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steve350
New member
I'd like to hear from anyone who owns a Neuman TLM103. I am considering purchasing this mic for vocal and acoustic guitar recording. Is it worth the money? Thanks.
pdadda
Captain Sea Boots
Sorry, I don't own it, but I would sure like to. If you can't test one out before you buy, at least go to http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session5.htm
To my ears, it sounded like the best of the bunch on acoustic.
To my ears, it sounded like the best of the bunch on acoustic.
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Henri Devill
New member
Flame suit on 
...I think this mic is overpriced even at the old price,now its just foolish..You are just payin' for a name! I don't care for the sound also YMMV..There are many other mics in that price range and a little under you should check out..Listen to the Shure KSM44,AT 4060 and Soundelux U195 ect.
...I think this mic is overpriced even at the old price,now its just foolish..You are just payin' for a name! I don't care for the sound also YMMV..There are many other mics in that price range and a little under you should check out..Listen to the Shure KSM44,AT 4060 and Soundelux U195 ect.
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Big Kenny
New member
I have to agree (standing behind Henry, peaking over his shoulder), There are so many options at this price point, and less, that seem to do a lot more. Do you already own a pair of sdc's? ADK is another option as well as that soon to be famous(I have not used or heard) Pelusa. AT 4033 and up are great, clean and very usable in many applications.
Warhead
Jai guru deva om
If you're going Neumann, I'd go for the TLM193 before tha one. The 103 is rather bright, but the 193 is pretty silky and preferred by my ear anyhow. Others will disagree.
War
War
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steve350
New member
Thanks for all of the feedback. There are so many choices my head is spinning.
Hopefully my local GC has a good variety for me to listen to.
Hopefully my local GC has a good variety for me to listen to.
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sdelsolray
Active member
steve350 said:
You are looking for a single LD for recording vocals and acosutic guitar. A few questions. Is it your voice (only)? WIll you be recording the vocal and guitar at the same time, or separately? What styles of music are involved?
The reason I ask these questions is a single LD may or may not be the best solution in the first place.
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steve350
New member
Thanks for your response. I will be recording my voice and guitar separately. The style of music is "classic rock".
Middleman
Professional Amateur
I have the TLM 103 but my NTK gets used on vocals more. I would probably have to recommend the Soundelux U195 or the AT4060 over the 103. In fact I am selling my 103 to get one of these others as soon as I do a shootout to see which matches my voice better.
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tkingen
Djembes Rock
I have both a Neumann TLM103 and a Shure KSM44...they are both wonderful mics for acoustic guitar and voice. I'm always surprised when someone says bad things about either one of them. I prefer ld over sd in most applications.
Mic's react differently depending on the gear that you are using with them, coupled with mic technique. Trying to find the mic(s) that will get "your" sound can be a time consuming and daunting task. If possible, try to A/B as many of them as you can with test recordings. Be sure to record different placements as well. A brighter mic may require a different placement than a dark or flat responsed mic. Listen to the tests a few days after recording and try to be as objective as possible.
With good technique it is possible to get pleasing results with almost any mic on the market. It's a mixture of art and science...go with works for you.
Good luck and have fun!
Terry
Mic's react differently depending on the gear that you are using with them, coupled with mic technique. Trying to find the mic(s) that will get "your" sound can be a time consuming and daunting task. If possible, try to A/B as many of them as you can with test recordings. Be sure to record different placements as well. A brighter mic may require a different placement than a dark or flat responsed mic. Listen to the tests a few days after recording and try to be as objective as possible.
With good technique it is possible to get pleasing results with almost any mic on the market. It's a mixture of art and science...go with works for you.
Good luck and have fun!
