You Personal Favourite Tube Microphone for under 1000.00 USD

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lance135
  • Start date Start date

What's YOUR favourite Low Priced Tube Microphone?

  • ADK - A-48

    Votes: 11 5.7%

  • AKG - SolidTube

    Votes: 12 6.2%

  • Apex Electronics - Apex460

    Votes: 8 4.1%

  • Audio Technica - AT3060

    Votes: 9 4.7%

  • CAD - M9

    Votes: 11 5.7%

  • Groove Tubes - GT66

    Votes: 14 7.3%

  • Marshall Electronics - MXLV69ME

    Votes: 29 15.0%

  • Rode Microphones - K2

    Votes: 21 10.9%

  • Rode Microphones - NTK

    Votes: 43 22.3%

  • SE Electronics - Z5600A

    Votes: 11 5.7%

  • Studio Projects - T3

    Votes: 18 9.3%

  • Studio Projects - TB1

    Votes: 6 3.1%
  • Total voters
    193
I suppose if you're considering things like the Nady, you may as well add the Peluso mics to the party. I've never listened to any of them, but their "251" copy is priced at about $1000.

Personally, I agree with the posters who basically indicated that recording it "right" will do more than any warmification that's going to come about simply by adding tubes to the recording chain... but that your call. Either way consider the Peluso. Perhaps someone here has some experience with it.
 
ColdAsh said:
Has anyone tried the K2?. I'm thinking about getting one for my main mike (which will go with my NT1000 and SM57) when i start to build a decent demo studio. I knows its had some great reviews but i'd like a little more to go on than just reviews (becuase most magazines tend to only give good reviews)
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Joe Chiccarelli just gave the K2 a major thumbs up over at his site http://www.artistpro.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=1724
 
Thanks for the link, Middleman. Hard to believe a major guy with such praise for a cheap tube microphone as the Rode K2.

I checked the Peluso site http://www.pelusomicrophonelab.com/

They're claiming to sell hand built microphones for awfully cheap. How do they do it? Are they using really cheap components? I may have to email them and find out...

The AM61 and AM62 by Alesis and Groove Tubes seems like they may have been an interesting alternative, but no one must have been buying them since they're not featured on the Alesis site anymore. I'm guessing they're discontinued.
 
I like my NTK and GT 1B but I also have my eye on that ADK with the tube
 
Tonewoods, I just figured out who you are, after all this time.:)

How's things on Orca's Island tonight?

I'm in Marysville, a wannabe guitar builder. I gotta come up and see you sometime and get a little stockpile of wood to get me started.

John Bentley says Hi.
 
Big Kenny said:
I like my NTK and GT 1B but I also have my eye on that ADK with the tube
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Cool. What have you heard or read about the A-48 that makes you want to buy it?
 
Nathan: Tell me more about ADKs......... Put this in your browser, Nathan digs ADK and he is pretty discerning and his tastes seem to run similar to mine. I look for that because there are many guys on the bb's that have many different opinions (thats good) on applications and gear.
 
Am I missing any cheap tube microphones? I thought I did all the research, but I've got a few surprises already, such as Peluso Microphones that I didn't know about. There were a few discontinued models I didn't included, either.
 
Lance135 said:
Cool. What have you heard or read about the A-48 that makes you want to buy it?
Click to expand...

He might be talking about the TC. It is also tubed.
 
cominginsecond said:
He might be talking about the TC. It is also tubed.
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Yeah, too many tube models these days (such as the different A-51 models), which is a great thing! I like having lots of choices, and these microphones seem to each have their own personality.

A lot of these more obscure models are totally shrouded in mystery. I can't find anything on the internet about them.
 
chessrock said:
I mean . . . I suppose you could make the leap that "Hey, tubes are great in a guitar amp, so why wouldn't they be equally as good as a salad dressing?" :D
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I would NEVER put tubes in salad dressing, in a marinade, heavenly! Makes pork and chicken come alive! (in a good, non threatening way)
 
Lance135 said:
Am I missing any cheap tube microphones? I thought I did all the research, but I've got a few surprises already, such as Peluso Microphones that I didn't know about. There were a few discontinued models I didn't included, either.
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Well, nobody but me loves the AT3060 :(
 
Terry Manning had this to say about the Røde K2 in my R/E/P forum:
I will have to second the selection of the Røde K2. I just got two of them. They are very versatile. I used one on bass amp with great results. They are excellent on percussion (conga, timbale, etc.) And I've done very good vocals on them as well. They aren't over-hyped on the high end, and have a nice round low-mid. For the money, hard to beat. The Classic II may be a bit better vocal mic, but I think it costs well over $1k. I don't know anything about the older Røde's, but the new ones are excellent.
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I haven't heard the Røde K2*, but coming from Terry Manning**, that's certainly a great endorsement.

