Interesting Mic controversy

  • Thread starter Thread starter slobbermonster
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Old age simply means occasional flashes of what you used to know.



I have Alzheimer's and DejaVu - I think I've forgotten this before.
 
Let's take a look at this from a different perspective. Say you purchase a pair of Schoeps CMC6/MK4 SDs now for $2,540. Say in five or ten years a near clone is manufactured somewhere else like China and at that time costs $1,000 for a pair (due to the higher labor costs that will develop in China during those 5 to 10 those years). What's the value of having and using the Schoeps during that time? Couldn't the Schoeps be sold used for at least their original purchase price then (likely more), using the $$ to buy the new cloned Schoeps?

This is currently happening. The Schoeps I purchased 2 or so years ago cost less than $1,900. Now they cost $2,540, and go used for $2,200 or so. I've made $$ (on paper) in the meantime and have gotten the use of one of the finest mics on the planet for my application.
 
sdelsolray said:
This is currently happening. The Schoeps I purchased 2 or so years ago cost less than $1,900. Now they cost $2,540, and go used for $2,200 or so. I've made $$ (on paper) in the meantime and have gotten the use of one of the finest mics on the planet for my application.

It seems to me you didn't finish your thought....which Schoeps clones would you buy Today with your "made $$ (on paper).... while using one of the finest mics on the planet for my application"

Peace
 
slobbermonster said:
Snow Lizard, you illustrate the point well. Anyone can go down to Harbor Freight or similar and see a vast array of typical Chinese quality in the tools that are there. If you grab a hammer from them for $2 it will still drive a nail for a while but that technology is very simple, it's merely a chunk of steel on a stick. NOW when you grab some of the cheap Chinese power tools, they fall apart quite rapidly. Heck I went to the Home Depot store and bought a garden valve (made in China), took it home and of course it leaked like crazy, I took it apart and it was quite obvious the problem was the machining, the manufacture of it. AND all the valves were of that sub par quality.

<snip>

We should all give Alan cudos for being upfront about where SP mics come from. No matter what opinions we have about his mics.

Well I'm glad someone could make sense out of my rant. :)

Yeah, the Chineese tools are hit and miss, and it's worth being careful when buying that stuff. It's the same with verniers and micrometers. Some of them fall apart quickly, some of them work as well as they have to for where you're going to use them. And the prices are the same. Look before you leap? Of course it's a huge advantage to have guys like Harvey around to point novices like me at stuff that's ok. When I bought my MXLs, I didn't really know what I had, but I wasn't expecting much. I thought the 2001 was the good one, and the 603s was junk before I left the store. I got it backwards, but I'm still happy for what I paid for the mics, and it will still be a while before I go after pencil mics or even LDCs. Call me crazy, but I'm way more interested in good dynamic mics and ribbon mics. Of course, I'm recording electric instruments rather than chamber music so application goes with that as well.

As far as Alan goes, I've seen his posts all over the internet. I think he's basically a good guy, and he offers helpful advice that isn't necessarily coloured by his company position. He has a lot of knowledge and perspective that most of us don't, so it's a good thing if he decides to share, IMWAO.


sl
 
Harvey Gerst said:
For the most part, we just use the board preamps, Topaz in Studio B, or MCI 556D in Studio A. The Topas has been replaced with a Tascam DM24 as of last week and the Tascam board pres sound fine.

I think I've read why that is elsewhere on the 'net.

ouch... :eek:


sl
 
Harvey Gerst said:
For the most part, we just use the board preamps, Topaz in Studio B, or MCI 556D in Studio A. The Topas has been replaced with a Tascam DM24 as of last week and the Tascam board pres sound fine.

For critical vocals or detailed stuff, we have a choice of the Millenia Media SST-1 Origin, the Great River MP-2H, the MP2-NV, the RNP, a Drawmer 1960, a P1, and a few others.

Harvey, do you mean to say you like the DM24's preamps? Would that be with the Tascam mod?

I have a DM24, and I was not crazy about the pres, but maybe I am not using them right. I know I don't have your ears :) I have it synced to a Lucid genx6. Any tricks to using them?

Thanks!
 
fraserhutch said:
Harvey, do you mean to say you like the DM24's preamps? Would that be with the Tascam mod?

I have a DM24, and I was not crazy about the pres, but maybe I am not using them right. I know I don't have your ears :) I have it synced to a Lucid genx6. Any tricks to using them?

Thanks!
I don't have very much time logged on the DM24 yet, so it ain't exactly an informed opinion. Just tried it a few times with an MXL 603 and it sounded okay. Playing back old sessions thru the board sounded very good.

What is the "Tascam mod" and where can I find out more about it?
 
sunflute said:
It seems to me you didn't finish your thought....which Schoeps clones would you buy Today with your "made $$ (on paper).... while using one of the finest mics on the planet for my application"

Peace

The two mics that come to mind that begin to get close to a Schoeps, in sound and design, are the T.H.E. SDs and the Peluso CEMC SDs, but neither is there yet, with the SP C4s being a distant 3rd. Other mics that compete with the Schoeps in overall quality, such as the MG 294/295/296, DPA models, Josephson Series 6 and Neumann 100 Series, are all of different design and sonic character. Not better or worse, just different.

