Overhead suggestions for $99

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SMX_Dizzy

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Hey. Sometime I'm going to be buying two mics for overheads for my drum set. I've been looking around, and the MXL 2006's look pretty good. http://www.music123.com/MXL-MXL-2006-i144706.music Do you have any other suggestions for mics that are great for overheads for drums and are only $99 each? If there are any mics better than these for the same price, I'd want to go with them. Thanks!
 
why do you suggest those and what makes them better than the 2006's? what makes the 2006's so bad?
 
SMX_Dizzy said:
why do you suggest those and what makes them better than the 2006's? what makes the 2006's so bad?
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For overheads - you are better off with a Small diaphragm condenser mic, rather than a Large Diaphragm. The smaller diaphragm evidently reacts faster, which seems to give a little more punch, and they seem to have less room sound.

I use the 603's, and love them.



Tim
 
Well, the 603's have a just a cardoid pickup pattern. If you dont know what cardoid is, it pretty much means, that the mic pick up things best from the front and the side, and not very well from the back. Kind of like a heart shape, hence the word cardoid.
The 604's have cardoid and have a cap you can put on for an omni pickup pattern. If you don't know what omni is, it means it picks up well all around the mic. Also, the 604 has a -10db pad, nice if you're sound source is loud, and also a low frequency roll off.
They're both great mics, and i'm pretty sure the wires and such inside are the same, mogami wires, which are great. If it were me, I would go for the 604s because I like the extra features. But if you're starting out, maybe you could go for the 603s. There are actually some 603s on ebay that I think have a buy it now price of around 60 or 70 dollars. Not a bad price. If you search around you maybe be able to find them lower as well. It's your choice between the two. Both great mics.
 
so the 604's would probably be better if you say they're better for louder sources? I'll be using them for drums, which are fairly loud, and I know the difference between cardoid and omni. I think omni is a nice thing to have, which is another plus of the 604's.

and what's the difference between a matched pair and a pair that isn't matched?
 
I've never needed to use the -10db pad when using the 604s as overheads, and when I record I hit hard and constantly at the same level (most of the time). I've also recorded some pretty hard hitters. My preamps are the ones in the Firepod. Every preamp is different though, and may not have as much headrooms as the presonus ones. The-10db pad and the low end roll off are just nice features that I like to have incase I need them. Plus the omni cap is very nice to have for different situations.
it's up to you which one you want. Go to guitar center and try them out if you can.
 
how would i go about trying them at Guitar Center? Would they let me hook em up to a mixer or a preamp and run it through a computer so see which mics sound better?
 
I have 603s and B1s and I think the B1s sound a little more natural.
 
Hmmm ... Yes I am curious about the comparison question as well. I have B1's and I like them but I have not had a chance to compare them to well, any others before. Word.
 
The B1's ARE good overheads, but even better are the Octava MC012 @ $69 each! :)
 
Hey where are you finding those for 69 bucks each? All I can find are ones that sell for around 200 each. Unless I am doing a search on the wrong model? Thanks!
 
Guitar Center may still have a few left. That's where I got mine. They're the Chinese ones, however Chinese or Russian, they sound awesome.
 
...a year and a half since I last posted here, but I'm back.

So what would be the best deal? two MXL604's for $200, two MXL603's and two MXL2001's for $200, or two matched (but b-stock) JoeMeek JM27's for $100?
 
I can get a matched pair of JM27's or 603's for about the same price, so which would be better? Are there any advantages to one or to the other?
 
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