Is this a good deal?

[Bob A. Vader]

for the month of march...guitar center is having a sale

you can get an octava MK219 and a preSonus tubepre one channel pre amp all for $149.99

is this a good deal..i have heard of the mic but not the preamp

 

[littledog]

personally, i think the 219 is THE worst mic ever manufactured - and i'm talking about both sound and build quality.

but a few seem to like it (although that still doesn't excuse the build quality). So maybe there are a few of them out there that actually sound bearable. I suggest you try it before wasting, erm... I mean... spending your money.

 

[eeldip]

the great thing about GC (at least if you live outside california) is that you can return anything you dont like.

some people love the 219. i have a 319 and i like it OK... some hate them... i think it varies a little. certainly they are "special application" mics. the 219 even more than the 319.

some people think the presonus stuff is decent...

i say, try it for 30 days. see what happens...

personally i think you could do better for $140. like a used 57 and a little used rane preamp or something like that...

 

[jslator]

the great thing about GC (at least if you live outside california) is that you can return anything you dont like.

I thought GC were the ones who claimed that it was illegal for them to accept a return on a mic.

 

[Michael Jones]

I thought GC were the ones who claimed that it was illegal for them to accept a return on a mic.

That was always the policy at Mars, I don't know about GC.
I kind of agree with them though, I don't think you should be able to return a mike.

 

[chessparov]

You'd probably be better off forgetting getting Oktava's at GC.
The quality varies too widely, and the mike can crap out on you
anytime. I was lucky to score a "good" one out of six or seven
I tested.
The Presonus TOOB pre is very commital, do you really want that
kind of tube distortion on everything?

Alan has posted that the Studio Projects VTB-1 is going to be
lowered in price within the next two months.
It's a fine sounding mic pre, let alone costing only $180 right now.
You can go solid state "direct" with it, instead of having the
"tube blend" feature in it if you wish (save for mixdown).

I may be getting a Studio Projects B1 in the next few days
($80!), will post a thread if I do.

Chris

 

[Bob A. Vader]

I thought GC were the ones who claimed that it was illegal for them to accept a return on a mic.

you have 48 hours from the time you purchase a mic to return it at guitar center

it makes sense


thanks for all your replies....i think i will stay away from it then

 

[mocharock]

Why is it illegal to return a mic.? would it be because of germs?

Due to retail laws don't you legally have like 30 days to return any purchase for a full refund?

 

[littledog]

a couple of years ago i bought two fairly expensive mics from guitar center with the idea of testing them in my studio for a couple of days, and returning the one i didn't like as much.

i did check with the salesman first, who gave me the ok. I really have no idea if they were making an exception in my case or not, but it's always a good idea to find out the return policy in advance.

but anyway, unless things have changed recently, it can be done, at least in some cases. maybe they were more willing to do it on a $1000 mic than they would be on a $50 one.

 

[jslator]

Why is it illegal to return a mic.?

It isn't. I just know of people who have been told by GC that it is.

would it be because of germs?

That's what they say. I think it's more because they would rather not take returns at all and they feel they have a plausable excuse not to in the case of mic's. I don't really get it. If stick a guitar pedal up my ass, they'll take it in return. But if I use a mic on drum overheads, they won't take it back. Do they allow people to return brass or woodwind instruments?

Due to retail laws don't you legally have like 30 days to return any purchase for a full refund?

No. As long as what you purchased does what it is supposed to and is functional, you have no legal right to return it just because you don't like it. It's up to the individual store to decide whether they want to allow returns. GC isn't breaking any laws by not allowing returns on mic's. I just wouldn't ever buy a mic from them.

 

[MrZekeMan]

I think they just got tired of operating a free gear rental business. I can see their point.

If you are a regular customer, that they trust, I'm sure they will make exceptions as they have for some that have posted here.

Taylor

 

[omtayslick]

Chessparov,
What's the scoop on the lower price for the VTB1? Was a figure mentioned?

 

[bartno2]

Mic Returns

It probably depends on what GC you go to and who you talk to. I bought a Shure mic (sm57 I think) and it sucked compared to my AKG dynamic (I can't remember model numbers, but the AKG lists for $299, got it for ~$150 if that helps). I went to return it and I almost didn't get a refund until I told them I always use a pop screen since I wasn't using it for a live application. Since then I've bought two more mics from them and at the time of sale, they say that there are absolutely no returns on microphones. This the Kirkland, WA GC. If you think about it though, if you know that the mic you're about to purchase was a return, you can't help but think about who's mouth could have been all over that thing.