Who has a Mic Cabinet?

  • Thread starter Thread starter djdocrok
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djdocrok

djdocrok

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So I've read up on mics, and see that every mic is "like a shoe" and certain mics work for certain people, no one size fits all...
I'm stuck in the Lawson/U87/Brauner/BLUE/Peluso/Etc loop, but how am I supposed to demo each one and figure out which one is best for me? I don't really want to spend a fortune going into other peoples studios to A-B them, and the local shops don't have those boutique mics on hand for me to test either... How do ya'll figure out which shoe fits?

And if you live in the area and want to let me check 'em out, that'd be awesome!!
 
im very new to mics - but im sure its one of those things where you start out with 1 or 2 mics and you think they sound good on everything - Then you buy a new mic and go "Wow this works on better than X than my other mic did.." then you keep getting more and learning more about each mic in your collections sound..

not that one is really better, but once you start playing around with them youll find out what works and what doesnt.


At least, i hope im right... helps me justify not spending a million $$ on mics right away haha :D
 
Thats why you research other folks comments a lot until you feel justified in taking a leap of faith. I never tried out any of my current mics. I love them all.
 
You buy this shit used on ebay. Then, if you don't like it, you sell it and make your money back. Or you trade it with someone on the board for something of comparable value. Find something you like ... you keep it.

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Maybe I'm missing something, but how do we know if we live in your area?

By the way, there are NO stores that carry Lawson Mics, unless they are a pawn shop or some other dealer in second hand goods. You can only order them direct from Gene Lawson.

However, he gives you a grace period to send the mic back for a full refund, so you can still basically do a shootout before deciding, even though technically you are "buying" the mic in advance.
 
I use a combination of BigRay's and Chessrock's approach. Research the mic and people's comments till you feel comfortable springing for it and then buy it used on E-Bay or from another vendor. If you pick it up at a decent price, you aren't risking much if you later decide you don't really like it and want to turn it over. If you've done your due diligence, the probability that you will want to resell it later should also decline. I've kept most of my buys. I've sometimes made money when I have resold :D Does require a bit of patience.
 
Chessrock's method works up to a point. He might (or might not) agree with the following proviso:

If you are buying really old vintage gear on E-bay, like say a U-47, you will want to work out a way of trying the mic first, or even having it evaluated by a specialist. There can be a huge difference in the condition of these pieces and their internal components, and how much extra money it will take to bring them back into reasonable working order.

With a $500 piece, it may not be such a big deal and can be considered a reasonable gamble, but when you are spending 10-20 times that amount... that's another story.

You probably wouldn't buy a used car without a test drive and a thorough evaluation - especially an expensive vintage one. Sure, you probably COULD turn around and just sell it to someone else if it is a lemon, but most of us would feel some ethical qualms about scamming someone. And if you make full disclosure, you probably won't get back what you paid, if you were assuming it was a working piece of gear in good condition when you bought it.
 
littledog said:
You probably wouldn't buy a used car without a test drive and a thorough evaluation - especially an expensive vintage one. Sure, you probably COULD turn around and just sell it to someone else if it is a lemon, but most of us would feel some ethical qualms about scamming someone. And if you make full disclosure, you probably won't get back what you paid, if you were assuming it was a working piece of gear in good condition when you bought it.
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That's why you check the feedback ratings and contact the seller in advance. If the seller has more than, say, 50 transactions without a single negative or even neutral feedback ... then it's a good start. If he/she returns all of your email questions promptly, and even provides a phone number and speaks perfect English over the phone :D ... is very upfront and knowlegable about the condition of the mic, etc. Then your chances of a bad experience are pretty miniscule.

But ebay is only one option. There's also Craig's list, or even the local entertainment paper (assuming your city has one). If you get lucky, you might find someone locally who will let you stop by and test it out in person, same way you might do with a used car.

This is just one way of doing things, and not everyone is going to be comfortable with it, nor is it going to fit in to their personality style or "psyche" or whatever. :D Some people's brains just aren't programmed to be comfortable with such a concept, and that's totally okay.

If you happen to be one of those people who has to have the reassurance of a warranty, and having something in new condition ... then retail is really your only viable option. And for that person, you just have to be smart and creative in how you go about your purchasing decision. I, personally, just don't feel in the least bit comfortable buying something very expensive, strictly on the advice of another person. Knowing full well that if I wind up not liking it over time, that I will only be able to recover a fraction of what I initially paid for it, due to the fact that it's value depreciated significantly the second I took it out of the box (or "drove it out of the lot").

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I kind of look at my mics as my kids. As you grow with them you learn what they can and can not do. It might be interesting to see some pics of some mic closets.
 
chance said:
I kind of look at my mics as my kids. As you grow with them you learn what they can and can not do. It might be interesting to see some pics of some mic closets.
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Dude, it's just mics. You make noise in front of them, and some approximation of that noise comes out the other end. :D Some perspective might be in order.

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haha sorry I thought I had put somewhere in the post I live in the DC area
That all makes sense I suppose, I didn't know about the grace period from Lawson about buying the mic, thats pretty nifty. A lot better than Guitar Centers "No Return on Mics" gurantee, which isn't so nifty.
I guess I just need to bite the bullet and decide on one to roll with!
 
chessrock said:
Dude, it's just mics. You make noise in front of them, and some approximation of that noise comes out the other end. :D Some perspective might be in order.

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WOW I must have touched a nerve! LOL
That statement gives the assumption that you take any mic put it in front of anything and expect the best re-creation without knowing the limitations and expectations of what a certain mic can do best. You can only know that by using them over time. Perhaps your statement is correct for recording noise, I guess it wouldn't matter. I believe you are the first one on this board to post that you actually use mics to record niose. LOL
 
Here's how I feel about mics...

Let's assume I could record Tony Bennett. Yeah, I know he's hitting 80 soon. But, let's assume he still sings great (and he may for all I know).

Anyhow, I'd put up an AEA R92 and record him from the back side of the mic which is oh so smooth. However, I think he'd probably sound incredible through just about any decent vocal mic and probably some not so good vocal mics as well.
 
chance said:
WOW I must have touched a nerve! LOL
That statement gives the assumption that you take any mic put it in front of anything and expect the best re-creation without knowing the limitations and expectations of what a certain mic can do best. You can only know that by using them over time. Perhaps your statement is correct for recording noise, I guess it wouldn't matter. I believe you are the first one on this board to post that you actually use mics to record niose. LOL
Click to expand...

I try to record music but sometimes it turns out to be noise. :) :) :)
 
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