What application for this mic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris Tondreau
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Chris Tondreau

Chris Tondreau

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I posted this question to another newsgroup and got no reply. This is turning out to be a really great group, though, so I thought I'd ask here.

The first mic I ever bought (my requirements were cheap and available.... for the mic, that is....) was an AKG D80. I recognized the brand name and everything!! (this WAS a long time ago...) It's black, has a very round screen, and a rather thin handle with an on/off slider switch. Since I've started recording, I pulled it out to hear what it REALLY sounds like. In a word.... CRAP! It is all mid-range, and very thin at that. It sounds like an AM radio coming through on a 3 inch speaker.

I can't help wondering if there is either A) something wrong with it. (I tried to get it apart, but no luck...) or B) sounds like crap on my voice and guitar because it was designed for a specific application that is decidedly UN voice or guitar-like. Maybe both??

I did some looking on the net and at the AKG website (of course, yes, that IS the net too...) and came up with only a couple of passing references.

Is anyone familiar with this mic, or what it is supposed to be used for? At the moment, the best use I can find for it is as a dust-collector.

Chris
 
D 80

Yup, looks like a dust-collector. AKG does make some very nice microphones... I don't believe that is one of them.
 
Dust Collector's Golden Edition

For the description, I would say is a typical cardioid dynamic mic. Something that should be usable for lots of applications including (mainly) vocals & guitars.
But in this case you got one of the ON-OFF switch microphones available in the market.
As far as I know, decent mics don't have ON-OFF switches.
BUT that doesn't mean is unusable.
I found myself using shitty mics several times. Either I was trying to get certain tone, or it was my only choice at the time.

Do not toss it away...you never know when you gonna need it.

Peace...

PC
 
Yes, it is a dynamic mic. By typical, I assume that you mean that it probably has no SPECIFIC application (ie. a great mic for recording dolphins, cymbals, etc.)?

I can't help thinking that it must be good for SOMETHING!! I'll certainly keep it - if for nothing else, it might be good as an "effect" when I want something particularly lo-fi.

Thanks for the input.

Chris
 
Hey, if it's a nasty sounding beast it just may be perfect for harmonica. Also you may want to check the impedence of the mic. If it's an old cheap model, it may be High Z (I assume you plugged it into a standard Lo Z mic pre).
 
Maybe I'll give the harmonica thing a try :D

...or perhaps try it on people I don't like so I can make myself sound better than them!! :D (nothing/nobody is completely useless.... it/they can always serve as a bad example!!)

About the impedance thing. Yeah, I just tried it in a regular low impedance mic pre - I'm pretty sure... Do I have it right in that low impedance is typically XLR and high impedance is what is referred to more commonly as "line level"?

Chris
 
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