The All New and Improved ACM thread...

[mushy]

Oh, and another thing. Inside the ACM-70's there is a weird mesh bag over the motor. Was this put there for shipping purposes? They definitely sound better without the gauzy condom in there.

 

[dgatwood]

Oh, and another thing. Inside the ACM-70's there is a weird mesh bag over the motor. Was this put there for shipping purposes? They definitely sound better without the gauzy condom in there.

That's fairly typical of the larger ribbons. The Nady RSM-2 has the same sort of thing.

 

[tarnationsauce2]

Oh, and another thing. Inside the ACM-70's there is a weird mesh bag over the motor. Was this put there for shipping purposes? They definitely sound better without the gauzy condom in there.

It's there to help block air movement (plosives) over the ribbon element.
If you remove it, be sure to always use a pop filter, and do not use it in windy conditions (outside or even be careful of HVAC air!). Those ribbons are ultra-sensitive without the mesh. No joke.

 

[mshilarious]

Personally I liked the 414 better than the TLM103, but you have to admit...for a cheap mic the 1200 sounds really, really good. I'd challenge you to find another mic at that price that even comes close.

I can think of a few

The ACM mics were notably brighter and a bit thinner. I don't think it shows as well on string bass as it would another instrument. Try it vs. 414 on brass, for example.

 

[rockinrocker]

I'm not sure I posted this here, I think it was PSW, but last week I was recording a cover band and decided to try a new 1200. I pulled it out, warmed it up and "yuk" It sounded very thin and brittle. I just moved it to the side and grabbed another mic. 10 hours later, after the session, I started putting things away, turning off PSW's etc. and noticed that the 1200 was still on. I had a little time so I had to hear this mic again. It sounded beautiful. Then it dawned on me "burn in-warm up". I never heard such a dramatic change in a mics charactor. It sounded like a completely different mic. Now that its burned in, I am anxious to try it with just a 30 min warm up to hear if it still has the good sound.

just for the record, these were recorded after an all night burn in.

all night burn in, is that what the kids are calling it now a days?

 

[PhilGood]

So I thought I'd go ahead and start a new thread in hopes of helping organize things a little. I figure the original thread can be used for shipping info, and I'll post this stuff here and if other wanna add... great.

I got two 6802's and two 1200's

My impressions:

The overall build quality of both sets is very good. Just a couple minor superficial issues with the 1200's. The top of the grill on one was dented in (as I think someone else mention theirs was in the other thread), and the switch for the pad sticks. I noticed that after I removed the body, the switch worked fine, so I think it just needs to be filed down a little.

I'll post photos of the 1200's since they're new this round, and our pal Whitestrat offered to host the clips I recorded of my upright.

I used the ACM's and a TLM103 and a 414BLXII into
Neve clone from 7th Circle Audio---->Echo Audiofire12---->Cubase.
I'm running short on time with a slow connection, so hopefully we can get sound clips posted tomorrow.

I left the gain the same for each, but ended up pulling down the 103 a little since it was noticeably hotter then the others. Both ACM's and the 414 seemed pretty close gain wise.


my camera doesn't do close ups very well, but hopefully you'll get the idea...

Hmmm..

The 1200 circuit board has a slightly different layout than the Apex 460/Nady TCM1150 etc, but mods would be easily possible on these mics for serious improvement!

I look forward to what you decide to do.

 

[mushy]

Actually, a couple of the part values and types are different but the board layout is the same. I've compared one against the Apex schematic.

On the topic of transformers for the ribbons, i've decided to order both Cinemags and Edcors. I'm looking for a very specific upgrade for my ACM-3s and I'm looking forward to comparing the two. I am looking to tighten up the bottom end and from most accounts, the high end tranny accentuates the low end even more. For the sake of fun, I'll do a comparison in my ACM-70s as well.

 

[chance]

FWIW we are presently having Xfrmrs custom made for all ACM mics

 

[antichef]

FWIW we are presently having Xfrmrs custom made for all ACM mics

sweeet! definitely keep us posted. Not to be redundant, but you'll have them for ribbons and for the tube mics (and the tube-ribbon mic)?

 

[chance]

sweeet! definitely keep us posted. Not to be redundant, but you'll have them for ribbons and for the tube mics (and the tube-ribbon mic)?

Yes, all ACM's, and we're also working on the ACMP's too.

 

[mushy]

FWIW we are presently having Xfrmrs custom made for all ACM mics

IW a lot!!! Any info on this yet? Who is making them? Core material? Wind ratio? Price point? Time frame? I was literally about to hit the "send" button on my order to cinemag when I saw this. I'm eager to get started on these so any info would be appreciated.

 

[chance]

Some are ready. Which mic(s)?

 

[antichef]

I'd sure be interested in trannys for the ACM-310, and all of the ribbon mics.

 

[mushy]

Some are ready. Which mic(s)?

2 x 1200s
2 x 3s
2 x 70s

So that's two 10:1 ish trannies and four 37:1 ish trannies.

 

[donkeystyle]

FWIW we are presently having Xfrmrs custom made for all ACM mics

is this the big news we've all been waiting for? Now I'm even more excited about the mics and pre's I'm getting.

 

[Fab4ever]

Chance,

Anything for the humble ACM-2 I ordered?

Fab

 

[chance]

I'll have a lis of what is ready, in a few days

 

[mushy]

In the meantime can we get some technical details?

 

[chance]

In the meantime can we get some technical details?

in a few days