earlier today about this mic, and he told me it sounds great with the circuit mods and the custom shop GK47 capsule ($350 by itself!)...looks to me like a great deal on a go-to vocal mic...you can call Kevin at 253-210-7078 if you'd like to discuss other capsule options...this is a modded/upgraded mic at the price of an off-the-shelf mic... ;)
 

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kidvybes said:
]

...I spoke with Kevin at ADK
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Yeah...Kevin is a good guy, he hooked me up not too long ago with some mods and added some freebies to the deal since I also bought a couple of refurb mics from him and a custom capsule for my TT/CE.

That 48 was always a sweet looking mic (to me), but it was never a big hit with the stock capsule. But with the upgraded capsule, I was actually considering it the other day when I saw it on eBay, especially knowing it was coming as a refurb/mod direct from ADK...but I bought too many mics in the last couple of months, and already have enough to cover what that 48 will do...but yeah, not a bad deal, and he's taking offers.
Since its direct from ADK…they will cover it, so no worries, and he’s willing to even drop a different capsule into it if you don’t like the GK47…but trust Kevin, he knows which capsule works with which mic.
 
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