In answer to your question - none. I'm going to have to wait the 5 or 10 years to see if my speculation pans out or not.
 
sdelsolray said:
The two mics that come to mind that begin to get close to a Schoeps, in sound and design, are the T.H.E. SDs and the Peluso CEMC SDs

I am with you on the Peluso CEMC6, I have them and they sound great. They may not be there yet, but for those of us who can't yet afford the Schoeps, they come pretty close. Peace :)
 
sunflute said:
I am with you on the Peluso CEMC6, I have them and they sound great. They may not be there yet, but for those of us who can't yet afford the Schoeps, they come pretty close. Peace :)

I'm picking up a pair too, mostly for live work, and just to have another SD pair around.
 
Scoob said:
well if anyone wants to upgrade theirs i found these military grade 6072A tubes
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43375&item=7324839802&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V
From the looks of this thread (meaning... reading this thread) the majority of the people here wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a quality American made tube and a cheap Chinese made tube... and those who could, don't seem to care... therefore they are happy with cheap crap. But thank God... there is at least a small (very small) handful of people who know better.

Anyway... I want to live, so I'm afraid to post on hr.com... so with that said... I must say goodbye to everyone again. Goodbye. :(
 
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I think it's more that most people want to just use their ears and make an empirically sound judgement rather than just "knowing better" based on what others such as yourself say.
Also keep in mind that no one here is placing Chinese mics over American mics. We just want to evaluate each mic on an individual basis rather than succumb to microphone prejudice and stereotyping.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
The MXL V69ME, the V77, the SP T3, the ADK Hamburg or Vienna are serious tools that will sit quite well in a professional studio.
I sold my U47 many years ago (when I got out of the studio business for a few years). At today's prices, I can't afford another one, but the mics listed above get me pretty damn close to that sound, at least close enough to get groups signed to major labels and released "as is".

Hi Harvey,
I rarely post here, and have read a lot of your posts and respect your opinions and ideas, but do you really think "your mics" GET THE BANDS (CLOSE TO) SIGNED to major labels.
Don't mean to ask this in a weird way, but that statement just seemed to be a little unfair on the actual bands and THEIR EFFORTS to get signed...
Peace
 
Sen said:
Hi Harvey,
I rarely post here, and have read a lot of your posts and respect your opinions and ideas, but do you really think "your mics" GET THE BANDS (CLOSE TO) SIGNED to major labels.
Don't mean to ask this in a weird way, but that statement just seemed to be a little unfair on the actual bands and THEIR EFFORTS to get signed...
Peace

LOL. English sucks.

"the mics listed above get me pretty damn close to that sound, at least close enough to get (albums by) groups (which are) signed to major labels (recorded) and released "as is".

How's that? :p
 
Much better! :p

I'll say it again - take each piece on its merit and make a decision. If you're a business man running a small studio then you might decide to rule out every Chinese-made microphone because you don't have time to try them all ... it's a valid enough decision but I would still maintain that people like Acorec and Chessrock are missing out by making that decision. But it's my opinion and ears and their opinions and ears. Who cares, as long as the records sound good? :D
 
sdelsolray said:
The two mics that come to mind that begin to get close to a Schoeps, in sound and design, are the T.H.E. SDs and the Peluso CEMC SDs, but neither is there yet, with the SP C4s being a distant 3rd. Other mics that compete with the Schoeps in overall quality, such as the MG 294/295/296, DPA models, Josephson Series 6 and Neumann 100 Series, are all of different design and sonic character. Not better or worse, just different.

In answer to your question - none. I'm going to have to wait the 5 or 10 years to see if my speculation pans out or not.

You could add Earthworks QTC1's as being close if not equal to the Schoeps IMHO. I ended up with the QTC1's after trying out both pairs on acoustic guitar. YMMV. :-)
 
Harvey Gerst said:
For the most part, we just use the board preamps, Topaz in Studio B, or MCI 556D in Studio A. The Topas has been replaced with a Tascam DM24 as of last week and the Tascam board pres sound fine.

For critical vocals or detailed stuff, we have a choice of the Millenia Media SST-1 Origin, the Great River MP-2H, the MP2-NV, the RNP, a Drawmer 1960, a P1, and a few others.

MCI pre-amps are not just "board" pre-amps. They are right up there with some high-$$ pre-amps. The "Jeep" really knew his stuff and was one of the true giants in understanding what was and what was not important in the recording studio. He usually re-designed whole studios because he believed that everything in the chain was important and affected the sound as a whole.
 
Sen said:
Hi Harvey,
I rarely post here, and have read a lot of your posts and respect your opinions and ideas, but do you really think "your mics" GET THE BANDS (CLOSE TO) SIGNED to major labels.
Don't mean to ask this in a weird way, but that statement just seemed to be a little unfair on the actual bands and THEIR EFFORTS to get signed...
Peace

QUOTE.........."but the mics listed above get me pretty damn close to that sound, at least close enough to get groups signed to major labels and released "as is"."

Geeze Sen, you're taking that a little bit too literally aren't you? I think the key phrase is "released "as is"" rather than "get groups signed" ...........but then people are free to read whatever they want into things around here.

:cool:
 
DJL said:
From the looks of this thread (meaning... reading this thread) the majority of the people here wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a quality American made tube and a cheap Chinese made tube... and those who could, don't seem to care... therefore they are happy with cheap crap. But thank God... there is at least a small (very small) handful of people who know better.

...is there no end to the stupidity?...just when you thought this guy made his most ridiculous statement, he outdoes himself...at least his spelling/grammer is improving...
 
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