Musicians Workshop Group Buy REVIEWS

[gareth.h.rees]

Hey.

Thought it would be interesting if everyone who purchased in the last group buy could post a small review of the mics they bought.

If you've allreay done so, a link to the posts would be fine.

Audio clips would be VERY welcome too!

Gareth

 

[BudgetMC]

OOooooooh... that WOULD be cool.

 

[P. Glaser]

Looking forward to this!

 

[Creamyapples1]

Hey.

Thought it would be interesting if everyone who purchased in the last group buy could post a small review of the mics they bought.

If you've allreay done so, a link to the posts would be fine.

Audio clips would be VERY welcome too!

Gareth

I'm 99% sure that there's already one or two of these threads floating around already...

 

[gareth.h.rees]

I'm 99% sure that there's already one or two of these threads floating around already...

Yeah I have seen a few but only of one users views. This thread was an idea to get all the reviews (+ new reviews) in one thread. A lot of it is burried in the main thread.

Gareth

 

[pohaku]

Here's the main initial review thread.

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=252780

Still, a good idea though, now that some of us have lived with these mics a little longer.

 

[antichef]

(My background: non-professional home recording person, recording mostly myself and my kids. My recording time is leisure time, not working time, so I don't have deadlines, etc. I've been a musician for about 25 years, at varying levels of activity, but am fairly new to running the recording equipment myself. In the last couple of years, I've taken to voraciously reading books and websites on the topic, and am pretty satisfied with my current hardware setup, which I constantly mess with, both for learning and recording purposes. I have always had what I consider a good music "ear", but I quickly realized that it wasn't too transferable to recording ("engineering", if you'll allow me the use of that word, for illustration), but I'm developing that more quickly than I'd like now. I had never "modded" a microphone really until I got the group buy mics, and I don't have an electronics educational background or similar experience at all. The reason I'm saying all this is to provide a context for my comments below. We have all types on the board here, including many professionals.)

I got the ACM-2, ACM-3, ACM-4 (ribbons), and the ACM-310 and ACM-6802T (tube). Later, I picked up an ACM-1 (ribbon) on the aftermarket.

I've modified all the mics to a certain extent (and Marik is currently modifying the 6802T to a much larger extent). The ACM-2 and ACM-3 had ribbon tension problems, but other than that, they were all usable for me out of the box (the boxes are nice, too, btw). I very unscientifically retensioned those two - pulling the ribbon taught with a q-tip until it looked sort of level (not flat, since it's corrugated), and then reclamping them. I'm perfectly happy with the result.

I've replaced the transformers in the ribbons with Lundahls and Edcors. The stock transformers generally had higher output and less detail than their replacements. Build quality is good for the price - we've seen some awkward (but functional) electronic work in the tube mics -- indicates some hand wiring attention, in any event

ACM1: haven't really done much with it yet. Put Edcor in it.

ACM2: good for guitar amps - seems pretty flat response. Will use it in preference to a 57 or I5 for small amps - IMO it blows them away for slightly overdriven blues sounds. Haven't yet tried it on big amps. Edcor

ACM3: also good for amps, seems like it's a little mellower than the ACM-2. Lundahl

ACM4: also good for amps, seems good for vocals - Lundahl

ACM-310: I wish I had a stereo matched pair, but since I don't, this mic is my first choice for mono recording of nylon stringed instruments - uke mostly (preferred over SM81,MK-012,MXL990). It's good, if a little big, on steel string acoustic, too. I replaced the coupler cap with a polystyrene cap, and that lowered the output some, but didn't really improve the sound over what was there - I probably shouldn't have risked that mod.

ACM-6802T: I immediately swapped the stock tube for NOS GE 12AT7 - the mic sounded great to me at that point, and we did some vocal work with it. Marik is currently fitting it with a Peluso PK47 capsule, and soon a TAB-Funkenwerk BV314 transformer. We all have high hopes.

The 310 and 6802T came with nice flight cases, shock mounts, power supplies and cables. The ACM-4 came with a shock mount. The ACM-2,3,4 came with nice wooden boxes that I don't use, and the ACM-1 came with what seems like a thermos coozy and a cable.

overall GB#2 was the best deal on mics I've had (and I'm the guy who got the C414 for $100 last weekend). All of them seem to be noiseless to me, and sound very good. My intentions were to mod them from the start. But (after retensioning), if I had left them alone, I'd still be very happy and would be using them.

It was 6 months between the time I paid the initial invoice and the time I got the mics - this is longer than most participants, but everyone waited as they mics were built, shipped, etc. -- for me it was no big deal, since, as I noted, I have no deadlines. If you need mics like these for a project that's starting up in the near future, then you should keep this in mind. But if you're like me, or if you're commercial and simply want to get more mics in the locker on no particular schedule, then by all means, this is the way to go.

