M-audio pulsar II?

[JGuitar02]

Here are some opinons/feedback from other threads...

M-Audio Pulsar II

Originally Posted by goodcooker

here's a link to an ambient recording made with these
Clamped to the balcony in a theatre, X/Y, homebrew silverclad mic cables into an Oade Brothers modified Edirol R44.

Internet Archive: Free Download: North Mississippi Allstars Live at Paradise Rock Club on 2009-04-06
sounds good in the low end, not hyped in the mids and highs, natural.
Probably good for overheads especially for the price.
I'm not a big fan of XY for this kind of application but whatever.

keep in mind that the stream is vbr mp3 but it's free to download the flacs

M-Audio Pulsar II

Originally Posted by sheetKnows

I had some very accetable results recording flamenco guitar and some percussions with mine, also used them for recording ambiences and room tone for a short movie and i was very pleased

M-Audio Pulsar 2 Any Users???

Originally Posted by justinmj

I'm rocking a pair as drum overheads in X-Y...they sound cool. A little less "toppy" than what I'm used to with KM184's. Built well, good sound.

Justin

[RARStudios]

Recorded all of the instruments minus the vox, bass, and electric guitar on a Pulsar II pair

-Evan

[Pixilatedme]

Thanks to both of you for your responses. Sound like great mics. I just might get them.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Matt R]

Originally Posted by Pixilatedme

Thanks to both of you for your responses. Sound like great mics. I just might get them.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Yup. See if you can borrow a demo unit from somewhere and try it out on your own gear through your own signal chain and make a decision based off of that.

The thoughts/opinions here are great, but it's just not the same as listening for yourself and making an educated decision based upon your own ears/taste

[Dreamsindigital]

I bought a pair of these when I was in college and used them on stage for our recitals. They made great overheads, and I liked them as close mics on piano as well. I've miced up string players to my success as well. I'd much rather a pair of c414's, but for a $300 pair, I love these things.

[shatz]

I used them for a while on acoustic guitar and drum overheads. They are very good. Beat everything around that price and even higher in my opinion. Completely under-rated mics. Recently moved on to some higher end SDCs so I just recently sold mine.

[D_T_Music]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

Recorded all of the instruments minus the vox, bass, and electric guitar on a Pulsar II pair

-Evan

That sounds fantastic Evan.

I have a chance to get a pair of these for $150 if I act before Monday and I've been trying to make up my mind.

Unfortunately your one of the few people to actually post clips and have concrete experience with them. Almost everything else I've found has just been other people asking about them.

The real question which will determine whether I get them or not is how they sound as drum overheads. Have you used them in that capacity at all?

If so what do you think and do you have any clips?

Thanks,

Dave

[RARStudios]

They are decent as overheads...not really the best I've heard, but decent. I wish I could afford a pair of AT 4050s.

They work IMO

Evan

[LSP]

I have owned the Pulsar II's for a while now. The first pair I sent back because I felt they were too noisy. M-Audio checked them out, said they were fine, but sent me another matched pair anyway.

Well, I still think they are way too noisy. They sound fine. I usually run them through a pair of Millennia Media STT-1 Origin pre's.

Has no one else has had a problem with the "self noise" of these mics. I mean, I can get my levels set both on the pre, and within Cubase, and as soon as I engage the "monitor" button within Cubase, a VERY noticable hiss comes from these mics. None of my other mics exhibit this noise.

Please make them stop! lol Seriously, is there a gain structure trick to make these babies quiet down?

[D_T_Music]

Originally Posted by LSP

I have owned the Pulsar II's for a while now. The first pair I sent back because I felt they were too noisy. M-Audio checked them out, said they were fine, but sent me another matched pair anyway.

Well, I still think they are way too noisy. They sound fine. I usually run them through a pair of Millennia Media STT-1 Origin pre's.

Has no one else has had a problem with the "self noise" of these mics. I mean, I can get my levels set both on the pre, and within Cubase, and as soon as I engage the "monitor" button within Cubase, a VERY noticable hiss comes from these mics. None of my other mics exhibit this noise.

Please make them stop! lol Seriously, is there a gain structure trick to make these babies quiet down?

When I got mine, one was fine but the other kept making a kind of whooshing sound as if there were a breeze blowing at it.

I sent it back and am waiting on the replacement now.

I really hope they're good.

You might have just gotten another problem pair.

The self noise is only supposed to be 15dbA and the one I had that wasn't messed up sounded great and very quiet.

[YuvalAS]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

Recorded all of the instruments minus the vox, bass, and electric guitar on a Pulsar II pair

-Evan

I know it's a little bit old thread, but I have the Pulsar II too, and don't get such a true clarity and brightness.
I use mine with the Fast Track Pro A/I w/ the internal preamps.

