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27th October 2011
| #1 |
| Gear nut Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Vienna
Posts: 80
Thread Starter | KM54 or KM64?
Dear friends! I'm just about buying a pair SDC for recording acoustic guitars, mandolines, violin and banjo. Would you prefer KM54 or KM64? Which mic will hold its value better? I know about the problems with the AC701 and nickel capsules, but i could buy them in good condition. I will use them only by myself so they will be treated nice. Thank you in advance for your opinion! Peter |
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27th October 2011
| #2 |
| Lives for gear  Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Austin, Texas USofA
Posts: 1,671
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I prefer the KM54 for its nickel diaphragm capsule but they are fragile, while the KM64 has the gold-sputtered Mylar diaphragm that Neumann still makes today. There's something magic about the KM54. An alternative is the FET KM88, no AC701 to replace but with multipattern dual diaphragm nickel capsules like the KM54's big brother, the KM56.
__________________ "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson should have said this, but didn't www.yellowdogstudios.com |
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27th October 2011
| #3 |
| Gear interested Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 15
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Both are amazing, but the KM54 is probably the greatest SDC ever made. Certainly my favorite.
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28th October 2011
| #4 |
| Lives for gear  |
As an owner of: KM-54/56/64/84/85/88, I can honestly say that there is something special about the KM54/56 when it comes to recording strings and acoustic guitar, and piano. It has this shimmery yet poetic quality. The KM-64 is no slouch though, either... but has a more modern sound. If I had to rank them (best to worst, relatively speaking):
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28th October 2011
| #5 |
| Lives for gear  Joined: Feb 2003 Location: Atascadero, CA
Posts: 4,055
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Noticed the OP had banjo on his list of instruments. For banjo the nickel capsule is the best I've ever heard on that much maligned instrument! I use a KM56 and it is wonderful.
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28th October 2011
| #6 |
| Gear nut Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Vienna
Posts: 80
Thread Starter |
Thank you so much! This is a great place with great people. I started the thread in the late Austrian evening and know everthing i wanted to know in the morning. This is service at its best! Greetings from Vienna Peter |
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