Thoughts on Neumann TLM103??

[spyrum]

I have been using this mic for a few years and have had very great results with vocals, acoustic guitar. I love this mic especially since it is somewhat affordable and has such a crisp clear sound to it. just curious if anyone else uses this mic and what do you think about it?

thanks


happy recordings....

 

[BigRay]

I have been using this mic for a few years and have had very great results with vocals, acoustic guitar. I love this mic especially since it is somewhat affordable and has such a crisp clear sound to it. just curious if anyone else uses this mic and what do you think about it?

thanks


happy recordings....

A lot of engineers own them. I find them, along with most all of the neumann mics to be sort of boring, just "eh". (and I am not knocking neumann, I own neumann mics too). It doesnt utilize a transformer in its design, so it is sort of flat, versatile for more applications, but flat.(like the u89). I think it can be modded though , by Klaus Heyne or Tony Merril. Klaus site is www.germanmasterworks.com OR www.spaudio.com for tony.
OR www.audioupgrades.com is another mod site.. But yeah, in my opinion..sort of flat and boring.
I just sent my pair of u87s off for Overhaul to Tony myself. I "think" the tlm103 uses the same capsule as the u89.Which, all of my mics are modded, as I prefer lots of transformer/tubeish warmth as well as a lot of transient detail..so I probably aint the best one to ask.what Ive heard though...workhorse but nothing grand.

Teddy

 

[DonGraham]

I like mine

 

[CCS]

I have been using this mic for a few years and have had very great results with vocals, acoustic guitar. I love this mic especially since it is somewhat affordable and has such a crisp clear sound to it. just curious if anyone else uses this mic and what do you think about it?

thanks


happy recordings....

It's being used more and more in classical music and two sound engineers I talked with both use them a lot. I purchased one and have no regrets. It's one of the warmest sounding mics on the market and has a forward sound that really finds its own in a mix. I have no intention of modding this mic, which also kicks out a hot signal. The low end and mids are what I like most about the TLM 103.

 

[BigRay]

It doesnt matter if you mod it or not, but the mods dont just increase sensitivity. They make it sound 300% better. I didnt want anyone to think that the modifications primary purpose is to make it more sensitive. It isnt. It is to dedicate time and energy where neumann skimped out and bought cheap(er) parts. That being said, I have absolutely no affiliation with any microphone mod shop. I personally will never use an unmodded neumann again though. Its like going up the mountain before your ears pop. There is a reason these mics are so popular, these tlm103s...they are workhorses, and will consistently please. the neumann name aside..they sound good.

Teddy

 

[CCS]

It doesnt matter if you mod it or not, but the mods dont just increase sensitivity. They make it sound 300% better. I didnt want anyone to think that the modifications primary purpose is to make it more sensitive. It isnt. It is to dedicate time and energy where neumann skimped out and bought cheap(er) parts. That being said, I have absolutely no affiliation with any microphone mod shop. I personally will never use an unmodded neumann again though. Its like going up the mountain before your ears pop. There is a reason these mics are so popular, these tlm103s...they are workhorses, and will consistently please. the neumann name aside..they sound good.

Teddy

What you determine to be 300% better may not necessarily equate to what I consider better. If I didn't like the way the mic sounded from the get-go, I wouldn't have purchased it.

 

[BigRay]

What you determine to be 300% better may not necessarily equate to what I consider better. If I didn't like the way the mic sounded from the get-go, I wouldn't have purchased it.

I never said it was a bad mic. I said with the modifications it sounds better. You would too. I am pretty confident in saying that. Maybe not 300 percent better, but better. There is a reason that hundreds, if not thousands of people Use these modded microphones. Because they simply sound better than stock mics. Period. Unless of course you think lower performance in all the areas that are typically looked at by musicians/studio heads/engineers/mic manufacturers/mic modification people/joe schmoes sounds better of course. Stranger things have happened. But you are certainly right. the tlm103 is a good mic that sells well. it can be made to sound much better(in the usual areas) though.
If I didnt think the u89s/87s were a great mic, I wouldntve purchased mine either. Some months ago someone showed me the light, this whole other area that I never knew existed. I was simply offering conversation. I dont proclaim to preach the gospel of audio. Hardly. I am a moron, in the scheme of things..This is true. I do have decent ears though, and think I am a pretty good judge of good/bad sonics.. If you ever get a chance, listen to some of Klaus' work. Mind boggling. That dude is a genius, as is Tony. I come in peace man.