Terry
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sdelsolray
Active member
steve350 said:
Great! The TLM103 is an excellent mic. However, there are numerous excellent mics at that price point, give or take. Certainly keep the 103 on your list, but you might want to check out the following mics:
AT 4060
ADK TT
CAD M9
Soundelux U195
CAD VSM
ADK A48
CAD VX2 (used)
Neumann TLM193
Peluso 47
Brauner Phantom
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spyrum
New member
I own this mic, it is absolutely a great mic, i have had only positive results from it. Very affordable for its quality and sound. It is a neumann... you can't go wrong there. i don't care what anyone else has to say about it because they might not be able to afford it. but i am telling you tha you will definitely tell the difference between something much cheaper. Unless you get something better like a U-87 or something...
happy recordings....
happy recordings....
D
DonGraham
New member
I have one..i love it one warm female vox..........great clear sound
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steveanthony
New member
Another very nice mic in that price range is the Gefell M930.
pohaku
New member
Well. To cut to the chase, based on the prior comments. Some people really like this mic. Others are substantially less impressed. There are lots of other mics at the same price point. So, I'd say that the tide of public opinion is not soundly in favor of this mic. Maybe you would be well advised to go try some of the other mics mentioned, as well as this mic, and see what trips your trigger. Ideally, when you try the mics, try and run them through the same pre you will be using. The combination can make a difference.
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Wiz
New member
I bought two of these mics, at an auction.
They were brand new...I immediately sold one on ebay.
I kept the other.
I used it on a couple of sessions with other people....
Then I tried it on myself.
I put it up against the C3 by studio projects, which is the mic for MY voice...
It was OK, no better , no worse, but the C3 is more flexible, and the shockmount is a hell of a lot cheaper.
If it didnt have the Neumann badge on it, and it was the same price as the C3, I would buy the C3, because the C3 is more flexible.
Given that the TLM103 is a helluva lot more, for MY voice, I wouldnt bother.
Now, mics I have been thru, trying to find the mic for my voice that I am happy with..... NT1, NT2, NTK, Rode Classic and Classic II,MXL V69G,
The C3 and C1, suited me better...but, thats just me.
Mics are good for some people and not for others.
If you are planning on recording lots of different singers, male , female, and non descript..8)...., and all you had to spend was the price of a TLM103, I would suggest, get a few lower priced mics...of different colors, different patterns, have some brushes to paint with.
But, if you are picking a mic for yourself, and the TLM103 fits the bill, just get it.
IF YOU FIND A MIC YOU LOVE ON YOUR VOICE, BUY IT!!
cheers
Wiz
They were brand new...I immediately sold one on ebay.
I kept the other.
I used it on a couple of sessions with other people....
Then I tried it on myself.
I put it up against the C3 by studio projects, which is the mic for MY voice...
It was OK, no better , no worse, but the C3 is more flexible, and the shockmount is a hell of a lot cheaper.
If it didnt have the Neumann badge on it, and it was the same price as the C3, I would buy the C3, because the C3 is more flexible.
Given that the TLM103 is a helluva lot more, for MY voice, I wouldnt bother.
Now, mics I have been thru, trying to find the mic for my voice that I am happy with..... NT1, NT2, NTK, Rode Classic and Classic II,MXL V69G,
The C3 and C1, suited me better...but, thats just me.
Mics are good for some people and not for others.
If you are planning on recording lots of different singers, male , female, and non descript..8)...., and all you had to spend was the price of a TLM103, I would suggest, get a few lower priced mics...of different colors, different patterns, have some brushes to paint with.
But, if you are picking a mic for yourself, and the TLM103 fits the bill, just get it.