May I ask which audio interface and preamps have you used?
And out of curiousity, which DAW have you recorded all of your tracks?
It sounds awesome!

Thanks in advance,
Yuval

[RARStudios]

Originally Posted by YuvalAS

I know it's a little bit old thread, but I have the Pulsar II too, and don't get such a true clarity and brightness.
I use mine with the Fast Track Pro A/I w/ the internal preamps.

May I ask which audio interface and preamps have you used?
And out of curiousity, which DAW have you recorded all of your tracks?
It sounds awesome!

Thanks in advance,
Yuval

Hey Yuval,

I use an apogee ensemble for my preamp needs. Just try mic placement. I also have treated rooms which never hurts!

It might be your AD inverter in your fast track.


Hope this helps!
-Evan

[dkelley]

the thing with getting the 2 mics back after "repairs" and they boht still hiss sort of makes me wonder if you got back the same exact mics you sent them LoL.

[RARStudios]

When my mics make that noise I just tap them a few times. (sometimes harder than other times)

[YuvalAS]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

Hey Yuval,

I use an apogee ensemble for my preamp needs. Just try mic placement. I also have treated rooms which never hurts!

It might be your AD inverter in your fast track.


Hope this helps!
-Evan

Hey Evan,
Thanks for your response!

This A/I looks great!
Actually I'm 17 y/o and the Apogee Ensebmple is 13 times more expensive than my budget... Have you ever had any experience with the M-Audio DMP3? Wherever I check, it's the most recommended dual preamp in the $150 price range...

I didn't understand how the ac/dc inverter is supposed to cause any unclean sound. The Fast Track Pro is a USB-Bus powered A/I, it gets and use dc automatically with no conversion => therefore that cannot be the reason for unclarity.
I personally think that since the Pulsar II are low-impedance output mics, they produce a very low volume, and require a much higer gain than what we're used to.
The maximum gain in the Fast Track Pro is about 40dB, while in you Apogee is about to 70dB.
When I give gain to these mics, I reach almost to the top - which is full of noise.
You can most likely reach the 40dB with noticing a close-to-zero noise.

I think that buying the DMP3 would solve my problem as it's a very neutral sounding preamp, that clarity is one of its highlights. It reaches the 66dB range, and recommended by M-Audio for use with the pair of Pulsar II.

Thanks again for your response, even though it's a very old thread. I really appreciate it!
Yuval

[D_T_Music]

Originally Posted by YuvalAS

Hey Evan,

I didn't understand how the ac/dc inverter is supposed to cause any unclean sound. The Fast Track Pro is a USB-Bus powered A/I, it gets and use dc automatically with no conversion => therefore that cannot be the reason for unclarity.
I personally think that since the Pulsar II are low-impedance output mics, they produce a very low volume, and require a much higer gain than what we're used to.
The maximum gain in the Fast Track Pro is about 40dB, while in you Apogee is about to 70dB.
When I give gain to these mics, I reach almost to the top - which is full of noise.
You can most likely reach the 40dB with noticing a close-to-zero noise.

Yuval

Hey Yuval,

I'm pretty sure Evan was talking about A/D converters--Analog to Digital converters, which can have a very significant effect on the quality of the recording.

Still a better preamp can't hurt.

Also, a quick update on my mics. I sent my first set back and got a new pair that sound beautiful.
I don't want to post anything yet because the strings on my acoustic are old and dead sounding but when I get around to replacing them, I'll toss up a recording.

I really like the vertical x/y micing method that Evan used on the acoustic in the track he posted, and have been enjoying the sound I get using it.

Dave

[RARStudios]

I'm not too far ahead of you, I just turned 21 a few months ago. I would suggest selling your fast track and getting a mid ranged FireWire device like a Motu896hd. That is what I bought and although it doesn't sound amazing, It didn't sound terrible.

I would suggest getting better DA conversion...fast track will not get you the clarity you need out of a.) your preamps b.) your mics c.) your monitoring


No matter what mic per you get or monitors, your weakest link is always going to be your DA. If you stick with the fast track.


Also, you will always be wondering "why can't I get that sound!!!" no matter how much money you spend in the sub - $5000 range.

Experience is your friend.

[RARStudios]

Originally Posted by D_T_Music

Hey Yuval,

I'm pretty sure Evan was talking about A/D converters--Analog to Digital converters, which can have a very significant effect on the quality of the recording.

Still a better preamp can't hurt.

Also, a quick update on my mics. I sent my first set back and got a new pair that sound beautiful.
I don't want to post anything yet because the strings on my acoustic are old and dead sounding but when I get around to replacing them, I'll toss up a recording.

