Recommendations for a good vocal mic under $400

[robn]

Thanks Alan,

Well, no one's perfect...you're bound to have a few bad ones....from the high praise I've been hearing, it must just be this particular mic....

I'll give my dealer a call tomorrow and see what he can do...if nothing, I'll take you up on your offer....

 

[MrZekeMan]

I'll give my dealer a call tomorrow and see what he can do...if nothing, I'll take you up on your offer....

If it were me, I'd bypass the dealer and go straight to Alan.

 

[robn]

Zeke,

That's probably what I'll end up having to do anyway....the dealer said they don't take mics back...Gidge mentioned that the policy might not be for defective mics....I'll give 'em a chance, but I'm not gonna sweat it if they don't honor their product...I'll give Alan and Co. a call.....people can say what they want about him (and they will), but I respect the fact that he's standing behind his product...

 

[zoetrope]

a stupid question

You did turn on phantom power to the mic, right?

 

[MrZekeMan]

Apparantly he did or the 603 wouldn't have worked either.

 

[robn]

Zoe,

Yeah the phantom power was on, but thanks for checking up on me anyway

I did more tests last night...recording into Sonar with 3 mics, the C1, the 603, and an ancient Audio-Technica ATM33R that is weak as hell...stuck the mics about 2 inches from my Cambridge speaker and played Heart's "Dog and Butterfly" off a CD....the 603 moved the meters the most...the C1 and ATM33R were almost the same, slight edge to C1. Then I recorded my vocals, and the 603 almost pegged the meter (I had the trim and gain up beyond what I usually record)....the C1 was well behind with the ATM33R about even with the C1....I don't use the 603 for vocals (mainly acoustic micing) but my mic collection is really low right now, so I had to use it for testing.

Maybe I got a bad mic, maybe I was expecting too much, but it sure seems like there's a problem here....

 

[zoetrope]

I'd take up Alan on his offer, you'll never no for sure if the mic is up to specs unless you let his guy check it out for you. Worth the price of postage (which I'm guessing they'll cover anyway, although not sure). My C1 is loud and clear and makes me very very happy. You won't be happy with yours till you have it checked over and fixed if there's something wrong.

 

[robn]

I took everyone's advice and just skipped the dealer...called Justin at PMI....nice guy, very helpful. I described the problem and he agreed...bad mic... I'm sending it back today.

Credit goes to Alan and PMI for Customer Support....

I'll post again when I get the new one back...

 

[zoetrope]

update?

Keep us posted on what happens, I'm anxious to hear what you think of the mic when you get it back

 

[alanhyatt]

Back In Town

Hey guys,

I will let you all know what happend to Robn's mic when we get it in. We have had only one C1 and one C3 crap out on us, and the C3 had a minor short from a wire touching the casing. We just moved the wire and the mic was fine.

The quality and consistency has been unbelievable good. Much better than I could have hoped for, but my relationship with the factory has been a big contributor to it.

Anyway, I am anxious to know if and what is wrong, so I will keep you all informed as soon as I get the mic.

 

[LI Slim]

Alan, I think your responsiveness is commendable.

I also think that, if you have not already done so, you should contribute a substantial tip to Dragon's tip jar.

 

[Gidge]

anyone up for a bedtime story.....

Green Eggs and SPAM......

 

[alanhyatt]

Regarding Robn's mic. We got it in two days ago, unfortunately, I got sick, but it is on the way back to Robn. We did not find anything wrong with the mic. Its output was a true C1. In either case, we replaced the entire inside of the mic including the capsule.

When Robn gets it back I expect ww will get his report if he notices anything different. I can't explain his experience of low output because that is not a problem for the C1. The C1 is certianly not the hottest output mic on the planet either, so we shall see what see.

Robn,

Let me know when you get your mic back and test it out.

 

[robn]

Alan,

Yeah, I talked to Justin on the phone this afternoon and he told me about your test and the results. This is kind of an awkward situation...I'm sure you tested it, and I will take you at your word since you've given me no reason to think otherwise; however, the output was definitely lower to me than my 603 and not much better than a 15-20 year old Audio-Technica. I don't have my Rode NT-1 to test against anymore, but it seemed like the C1 did not have the output of it either....the C1 WAS a much smoother sound than the NT-1 as well as the 603. I don't see how I could have messed the test up either....I actually measured the distances from the speaker with both mics so that's not it....and I was judging the mics not only on perceived output but on the Mackie meters and the Sonar software meters as well.....the only thing out of the ordinary was the C1 was hot temperature-wise (it's hot as hell out here in Texas). I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it though.....weird....but I'll give the new one a try. I will let you know when I receive the new mic and I will also let you know my opinion, good or bad.


Take it easy....

 

[robn]

BTW Alan,

No matter whether the new mic sounds better or not, or whether I keep it or sell it, I DO appreciate the fact that you took the time to check it out, and that you stand behind your product....that's pretty cool.

 

[Gidge]

I cant help but keep thinking back to the Monster StudioLink 500 cable....thats not a mic cable,is it?....I guess is would work on a mic, but does it go from XLR to XLR?......try using the cable that you used to test the 603....

 

[robn]

Gidge,

The StudioLink500 cable is an XLR-to-XLR cable...and I used the same cable on both mics. The mixer settings were the same as well....basically I plugged one mic in, tested it, then took it off and plugged the other mic in and tested it too...the Mackie was not touched the entire time. Before I sent the mic back to Alan I tried to think of anything that would skew the results, and I couldn't think of anything. It's a mystery to me....but I'll give the new mic a try...

 

[MrZekeMan]

Before I sent the mic back to Alan I tried to think of anything that would skew the results, and I couldn't think of anything. It's a mystery to me....but I'll give the new mic a try...

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is
known to man...

...do not touch your dials we are now controlling your audio...

 

[robn]

Zeke,

Now why did you say that ??? I'll be whistling that theme song all night now

 

[gordone]

Could it have something to do with the Phantom power remaining on? I'm no expert in anything , but I've been told (by experts?) that it's a good idea to turn off the phantom power (and turn down the gain!) before plugging in/out any phantom-powered mics. Just a thought, I'll let the many experts here handle this!
-Evan

Gidge,

The StudioLink500 cable is an XLR-to-XLR cable...and I used the same cable on both mics. The mixer settings were the same as well....basically I plugged one mic in, tested it, then took it off and plugged the other mic in and tested it too...the Mackie was not touched the entire time. Before I sent the mic back to Alan I tried to think of anything that would skew the results, and I couldn't think of anything. It's a mystery to me....but I'll give the new mic a try...