IF YOU FIND A MIC YOU LOVE ON YOUR VOICE, BUY IT!!
cheers
Wiz
BigRay
New member
www.germanmasterworks.com ,www.spaudio.com
OR www.audioupgrades.com is another mod site..after a visit to any of these guys, it wont be such a boring mic. Thats what it is to me, boring, certainly a workhorse..but boring. i think it uses the same capsule as the u87 mic..(the K87) in which case it is VERY accepting of modification. I will say that with mods, it can stand up with or against ANY microphone in the world and hold its own. Whitney Houston uses a modified u87(which uses the same capsule as the 1lm 103) as does micheal jackson and several others. I would say buy one, then save up to have it modded by Klaus or Tony Merrill, and you will have a mic that will be nothing short of amazing.. I am sending my u87 pair off for mods as well, and cannot wait to get them back. The approaches to the modification of this mic are a little different in each of the shops. Tony at spaudio focuses on modifying the capsule with a sub micron version which greatly improves sensitivity and transient response, whereas Klaus Heyne focuses more on the electronics of the microphone. I say get one, and have it hot rodded. I promise you that you will love it afterwards. That capsule is legendary, as are those modification experts. So yeah, get one. I can give you Klaus and Tonys contact info if you would like. PM me for details. The one to avoid is the tlm193 and u89, which , in the words of Mr. Heyne himself...is the "dog" of the high end mic world. Neither one of those mics can be modified much, and are pretty dull as-is. I am a big fan of mic modification, taking these great mics and spending a little more money(on the parts that the manufacturer skimped on), and souping them up to have a brilliant end result. Sort of like taking a corvette and putting nitrous tanks on it. Then there is always the cool idea of owning something that not every engineer in the business has. Very appealing to me.
Teddy
OR www.audioupgrades.com is another mod site..after a visit to any of these guys, it wont be such a boring mic. Thats what it is to me, boring, certainly a workhorse..but boring. i think it uses the same capsule as the u87 mic..(the K87) in which case it is VERY accepting of modification. I will say that with mods, it can stand up with or against ANY microphone in the world and hold its own. Whitney Houston uses a modified u87(which uses the same capsule as the 1lm 103) as does micheal jackson and several others. I would say buy one, then save up to have it modded by Klaus or Tony Merrill, and you will have a mic that will be nothing short of amazing.. I am sending my u87 pair off for mods as well, and cannot wait to get them back. The approaches to the modification of this mic are a little different in each of the shops. Tony at spaudio focuses on modifying the capsule with a sub micron version which greatly improves sensitivity and transient response, whereas Klaus Heyne focuses more on the electronics of the microphone. I say get one, and have it hot rodded. I promise you that you will love it afterwards. That capsule is legendary, as are those modification experts. So yeah, get one.
I can give you Klaus and Tonys contact info if you would like. PM me for details. The one to avoid is the tlm193 and u89, which , in the words of Mr. Heyne himself...is the "dog" of the high end mic world. Neither one of those mics can be modified much, and are pretty dull as-is. I am a big fan of mic modification, taking these great mics and spending a little more money(on the parts that the manufacturer skimped on), and souping them up to have a brilliant end result. Sort of like taking a corvette and putting nitrous tanks on it. Then there is always the cool idea of owning something that not every engineer in the business has. Very appealing to me.Teddy
U
usekgb
New member
I personally really like the TLM103. I use my NTK more for vocals now, but the TLM103 is definately no slouch. One thing that everyone has missed is, the pattern of the TLM103 is excellent. It is much more even than many of the other mics that have been mentioned here. If you have a less than optimal room, the TLM103 would be a great choice due to the fact that the back of the mic has very good rejection. My favorite for electric guitar amps has been the KSM44, about 3 feet back, lately.
Cheers,
Zach
Cheers,
Zach
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artistt
New member
I used Neumann
I used Neumann, I am not sure if it were this model. It was in a recording studio.
I think it was one of the vintage kind.
It was nice.
I bought a Rode K2 and two Audio Technica 4033's.
What do you think of the Rode k2 tube mic?
I used Neumann, I am not sure if it were this model. It was in a recording studio.
I think it was one of the vintage kind.
It was nice.
I bought a Rode K2 and two Audio Technica 4033's.
What do you think of the Rode k2 tube mic?
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con_ritmo
New member
steveanthony said:
Bingo.
That doesn't mean that either are going to be sufficient for your voice or your guitar. But if you were going to get the TLM103 "just because...", I'd get the M930 instead.