Naniant and Karma Mics Anyone!!!

[ReDpHiVe]

I've read about these mics in others threads here and was wondering if anyone has used some of the most recent models of these mics. My primary interest is for drums as I have a plethora of drums and percussion to record. But I am also interested in any reviews of their condenser products for other instruments and vocals. I am upgrading most of my setup but am still in the budget minded phase. Mind you I believe the performance is the most important part of the recording process but it doesn't hurt to have some clean mics no matter the price.

 

[AndrewClaycomb]

I use a matched pair of Naiant X-M's as drum overheads almost all the time. Great buy for the money. I also almost always use them when recording acoustic guitar.

Edit: There's an application matrix on the Naiant site, if you follow it you really can't go wrong... Regardless of the price.

 

[antichef]

I use X-Qs for acoustic guitar - haven't yet tried them for overheads (because I don't record drums too much). Very good mics, and I bet the X-Ms are better. I've got one X-T, but haven't done much with it yet -- sounds good.

 

[rmaier]

+ 1 on the XQs. I've used them on plucked instruments and piano and they've worked well. My only experience with Karma mics has been with their ribbon (very dark) and their multi-pattern FET condenser on a classical vocal (not great).

 

[sdelsolray]

Naiant mics are noisy, but so are all mini diaphragm condenser mics, even expensive ones (e.g., Earthworks, Avenson Audio).

 

[rayc]

That's interesting - none of my Naiant mics are noisy - my 57 is noisy, my sony19Bs are noisy but not the MH's.
Now, some preamps can make them noisy.

 

[ReDpHiVe]

I gotta go with rayc on that. I had some good mics sound like ass through certain preamps and by ass I mean nosiy and very hissy. (Is hissy a technical term ... hmmm?) But I'm looking to make some demo tracks nothing to extravagant, but if the price is right ....

 

[antichef]

My MSH-1s seemed a little noisy, but my X-Qs don't (through the same preamps)

 

[LP2006]

In general, the smaller the diaphragm, the lesser the output, the lower the signal-to-noise-ratio, and thus the more noise you hear.

The trade-off is that off-axis response becomes more and more flat, and the microphone more "accurate" in general.

In practice, I haven't found the Naiant mics to be too noisy. They are really hard to beat, even with mics costing much more. They aren't DPA's, but they are quite impressive.

 

[rmaier]

I recently finished a CD project using a pair of XQs in a Jecklin array as ambience mics for a vihuela (think Spanish Renaissance lute) recording. They are indeed flat and accurate (in a good way). On a soft source the noise level can be an issue. I ended up doing a few passes of gentle scrubbing with Adobe's restoration tools and was able to get it down to a reasonable level without feeling like I'd compromised much in terms of fidelity. I doubt that you'd find them less than useful on louder sources or for close micing. The fact that they're omnis means you can get in tight to the source without having to worry about the sound getting boomy. I have a project on the go in which I'm using an XQ for to spot mic a classical guitar in a small ensemble . The noise level in this context is negligible and the mic is holding its own among mics costing many times more.

 

[studioegg]

Naiant mics are noisy, but so are all mini diaphragm condenser mics, even expensive ones (e.g., Earthworks, Avenson Audio).

I used 7 Naiant X-S's for spot mics in December on 1st violin, 2nd Violin, 1st Viola, 1st Cello, 1st Trumpet, and a Oboe solo. "Christmas at Luther College", it was on PBS, and the results were fantastic............ 60 member plus orchestra, 400 (at least) voice choir..........home recording???? don't think so. I wouldn't hesitate to steer anyone toward Naiant. By the way I used 2 Earthworks SR0-70s on a quartet of singers and though the metaphor is out of place in this case....it rocked!! My other 2 SRO-70s were used to capture their wonderful sounding hall in Decorah, IA, for the 5.1 presentation.

 

[vicenzajay]

I'm a big fan....

Of both Naiant and Karma. I use Naiant mics for both overhead/choir spreads as well as the tailored one for percussion (no longer in production) for close mic'ing the two rack toms...works a treat. I also have a MSH-4 mini-tube mic...GREAT microphone for blending when mic'ing saxophone, acoustic/classical guitar, clarinet, brass instruments, flute, you get the idea.

Karma mics are also phenomenal values for the money. The K6 is a very, very classy ribbon. Unlike the previous poster, I have not found it extremely dark at all. It is, on the other hand, incredibly smooth and certainly does not have a hyped high end. It is magic on certain female voices for me as well as being killer on guitar cabinets. I also own a K58 tube microphone - another GREAT microphone, especially with a good NOS tube swap. I use it on vocals as well as room mic'ing with good effect.

Just my .02
Jay

 

[guitar zero]

I've got a pair of the X-Qs and I have to agree that they are a bit noisy. I found good use for them recording djembe. Sounded much better than large diaphram condenser's.