Just Curious - EW QTC vs Schoeps

[mrsteaks]

Hi, all - reading all threads on the Schoeps for use as A B pair for recording orchestra (and choir?) has told me they are pretty much the "industry standard" for high quality recordings (IMHO). How about the Earthworks QTC50, 40, or 30 omnis for use as A B pairs? Do you think they'd stand up as an alternative to the Schoeps?

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[Jim vanBergen]

If you ask me to choose between the two, I'd say Schoeps.
On a budget, I say Earthworks. I have used both for a LOT of classical recording and no one has ever said, "Gee those EWs don't sound right." No one ever says my Schoeps recordings are magical, or better than anything else. It's my preference. I think the Schoeps sound a little more warm, are a little more pleasing to the ear. I think the EWs are every bit as neutral and accurate as my B&K mics, which were FAR more expensive, and for accuracy I think they blow Neumann away. But to me, it's all paintbrushes and colors. One of my best recordings is an unreleased Piano concerto with orchestra done with Decca array of DPA 4041-S mics and a pair of Neumann KM184s as X-Y piano spot mics. It could just as easily have been EW mics, or Schoeps. As a matter of fact, that concert was also recorded by Earthworks QTC-1s (now the WTC-30s) but the placement was radically different, and the conductor & artists preferred the DPA/Neumann recording by far.

ANYWAY...does this help you at all?

JvB

[bishopthomas]

Earthworks are excellent mics and you really can't go wrong with them. I have a pair of sr69's and use them as often as possible. I'd like to have a pair of their omnis as well. I would love to own a pair of Schoeps with a variety of capsules, but that's not in the near future. What I like about the Earthworks is what you hear is what you get, for better or worse. For the "worse" then you'll need to find a more appropriate mic, whether it's Schoeps, Neumann, DPA, AKG, etc.

[mrsteaks]

You bet it helps, thanks. One day I'll be in a position to spend the money that both of these marques command (neither is cheap) and when I do I want to go in armed.