I have sound samples up in various posts in the microphone forum - if you search for threads started by me, you should find them all pretty easily.

(jeez - sorry for the heft - you asked for it )

 

[pohaku]

I bought an ACM-4 and a pair of ACM-310s.

The fit and finish on them is excellent and generally competitive with any other Chinese mic I've seen. Nice boxes and decent shocks. The ACM-310 comes with power supply, flight case, shock and all cables. The ACM-4 comes with a suitable shock.

I was most impressed with the ACM-310. Very nice clear sound. The mics are quite hot. Very nice on steel string acoustic. They have a very present sound. They are very quiet. They don't quite have the depth of my Neuman KM84i, but they cost less than 1/10th as much. I think they are more than acceptable for acoustic instruments and overheads. I still need to compare them to my GT-44s which are similar in concept and one of my favorite acoustic instrument mics. The only issue that I see is that they use an obscure sub-miniature tube. Virtually nothing on Google about it. It is soldered in, so it isn't swappable, and while it should last a very long time, replacement might ultimately be an issue. In fairness, GT makes its current tube mics with soldered in sub-miniature tubes as well, although the tubes are more commonly available. At the current price however, these could essentially be disposable (there, I said it) and they would still be a bargain! If I didn't already have so many SD mics, I'd consider getting another pair -- just because.

The ACM-4 is a double ribbon mic in a rectangular case. It is a relatively dark mic and provides a fairly smooth sound. IMHO it looks very cool in a neo-retro sort of way. I'm using it on EG cabs at the moment and it sounds pretty good. I expect it could also be used for vocals (maybe better for BG vocals). I'd also like to try it on saxes. Normally I use my AEA R84 for saxes (and BG vocals) and I could see this having a similar use at a much lower price. Maybe if I can get my 12 year old to play her sax a bit for me, I'll put some clips together

 

[chance]

Maybe if I can get my 12 year old to play her sax a bit for me, I'll put some clips together

Hey, does your 12 year old play the flute too? I am asking because I THINK the ACM-4 would work good on the flute (positioned at 45 degrees to avoid wind noise) I've been dying to try it on flute, but haven't had the occasion.

 

[gareth.h.rees]

Thanks to antichef and pohaku, this is exactly what we need!

Its great to hear how you find the mics and what sort of character they have, as I'm sure you'll appreciate, its hard to judge just by looking!

(They all look awesome - which makes me want them all but alas, money!)

antichef - how does the ACM1 compare to the other ribbons? I'm thinking of getting a pair (if there's any available) for horns and possibly strings. Do you think it would be too dark?

antichef/pohaku - What about the 310's? Do you think they would be good on string based stuff?

I realise you may not have used them on these sources, but worth a shot asking what you think

pohaku - I'd be VERY VERY VERY interested in perhaps a comparison clip between your ribbons on a sax

Keep them comming!
Gareth

 

[gareth.h.rees]

Chance - would it be possible for you to give us a slight insight into the differences between the 6802 and the 1200 valve mics?

I need to decide between the two for money reasons, and would love to have a bit more info rather than just going pot luck on one!

Thanks
Gareth

 

[rockinrocker]

ACM-6802T: I immediately swapped the stock tube for NOS GE 12AT7 - the mic sounded great to me at that point, and we did some vocal work with it. Marik is currently fitting it with a Peluso PK47 capsule, and soon a TAB-Funkenwerk BV314 transformer. We all have high hopes.

thanks a lot for posting this....

i'm planning on modding a 6802 also.... do you mind sharing how much the upgrades are going to end up costing? (or maybe just the parts you mentioned?)
also, any particular reason you chose the parts you did?

thanks again.

 

[vicenzajay]

request for review....

Would love a comparison of the ACM-2 and ACM-3 for guitar cabinets and or drum use.

Jay

Edit for the reason...there are several reviews of a certain very nice boutique ribbon mic that we all know (retails at about 1800) that pretty much say that it is "the end all be all" for guitar cabinet mic'ing....The ACM-3 has the same form factor, and I'd love to know if someone has an idea of how well it emulates the other microphone.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[pohaku]

Hey, does your 12 year old play the flute too? I am asking because I THINK the ACM-4 would work good on the flute (positioned at 45 degrees to avoid wind noise) I've been dying to try it on flute, but haven't had the occasion.

