JohnnyMan
New member
I’m about to buy a crown for my mic collection. I went to Guitar Center with my mic pre (M-Audio DMP3), a set of headphones, and my MXL V67G to use as a reference mic. My goal was to audition mics and then buy one,of course. My main desire is a mic that can record my vocals well and maybe my acoustic guitar. Between suggestions from the knowledgeable sales rep (and GC’s limited mic selection) and this BBS, I narrowed my choices between these 5 mics:
AT4040 - $299 (can be found on ebay for $240)
Shure KSM32 - $399
Shure KSM44 - $699 – I’ve seen it as low as $550 on ebay.
AT 414 B-XLS – $794 (including tax – best price that they could do?!?)
Neumann TLM 103 - $989
I went into a partially secluded room where they keep their “recording” products. I borrowed a Taylor 6-string acoustic (I don’t the model but the list was around $1100) from their display. I first played the guitar and sang into my reference mic because I am familiar with that one. I then tried each mic. I did the same thing with each mic: played and sang. I spent around 3 hours switching back and forth between mics. I understand that the mind can be convinced that louder is better so I tried to keep this in mind while adjusting the gain on the mic pre between each mic.
This is what I discovered:
AT4040 – nice mic for the price. I felt that there was a slight boost in the higher frequencies. It made my voice sound slightly harsher than it usually does. Guitar sounded good though.
Shure KSM32 – great mic for vocals. Reduced the harshness in my voice. I liked this one a lot for vocals but it would not be my first choice as, say ,a room mic for acoustic guitars.
Shure KSM44 – a very sensitive mic. I barely had to raise the gain at all on the mic pre. This is a 3 pick-up pattern mic. I mainly had the cardioid pattern selected. This mic seemed to pick up everything in the room (computers, monitors, hum from speakers, etc.) and my movements (guitar rubbing against denim pants etc.). I liked the sound of my voice and guitar with this one.
AKG 414 B-XLS – a very nice mic. This is a 5 polar pattern mic. I kept it on what I thought was the tightest cardioid pattern. This mic required more gain from the pre amp than the KSM44 but seemed to pick up less surrounding room noise than the KSM44. This is a sweet sounding mic! I feel the many polar patterns, pads, and bass roll off selections will become very handy to have available.
Neumann TLM 103 – I thought this mic was just as good as the 414 and maybe even the KSM44 was not that far behind it in sound quality. This mic is sensitive where it should be. I liked how the guitar and my voice sounded. I have read many posts here saying the TLM 103 is Neumann’s worst mic and it’s shit etc. etc. but I liked it. I really want to own a Neumann mic. Even if it’s just to say I have one. But even though I liked its sound, I felt that between the higher price and the lack of polar patterns and pads, I could not justify buying it today.
So what did I buy?
Nothing. I bailed and came home to ponder my decision more. I am currently leaning very strongly in the AKG 414’s direction.
I would like to hear your suggestions, recommendations, or comments.
Thanks
AT4040 - $299 (can be found on ebay for $240)
Shure KSM32 - $399
Shure KSM44 - $699 – I’ve seen it as low as $550 on ebay.
AT 414 B-XLS – $794 (including tax – best price that they could do?!?)
Neumann TLM 103 - $989
I went into a partially secluded room where they keep their “recording” products. I borrowed a Taylor 6-string acoustic (I don’t the model but the list was around $1100) from their display. I first played the guitar and sang into my reference mic because I am familiar with that one. I then tried each mic. I did the same thing with each mic: played and sang. I spent around 3 hours switching back and forth between mics. I understand that the mind can be convinced that louder is better so I tried to keep this in mind while adjusting the gain on the mic pre between each mic.
This is what I discovered:
AT4040 – nice mic for the price. I felt that there was a slight boost in the higher frequencies. It made my voice sound slightly harsher than it usually does. Guitar sounded good though.
Shure KSM32 – great mic for vocals. Reduced the harshness in my voice. I liked this one a lot for vocals but it would not be my first choice as, say ,a room mic for acoustic guitars.
Shure KSM44 – a very sensitive mic. I barely had to raise the gain at all on the mic pre. This is a 3 pick-up pattern mic. I mainly had the cardioid pattern selected. This mic seemed to pick up everything in the room (computers, monitors, hum from speakers, etc.) and my movements (guitar rubbing against denim pants etc.). I liked the sound of my voice and guitar with this one.
AKG 414 B-XLS – a very nice mic. This is a 5 polar pattern mic. I kept it on what I thought was the tightest cardioid pattern. This mic required more gain from the pre amp than the KSM44 but seemed to pick up less surrounding room noise than the KSM44. This is a sweet sounding mic! I feel the many polar patterns, pads, and bass roll off selections will become very handy to have available.
Neumann TLM 103 – I thought this mic was just as good as the 414 and maybe even the KSM44 was not that far behind it in sound quality. This mic is sensitive where it should be. I liked how the guitar and my voice sounded. I have read many posts here saying the TLM 103 is Neumann’s worst mic and it’s shit etc. etc. but I liked it. I really want to own a Neumann mic. Even if it’s just to say I have one. But even though I liked its sound, I felt that between the higher price and the lack of polar patterns and pads, I could not justify buying it today.
So what did I buy?
Nothing. I bailed and came home to ponder my decision more. I am currently leaning very strongly in the AKG 414’s direction.
I would like to hear your suggestions, recommendations, or comments.
Thanks