 

[CCS]

I never said it was a bad mic. I said with the modifications it sounds better. You would too. I am pretty confident in saying that. Maybe not 300 percent better, but better.

Again, what you determine to be better doesn't equate to what I consider better. My experience as a recording engineer is probably very different from yours. I have a good idea of which mics I like and which ones I don't, which are subjective opinions that clients pay me to have.

There is a reason that hundreds, if not thousands of people Use these modded microphones.

Again, I already like the sonic qualities of the TLM 103, which is precisely why I won't be modding it. Had I not liked the sonic qualities of the TLM 103 from the outset, I would have simply purchased another mic, rather than throw a mod at it. I'm not in the habit of buying expensive equipment to mod it. But there are no doubt "thousands of people" who feel the need to; so all the power to them.

On the flipside, perhaps, you might consider selecting a mic with the sonic qualities that you like from the outset, which might avoid modding it in the first place.

Regards.

 

[fraserhutch]

Actually, dude, it's fairly common for engineers to purchase mics and mod them. Nothing wrong with making a good thing better.

This is particularily true with tube mics, but it applies to all sorts of mics.

 

[BigRay]

I buy mics with sonic charactaristics I like.
I dont care about others opinions, and noone pays me to have mine, but again, I am 100% confident that the tlm103 sounds better with the mods whether you like it with to begin with or not. Anyone that says it doesnt sound better is lying or deaf. You are taking this too seriously so I will stop now, but the fact still remains and will always be, forever and ever amen..that the mic sounds better when modded, bottom line, end of story.. Opinions aside..there are basic qualities that we look for in microphones that are all the same...and the mods GREATLY IMPROVE those qualities.

Thats all I will say on it. You are happy with your tlm103, and thats great.
I was happy with my u87s, but will be happier when I get them back from the shop after the overhaul. I have a ton of mics that I like as is..I DO spend a lot of time shopping for mics, instead of just buying something that will do the job, I save my pennies and go hungry to buy the best that I can afford.

its all good though, I couldnt care less what you do with your mics, or what mics you own. And like the fella said above, it is common practice for engineers to buy mics and get them modded. I hope that tlm103 keeps serving you well. I, however, will continually seek ways to improve my tools. Anyone who thinks that their product is at a point at which it cannot possibly be improved on is living in a bubble.
Things can ALWAYS be better. Always. It just takes geniuses like Klaus and Tony to get them there.

regards back at you.

Teddy

Again, what you determine to be better doesn't equate to what I consider better. My experience as a recording engineer is probably very different from yours. I have a good idea of which mics I like and which ones I don't, which are subjective opinions that clients pay me to have.



Again, I already like the sonic qualities of the TLM 103, which is precisely why I won't be modding it. Had I not liked the sonic qualities of the TLM 103 from the outset, I would have simply purchased another mic, rather than throw a mod at it. I'm not in the habit of buying expensive equipment to mod it. But there are no doubt "thousands of people" who feel the need to; so all the power to them.

On the flipside, perhaps, you might consider selecting a mic with the sonic qualities that you like from the outset, which might avoid modding it in the first place.

Regards.

 

[CCS]

Anyone that says it doesnt sound better is lying or deaf.

You sound like a spoiled child who can't have his way and has to issue an either/or statement. Pathetic.

I couldnt care less what you do with your mics, or what mics you own.

Good, then move on.

Regards.

 

[CCS]

Actually, dude, it's fairly common for engineers to purchase mics and mod them. Nothing wrong with making a good thing better.

This is particularily true with tube mics, but it applies to all sorts of mics.

Actually, dude, it's also fairly common for engineers to not mod equipment, on the basis of it sounds great, leave it alone.

Regards.

 

[xstatic]

Originally Posted by BigRay
"Anyone that says it doesnt sound better is lying or deaf."

