I don’t know if you would consider my opinion “informed”, but I have a SE mic so I thought I might as well post some of my impressions. Hopefully, others will also add their experiences and build some consensus on these microphones. So, here goes! I have a Digi 001, Sony MDR 7506 headphones and NS-10s with a Hafler amp. DISCLAIMER: I am not in anyway affiliated with SE Electronics. All methods of testing were developed for my own personal use and to satisfy my own purchase criteria. Your own tests results may vary. All opinions are expressly that: Opinions. “Your mileage may vary!”
I have looked at a couple of the SE Electronics mics. I was first interested in the SE-1, which is a small diameter microphone, very similar to the MXL 603. So I got the SE-1 and the MXL 603 and tried them both out. I wrote my opinion in this earlier thread:
http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=29905&highlight=Frequency But basically, the SE-1 had a nice sound, but the 603 had higher db output, and perhaps a little more definition. So I bought the MXL 603.
But I was still curious, so I talked directly with SE Electronics to ask some questions on the company and where the mics were made. All SE Electronics mics are made at the Feilo plant in Shanghai. It is a very large state enterprise and the only mic company in China whose stock is traded publicly. I was told this by the owner, David. David is, or was, a VP at the Feilo plant (mentioned by the Secretary earlier) and is still closely tied to the company. I was also told this plant has state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, including a 6 million dollar furnace (or whatever) for tensioning capsules. On the other hand, I was told the MXL 603 was made by ex-Feilo workers, who started a business in their garage. So how could the MXL603 sound better than the SE-1, when Feilo has all of this sophisticated equipment? Got me!
Anyway, I found out they still do not have any distributors for their mics in Ohio and were willing to sell to me at the wholesale cost. I could not pass up this offer, so I looked at their mic line and decided on getting a SE 3000 for $129 and a SE 3500 for $119. Both mics were presently out of stock and I had to wait about 2 weeks for the next shipment.
The mics came in the same type of aluminum cases as the C-1 from Studio Projects. (I also have a C-1 and a C-3, which I bought back in March, before the hype began.) I looked at the SE 3000 first. This is a 3-polar pattern mic. My first impression was poor. But keep in mind that I was comparing it to my C-1 and C-3, which I liked. The polar switch on the SE 3000 was plastic and could easily change settings if even slightly touched. Very cheap and cheesy. The db output of the mic was way lower than my C-1 and the mic noise was considerably greater than the C-1. So, low db output, static, and cheap switches. I pretty much decided that mic was going back, if they would take it. I listened to the sound, but by now I was already too negative on this mic to be objective, but I heard nothing to change my opinion.
Then I looked at the SE 3500. This is a cardioid pattern mic in a compact format, like the TLM 103 and the AT 4047. The SE 3500 has a transformer, while I understand the TLM103 does not. So the mic is not necessarily a knock-off of the TLM103. I liked this mic a lot and it compared very favorably with the C-1. The SE3500 also has low noise. When compared to the C-1, it registers the same for mic noise on the meters on
my Digi 001. I checked for mic noise by wrapping each mic in a heavy towel and placing them in a wooden box, then turned up the Digi preamps on full, and watched the meters and listened for the sound on each mic. I would say that the mic noise from the SE3500 seemed to be in “higher” frequencies, while mic noise from the C-1 was more in the “mid” frequencies. Although my meters told me the noise level was about the same, noise in the “mid” freuencies was slightly less objectionable than noise in the “high” frequencies. In any case, I was pleased with the results from this comparison. Then I placed both mics in front of a guitar to check for recording levels and db output, then strummed, finger-picked, flat-picked, and what not. The SE3500 came out very good here also in comparison, and once again I would say the SE3500 was very close to the C-1 in db output, so I would probably call them equal. But if push came to shove, I might give the edge to the SE3500.
The sound of the SE3500 was also similar to the C-1, but a little different, at least to me. I felt the C-1 has a little more definition. When I did some recording of the same guitar sounds and then zoomed in on the wave forms, it looked like the C-1 was hitting more peaks than the SE3500. The SE3500 would show peaks at the same points, but were often not as high, or more muted. So the zoomed wave trace basically confirmed what I thought I heard. I am fairly new to recording, but I would suppose from this info that the C-1 has a thinner capsule diaphragm, which reacts more aggressively to the sound. This brings up the next point. You can get very noticeable differences with the C-1 with slight mic changes. So placement is very critical. The SE3500 seems to be a bit more “forgiving”, or perhaps less sensitive in this sense. The C-1 seems to react strongly to bass, so a position directly in front of the guitar at 18” registered way too much bass. The SE3500, though, seemed to tolerate even a front position reasonably well, but over the bridge was more desirable. So I would say the SE3500 had reduced proximity effect. Overall, I felt the sound of the SE3500 was very good. The compact size of the SE3500 also can give some advantages when setting up for close micing. So, basically, I liked the SE3500 and if you can also get it for $120, I can’t imagine somebody being unhappy. I sent back the SE3000 and had them send me another SE3500. The second SE3500 seemed to be a little “hotter”.
I did not look at the SE5000 tube mic. However, I was told that shortly an upgraded version will be coming out,
the SE5500, which is a tube mic with three polar patterns. The switch in the new mic will be metal! Also the new mic will include a better tube that is easier to replace. Not sure what that is about. Should be able to get it for about $380 directly. If anybody has had any experiences with SE mics, I would also like to hear it.
