[dkelley]

hey Dave,

I emailed with you a few weeks ago about getting a 460 modded and also getting my 421 fixed up a bit. Could you tell me briefly what your personal description would be of each of the following Peluso caps as fitted into a 460?

CEK-89

CEK-247

CEK-12

For example, if I was looking for a c12 copy, I assume I want a cek-12 cap, and if so then I'm expecting a scooped sound with plenty of air and sizzle (possibly too much depending on your use of the mic). However, if I'm looking for more warmth, would a cek-89 do that? I th ink I want more warmth than a c12, but I'd certainly find good use for a c12 sound as well. The warmth would be good though for female lead vocals to come out in a complex mix a bit, compared to the sound of a real vintage c12 if memory serves me. While I often use cut eq to notch out areas for instruments in a mix, that's tougher to do for certain vocals since it's the vocal you don't want to eq, it's the rest of the mix, and if the vocal is already somewhat scooped then it makes finding a tonal center for the voice much more challenging to cut a place for. In general if I use a u87 or similar I can get away without cut eq for a female vocal if the musical arrangement was done in a complimentary way. Sorry, I do tend to go on about things like this...

I have read somewhere in the past that part of the neumann warmth comes from an eq circuit that is built into the mic's electronics. If so, then will using a neumann-esque capsule give me a bit more warmth or would it require a change in the circuit to get that kind of warmth?

warmth to me equals increased output in the lower mids and less output in the 8k+ area I suppose, or something like that, as opposed to scooped sound which is more highs and less lower mids in my way of thinking.

Thanks in advance. I just need to decide how I want this baby modded, what my goal is for tone. As you know I own and love 435s, use them a lot for vocals along with some very nice SDCs I've collected over the years, but I no longer have a LDC tube mic. I used to love the AKG sound, used a c12 a LOT in my older recordings, alos owned a first generation "the tube" which was nice. Also had a pair of 414s but only loved them for certain things (never tried them on vocals actually, silly me). But I also used plenty of u47s and u87s and loved them for some voices (sometimes too middy for my voice but great for women I've found).

Since I can only afford one 460 plus modding per year probably right now, I want my first 460 mod to give me a warmer sound, less scooped, since I already have 435s which are a little scooped already and very sizzly (but very nice). And yes I use other mics (c7 etc) for vocals but am looking specifically for that tube lead vocal tone that I used to get. I always have gotten it with good mics, scooped or not, but since I'm getting to choose the capsule, might as well choose the one that I will find mose useful for lead vocals, particularly female lead vocals since I get a lot of those, but any lead vocals really. And other uses of course...

Cheers,
Don