*Disclaimer: The only Røde mic I've ever heard was the original Røde NT1, and I wasn't very impressed by it. Very shrill and harsh.

**For those of you unfamiliar with the name Terry Manning, some of his work includes:

Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, All Green, The Box Tops, Albert King, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Led Zeppelin 3, ZZ Top, Joe Cocker, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Joe Walsh, Jason & The Scorchers, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, and Lenny Kravitz, to name just a few of his engineer and producer credits. The full list would take its own page.
 
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I have the GT-66. I agree it's very mid-rangy, to me lower mid's. For my voice, It's got too much lower mid's, and I have to EQ them out, I do a little better with the GT-55, which is brighter to my ears, although can add some sibilence. I disagree with the post above about low proximity factor. I find the mic to have a significant proximity boost. Once again, this may just be my voice, but I have to get about 12" from the mic to prevent an overabundance of lower mid's.
 
SpiderM69 said:
I have the GT-66. I agree it's very mid-rangy, to me lower mid's. For my voice, It's got too much lower mid's, and I have to EQ them out, I do a little better with the GT-55, which is brighter to my ears, although can add some sibilence. I disagree with the post above about low proximity factor. I find the mic to have a significant proximity boost. Once again, this may just be my voice, but I have to get about 12" from the mic to prevent an overabundance of lower mid's.
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I don't know what it is about the 66. It just sounds very different to me. I mean if you test a bunch of mics back-to-back-to-back ... I'll have to listen to each one for at least a couple minutes before I get a firm grasp of what the characteristics are for each one. But the 66 just instantly sounds like a very different mic to me for some reason, and I'm not sure what it is. One time, I just thought it sounded "strange," so I'm still not sure what to think of it.
 
I'd like to update my earlier response to this thread, which is about a year old. I've had time with some other "under $1,000" tube mics since then. The mics I really like are (in no particular order):

CAD VX2
ADK TT
AT 4060
ADK A48

These mics are different from one another, with the VX2 being the most lush , rich and smooth and the A48 being the most tight and bright, with a nice edge. The TT and 4060 are less complex sounding and certainly smooth and pleasant, with the TT being a bit brighter than the 4060. I haven't tried the newer Peluso tube mics. From what I hear from others, they might make a short list too.
 
I had little choice but to vote for the MXL V69M as it is the only tube mic I own and the only tube mic I have ever had any experience with (AFAIK*). After my CAD E-300 it is the most expensive mic I own. The reason I mention the CAD is because I was in the middle of recording a CD when I bought the V69, and I had been using the E-300 for the vocals. When the V69 arrived I asked the artist if he would mind if I tried my new mic on his vocals, and he said that was fine. We ended up tracking the rest of the CD's vocal tracks with the V69. It may be a "cheap Chinese mic" but I think it sounds really good.

*I did a lot of studio sessions as a musician before I got into engineering, so for all I know I've been around a ton of tube mics.
 
sdelsolray said:
I'd like to update my earlier response to this thread, which is about a year old. I've had time with some other "under $1,000" tube mics since then. The mics I really like are (in no particular order):

CAD VX2
ADK TT
AT 4060
ADK A48

These mics are different from one another, with the VX2 being the most lush , rich and smooth and the A48 being the most tight and bright, with a nice edge. The TT and 4060 are less complex sounding and certainly smooth and pleasant, with the TT being a bit brighter than the 4060. I haven't tried the newer Peluso tube mics. From what I hear from others, they might make a short list too.
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I had no experience with ADK back then either, the TT and A48 are both worthy contenders for sure.

War
 
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