I agree that often times things do sound better with some modifications, at least to my ears. However, a statement like this is purely wrong. To you it may sound better, the next guy however may have preferred it before it was modded. Then there is the whole source signal thing. Each source may sound better or worse on the modded mic. My rule of thumb is that anyone who makes a blanket statement concerning audio just doesn't know any better. Thats the beautiful thing about music, there is no right and wrong, just what we like and what we don't like. There are many things in life like this where one person loves what the next hates.

 

[sdelsolray]

I buy mics with sonic charactaristics I like.
I dont care about others opinions, and noone pays me to have mine, but again, I am 100% confident that the tlm103 sounds better with the mods whether you like it with to begin with or not. Anyone that says it doesnt sound better is lying or deaf. You are taking this too seriously so I will stop now, but the fact still remains and will always be, forever and ever amen..that the mic sounds better when modded, bottom line, end of story.. Opinions aside..there are basic qualities that we look for in microphones that are all the same...and the mods GREATLY IMPROVE those qualities.

Thats all I will say on it. You are happy with your tlm103, and thats great.
I was happy with my u87s, but will be happier when I get them back from the shop after the overhaul. I have a ton of mics that I like as is..I DO spend a lot of time shopping for mics, instead of just buying something that will do the job, I save my pennies and go hungry to buy the best that I can afford.

its all good though, I couldnt care less what you do with your mics, or what mics you own. And like the fella said above, it is common practice for engineers to buy mics and get them modded. I hope that tlm103 keeps serving you well. I, however, will continually seek ways to improve my tools. Anyone who thinks that their product is at a point at which it cannot possibly be improved on is living in a bubble.
Things can ALWAYS be better. Always. It just takes geniuses like Klaus and Tony to get them there.

regards back at you.

Teddy

Gee, when I spoke with Klaus he stated he wouldn't do any mods to a TLM 103, and that there really wasn't much that could be done with that mic (or the KM184s). That was a couple of years ago. Perhaps he's changed his mind. What modifications were done to your TLM 103?

 

[nonfat]

You sound like a spoiled child who can't have his way and has to issue an either/or statement. Pathetic.


Good, then move on.

Regards.

DJL, is that you?

 

[BigRay]

Gee, when I spoke with Klaus he stated he wouldn't do any mods to a TLM 103, and that there really wasn't much that could be done with that mic (or the KM184s). That was a couple of years ago. Perhaps he's changed his mind. What modifications were done to your TLM 103?

I own a pair of u87s, which use the same capsule as the tlm103. The feeling I got was that the tlm193 and u89 could not be modded,(they use the same capsule) but the tlm103 and u87 could.
I could be wrong , but thats the feeling I got. I will vigorously defend the mods though, and if it can be modded it will sound better. But no, I havent asked Klaus specifically about the tlm103, rather just assumed based on the fact that the tlm103 uses the same capsule as the u87. Now I know FOR SURE that Jim Williams at www.audioupgrades.com can mod the u87, but dont know about Klaus or Tony Merill.

 

[sdelsolray]

Most microphone mods involve the electronics and often do not involve the capsule at all. Dunno about capsule mods for the TLM mics, but my understaning is that there's little, if anything, that can be done with the electronics in that Series.

 

[Thatawaystan]

Now you know why "BigRay" has been chased off almost every message board he has ever been on. The dude talks a big game, but his experiance involves less than two years of actual recording, most of that live to 2 track hobby recording of bands. About a year ago he was using some stealth cardiods to record bands than went crazy and bought a shit ton of gear, most of it in the last 6 months, then passes himself off as a knowledgable source. So even if he has used it every day since, his practical knowledge is nil. go check out the taperssection.com website and search for user Ray76 if you would like to see an example of his childish meltdowns.

 

[vanguard]

Ok captain mic-mod. we get it.

if it can be modded it will sound better.

You are ridiculous. I bet I could mod your mics in a way that would not improve their sound.

 

[tkingen]

Here's a direct quote from Al Schmidt "The one that kills me is the Neumann 103 - that's a fantastic microphone."
It's on page 28 of Howard Massey's book, Behind The Glass.