I really like the vertical x/y micing method that Evan used on the acoustic in the track he posted, and have been enjoying the sound I get using it.

Dave

Thank Eric Valentine, the dude is a genius

[YuvalAS]

Originally Posted by RARStudios

I'm not too far ahead of you, I just turned 21 a few months ago. I would suggest selling your fast track and getting a mid ranged FireWire device like a Motu896hd. That is what I bought and although it doesn't sound amazing, It didn't sound terrible.

I would suggest getting better DA conversion...fast track will not get you the clarity you need out of a.) your preamps b.) your mics c.) your monitoring


No matter what mic per you get or monitors, your weakest link is always going to be your DA. If you stick with the fast track.


Also, you will always be wondering "why can't I get that sound!!!" no matter how much money you spend in the sub - $5000 range.

Experience is your friend.

Actually I'm very satisfied with my Fast Track Pro. It does well for vocals with my MXL990. I assume it would be cause I don't need much gain to use with this mic. I get a very clean sound. In case I want brightness and warmth, I use the Pulltronic Tube Equalizer and the compressors that come with Mixcraft.
It also records electric guitar nicely. Gets a very clean signal that can also be amp simulated using TH1, amplitube, etc.
So I guess I'm gonna stay with the Fast Track Pro, at least for now.
I also asked at the homerecording forum, and have been suggested to upgrade preamp. And M-Audio also recommends using the Pulsar II with a neutral preamp, like the DMP3.
I think I'll try getting it before changing too much. And selling the FTP wouldn't be worth it as well.
I'm sure experience will just get me better.
How impact do cables have? I use the Monsters S100 and am not very satisfied as it starts to make hiss in some cable's positions. Would the Mogami cables with Neutrik connectors be better?

Thank again.

[imhiskid]

referring to RAR Studios recording..Very nice. Thanks for posting

[dougfatheruk]

Just for the record.

I purchased a pair of Pulsar II's back in the summer, and as luck would have it they went wrong, my dealer got credited and thankfully i was able to turn my back on Avid hardware forever.

In the UK these mics are £250, any you can't get much in the way of decent mics, especially a pair for that money. I now have the matched pair of Rode NT5's and much prefer them over the pulsars, they're the same price.

I'm the biggest hater of chinese cheese grater shrill mics and contrary to many of the posts hear on GS the NT5's are not harsh/shrill. Granted, they do lack a little in low end but that certainly isn't a deal breaker.

Avid customer service in the UK is non existent and the company they use to service your products is useless, they seem to send everything back NFF, i had to email a file of the mic making a static almost full scale sounding distortion sound before they would issue the credit and it took seconds to replicate the fault, over a month to turn around an NFF

For this money, NT5's all the way, well engineered, 10 year warranty, optional omni capsules and made by a company who give a damn. Rode may not be high end but let's be fair, you always get what you pay for and in my experience, a bit more.

[Stembeck]

For the curious, below is a link to a recording of the sacred song "Come Holy Ghost" wherein the acoustic guitar (both the regular part and the chimes) was recorded using a pair of Pulsar II's in X/Y about two feet in front of the guitar.

Preamp was a Metric Halo ULN-8. Added a bit of eq, compression and reverb (all using Metric Halo's offerings, with Haloverb as the reverb chosen).

For the curious, the lead vocal mic was an M-Audio Sputnik, and the harmony vocal mic was a Rode NT1A modded by Michael Joly.

I'm posting this because I know that when I was considering the Pulsar II (or the Sputnik for that matter), I appreciated being able to hearing recordings others had done using the mic. So here's a small effort to "give back." Enjoy.

Come Holy Ghost by Get jaggy wid it on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[antstudio]

Crap mics. Good potential but very poor build quality. I sent back a noisy pair and they claim they sent me new mics but I believe they sent back the same noisy mics. They sound good when they're quiet but they will suddenly generate lots of self-noise with minimal handling. Support has also been changed and it is now impossible to find support numbers or email addresses on the website. Poor build quality + poor/no support = avoid at all cost.

..ant

[santibanks]

For what its worth; Pat Metheny's engineer used them live as overheads for the Pat Metheny trio tours.
Metheny always sounds great so these mics can't be bad…

[antstudio]

They sound fine but they're built and supported poorly. That's a bad mic in my experience. Of anyone wants to hear a clip I can post one.

..ant

[shatz]

These are good sounding mics but I agree with the noise issues. They would just start making crazy amounts of noise for no reason, tried swapping cables, sending them back for repair and still same issue. Ended up selling them and picked up some Josephson C42s.