Sick of bright mics

[Warhead]

The Avenson are indeed a good choice if you need realistic sound without harshness or color. But the guys mentioning ribbons are onto something for you as well, completely different animals than condensors and a refreshing difference of sound.

War

 

[djchase7]

what about the josephson SDC c45s? anyone use em?

 

[PinkNoise]

Other things to consider . . .

tdukex has mentioned the preamp. The choice of monitor speaker and listening room acoustics will also have a huge influence as to the perceived "brightness" of a microphone. I smile when I read about microphone shootouts on this forum. It has been demonstrated that changing the monitor speakers will significantly change the preferences. So you might want to listen to your recordings on a wide range of good equipment before making a final determination of "brightness".

 

[SRR]

*cough* 7 month old thread *cough*

 

[Robert D]

Well, I may be 7 months late, but I'll take the opportunity to say that Oktava MK-012s are a more natural sounding SDC than the 603, and really just great sounding mics.

 

[mixsit]

*cough* 7 month old thread *cough*

And..?
We give people sh** for not using search..

 

[someguy]

I can vouch for the rode NT5's not being very bright and a decent sounding mic. I've noticed that price of Nt5's have gone up from their orginal price which is the opposite trend for most prosumer offerings which tend to drop in value over the years. I also can vouch for earthworks mics, I have a matched pair of omni m30's and really like them a lot although they are quite expensive, I think around $1800 for the pair, plus they are amazing measurement mics. They are definitely not bright, but ruler flat and sound ruler flat which works great in many circumstances. I've also used earthworks qtc1's and they are great too. I also have a pair of akg 460b's with the cardiod and shotgun capsules which are decent and neutral sounding sdc's. I got to use some schoeps sdc's a while back and absolutely loved them. If you're patient and can wait you can get a single one (used)for around a grand. Definitely worth the money!

 

[homestudioguy]

The sE SE3's are definitely not bright but very nice.
Matched pair at $600+.
I did an A/B awhile back with the SE3 and the AT Pro 37R and SE3 proved itself to be not as bright sounding (however, the SE3 provided a much smoother and balanced sound ).

 

[soundchaser59]

I was totally surprised by the budget ribbon mics. They are mostly made by the same company, so the Apex 210 is the good deal here because it comes with the aluminum case, the cordura bag, and good customer service from Yorkville. Shinybox is a good bet also because of the mods available.

But for the money, my Apex 210 has given me waaaaaaayyyy better results than any budget condensor mic I've had, including the NT5. Not bright at all, no presence boost at all, $165 bucks shipped from fullcompass.com

 

[tone_aot]

I have a studio projects c1 which is kinda on the bright side. It's a good mic, i just want something with a stronger midrange and smoother highs. Right now i'm reading reviews on the Cad m179 and the AT 4040. Seems like everytime i have the money to get a new mic, another mic pops up or either i have to pay a bill or something. Gear Addiction. Priceless!

 

[homestudioguy]

Check out the frequency chart of the SE2200A
http://www.seelectronics.com/sE2200a.html
Check out review and Platinum Award
http://www.seelectronics.com/revpdfs/sE2200a/FM_sE2200A_AWARD.pdf