No she doesn't, but my 16 year old does. I'll see what I can do in that regard. Hadn't even thought of that. Might be a little bit though, I'm heading to Hawaii for a couple weeks on Friday

 

[RightOnMusic]

thanks a lot for posting this....

i'm planning on modding a 6802 also.... do you mind sharing how much the upgrades are going to end up costing? (or maybe just the parts you mentioned?)
also, any particular reason you chose the parts you did?

thanks again.

i put a pk47 in mine and it sounds fabulous. not as bright as the stock capsule. almost to the point where when testing it, i thought i might have gotten jipped. but when hearing it on vocals in a mix, i was BLOWN away. no eq needed, the track just sat RIGHT where it was supposed to. silky smooth sound. this was about $250.

now i have a bv314 transformer, but for the life of me, i cant see how i could get it in there without altering the pcb in some way, which i'm not all that comfortable with. kinda waiting for work from marik on that... that cost me $185.

 

[antichef]

i'm planning on modding a 6802 also.... do you mind sharing how much the upgrades are going to end up costing? (or maybe just the parts you mentioned?)
also, any particular reason you chose the parts you did?

Nice setup:

Peluso PK47 capsule: $255
TAB-Funkenwerk BV314 transformer: $185
Marik putting the whole thing together: priceless

(and those of you with access to the prices can go compare these to the 6802T price, and see why this is an interesting exercise)

I didn't choose either of those, but rather Marik posted an offer to the first person who would send a 6802 and a PK47 to him that he would perform the modification. I was lucky enough to be the first respondent to that.

I indicated to Marik that I'd like to keep the tube socket and the 12AT7 compatibility, because I have a bunch of old tubes I'd like to swap out (is this called tube rolling? ) -- this was the primary determinant for the transformer choice. With a different tube choice - particularly a soldered lead (rather than socketed) tube, there were a lot more options for a transformer. As for the BK314, no one was sure at first, but we got confirmations that the ratio was good and that it would work well with a 12AT7 (or, more accurately, the 6072a), and the form factor was at least close to what Marik wanted. As to exactly how it fits in the body of the 6802, well, that's above my pay grade, so to speak

 

[antichef]

antichef - how does the ACM1 compare to the other ribbons? I'm thinking of getting a pair (if there's any available) for horns and possibly strings. Do you think it would be too dark?

My son played trumpet, but hasn't for a couple of years - he wouldn't do it now, so I took his $100 ebay trumpet with my haven't-played-french-horn-for-thirty-years skills, and:

here it is: http://recursor.net/ACM1-trumpet.wav

(my skill-less playing, very softly, about a foot back from the mic)

This is with the edcor RMX-1 transformer instead of the stock transformer. Also, I got it from 37point5 here on the board, and he did the "windscreen and foam mods" to it before I got it, but I don't know what that means.

I think it sounds pretty good -- not too dark by any means. Too bad I can't let you hear a real trumpet player with a good trumpet.

antichef/pohaku - What about the 310's? Do you think they would be good on string based stuff?

yes.

 

[Somnium7]

Acm-4

I have tried my ACM-4 on vocals, acoustic guitar and electric violin (amp).

On vocals it can be a little bit thin sounding but almost scary honest. On guitar and electric violin it was a champ and delivered nice clean punchy sound. Mids were a little bit smeared with guitar but not too unpleasantly so. A little EQ helped and it responds well to EQing.

Overall the sound is somewhat dark and has an old-timey vibe on some material. While not my first pick for vocals I do find it very useful and plan to hold onto mine.

I use the preamps in my Toa RX-7 console which are decent Discreet opamp units.

 

[nuemes]

ACM3: very good for tube amps, I prefer it to SM57/i5

ACM-310: has a natural low cut making it good for OH's where you mainly want to capture cymbals, but the attack is not as fast as AT4033's (my only other stereo pair) so it will soften the sound (good or bad depending on the song). The 310's are very, very hot and will require a pad for OH's. I like the flatter EQ in the high end of the ACM-310's for overheads better than the 4033's and the 310's are not as boxy sounding as the 4033's - but I still use both pairs depending on the material.

ACM-6802T: I've found it has too much high freq siblance for most vocalists. Seems to do well on acou guitar. Kind of similar to the C414uls I have but lacks the tight bass and some of the depth of the C414uls.

 

[dgatwood]

ACM-310: has a natural low cut making it good for OH's where you mainly want to capture cymbals

The 310 with the bass rolloff would be great for acoustic guitar because of the bass roll-off. I wouldn't touch it for overheads without modding it because I can't stand the sound of overhead mics that only capture the cymbals.... Personal preference, I suppose.

If I were picking mics for overheads out of the group buy mics, I'd probably go with any pair of the ribbons (retensioned, of course).