The 99¢ K-Micro condenser mic. Yep, 99 cents.

bigwillz24 said:
Well I ordered a matched pair. Hell for 20 bucks I'll stick them in a kick drum if I don't like them. :D
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stick them a little further back-- they don't handle that much spl well according to karma101 and my own tests. :)
 
Well, my 4 turned up in the post today - 8 days from America! Pretty impressive. I really hadn't realised just how small they would be. Tiny isn't the word.

Just done a test recording with my Takamine into SX3 (one mic, 9-10" from the 12th fret, pointing at the soundhole) and I have to say that I was immediately very impressed. The sound coming back off tape was pretty much what I was hearing when I was playing - the mic really captured the "bigness" of my Tak - a rich, full sound with plenty of detail (which would seem to back up the "it's an omni" statements).

On the downside, there was a perceptible amount of electronic interference - not so noticeable on heavily strummed parts, but certainly there on the quieter moments. I'd assume this is to do with the mics being unbalanced, so looks like I'll have to do a bit of modding.

Also, and a little disappointingly, one of the mics doesn't work - a 25% failure rate. Although, to put this into perspective, I bought a couple of GT55s a while back, and while I fell in love with them instantly, BOTH mics had to be returned as they both developed faults within a week of arrival (100% failure rate!). The replacements are still working fine, though, and the experience highlit the excellent service us Brits can expect when we order from the very wonderful Digital Village, (which is why I don't like buying from anywhere else. Don't even get me started about the E4K I bought from Turnkey...)

In short, these mics are a worthy addition to my ever-growing collection of mics and, when the price is taken into account (£15.58 for three mics including postage), there is absolutely no way on earth I can fault this product.

Of course, now I'm counting the days before I can put my order in at Naiant - if I'm this happy with the K-Micros, how chuffed will I be with a bundle of MSH1's?
 
i'd highly recommend either of the other karmas i got too-- the k-6 phantom powered ribbon and the k-58 multi-pattern tube. :)
 
Paj said:
The tech data on the Karma website has them as cardioid.

Paj
8^)
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Yep - but a fair bit of the info on this thread (frequency response plots on & off-axis etc), not to mention the actual sound of the mics seems to suggest an omni pattern. No matter - they still sound fine.
 
yeah they're up to $20 for two of em now. What the hell do they think their doing? If they go any higher I'll have to say they suck. Hah...

Ok yeah so I'm waiting for the person who says "Well still for $10 a piece that is a great deal considering the technology these days" Bla bla bla...

Considering I'm poor these days... lol... GRRRR

I can do 2 for 20 but any higher and i might get a lil frustrated...
 
I see on Karmas website they changed the polar pattern to omni on the micros.

I wonder if the first batch was cardio. I think the second batch had better specs.



Edit.....I did not see mhelin post stating what I just posted. :eek:
 
There's no way these can be real cardioid. There's no means for sound to reach the back of the diaphragm. I thought about putting one on a drill press to see if I cound make back vents in the case (if it has a cardioid capsule) but now I don't know if it's a good idea.
 
PhilGood said:
There's no way these can be real cardioid. There's no means for sound to reach the back of the diaphragm. I thought about putting one on a drill press to see if I cound make back vents in the case (if it has a cardioid capsule) but now I don't know if it's a good idea.
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That doesn't sound like a good idea. There are no holes in the backplate of the capsule.
 
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