"......damn, I wish I could afford that...."

~~~~~Mark S
Pretty Good Recordings

[hughesmr]

Hi Mark,

I second everything Jim said to the letter. (Right on, Jim! thumbsup)

I own both QTC1s (now QTC40s) and Schoeps MK2Ss in matched pairs. The analysis is correct that EW are more 'clinical' where the Schoeps are more 'smooth'. I find I reach for my Schoeps 90% of the time now, but you know, the EW never really disappointed me on anything (well, maybe once on a J-disc, but the orchestra sucked too ).

QTC1 seem pretty good as free field omnis in most instances too, even though they plot flat from 4Hz to 40kHz ....I believe the 4Hz part....

Mike

[bishopthomas]

This weekend while at a live sound gig I met a guy who was a friend of a band that he was recording (stereo ORTF from FOH). I asked him what mics he had and he replied, "Schoeps," but couldn't tell me which model. He pulled them down and had me tell him what they were. It made me sick that he had my dream mics and didn't even know what they were. Somebody told him he should drop two grand on a pair of microphones and I guess he looked under his sofa cushions. (By the way, it was a pair of MK4's into a Grace Lunatec V3 to a Sony D7 DAT.)

I guess my point is: Whether you buy the Schoeps, the Earthworks, or a pair of C1000's, know why you are doing it. Use your own ears, and if you can't tell a difference between a $200 mic and a $2000 one then go with the obvious choice.

[hughesmr]

Did he know what ORTF stands for?

[mrsteaks]

Or FOH???

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[cleantone]

FOH is Front of House
ORTF is Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française

[hughesmr]

Originally Posted by cleantone

FOH is Front of House
ORTF is Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française

WE know that .... that wasn't the question!

[Jim vanBergen]

that's funny !

And sad, that the guy did not even know what he was using. BUT, just to play devil's advocate, don't you wish that YOUR first mic pair were Schoeps? I sure do... I would have had a very different learning curve doing recordings!

[kittonian]

Just to chime in here for a sec, the Peluso CEMC6 is basically an identical recreation of the Schoeps CMC64 for a whole lot less money. Major people are using them everyday with great success. You can get a stereo pair with a flight case, shock mounts, windscreens, etc. for under $700.

[resound]

groan....

[mrsteaks]

Yeah, Jim, man are you right! Could have been worse, though - I did buy a pair of SR71's as my first matched pair. I'm reminded, too, by your statement, that if I hadn't gone to the Army recruiter in 1975 and on to Memphis instead I'd have had 30 plus full years in pro audio, rather than aviation. I would have had Schoeps by now!

Revisionist history....

...anyway ~~~~ Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by kittonian

Just to chime in here for a sec, the Peluso CEMC6 is basically an identical recreation of the Schoeps CMC64 for a whole lot less money. Major people are using them everyday with great success. You can get a stereo pair with a flight case, shock mounts, windscreens, etc. for under $700.

For an "identical recreation" they sure don't sound the same. But the Peluso CEMC6 mics do sound nice.

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by kittonian

Just to chime in here for a sec, the Peluso CEMC6 is basically an identical recreation of the Schoeps CMC64 for a whole lot less money. Major people are using them everyday with great success. You can get a stereo pair with a flight case, shock mounts, windscreens, etc. for under $700.

I have to wonder about them being an identical creation myself. I'm speaking from a position have total unfamiliarity with the Pelusos. I am talking, though, from a postion of experience with "these sound as good as the ______ and cost a fraction of what they do" - fill in the blank - preamp, power amp, speaker, mic, whatever. They never do, and in the end you get what you pay for. I just can't quite accept that a mic that costs a third as much as an industry standard piece is going to have the sound or build quality of that standard. I would love to be proven wrong! So far, I haven't been.

Doesn't mean I'm closed minded, I'm just really skeptical.

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[JP66]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

For an "identical recreation" they sure don't sound the same. But the Peluso CEMC6 mics do sound nice.

QFT. I've used both as "ambient mics" to record from FOH and I can tell you that for that use they sound almost nothing alike.

[bishopthomas]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

BUT, just to play devil's advocate, don't you wish that YOUR first mic pair were Schoeps? I sure do... I would have had a very different learning curve doing recordings!

Not really. If you don't go through a lot of crappy equipment then how can you appreciate the nice stuff? Plus, making recordings and live sound work with shit gear makes you a better engineer. It's too easy to throw up all the magical gear and get a good sound, especially with a good source in a good room.

[bishopthomas]

Originally Posted by mrsteaks

I have to wonder about them being an identical creation myself.

I agree. I actually started to buy them at one point, but then I decided it was either the real thing or something totally different. At $700 there are several options, and you shouldn't buy the Peluso's just because they have similar model numbers to the Schoeps.

[mrsteaks]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

you shouldn't buy the Peluso's just because they have similar model numbers to the Schoeps.

Or design.

I've heard lousy recordings done by people with good equipment, and great ones done by people with mediocre gear. True, it's harder to get the sound with the lower quality gear, but it's the ears - and how one uses them - and their willingness to listen and learn. Great equipment doesn't do you any favors if you don't use it properly.

Oh where, oh where, has this thread gone????

~~~~Mark S.
Pretty Good Recordings

[deve]

Originally Posted by kittonian

Just to chime in here for a sec, the Peluso CEMC6 is basically an identical recreation of the Schoeps CMC64 for a whole lot less money. Major people are using them everyday with great success. You can get a stereo pair with a flight case, shock mounts, windscreens, etc. for under $700.

If peluso's are the identical recreation, can you use schoeps capsules with peluso bodies?

[joelpatterson]

Shouldn't "identical" be something about online resources for tooth care?

[deve]

could be apple's dental floss

[Bob Amirian]

... or Apple's Calcium dental mouthwash.

[DannyL]

I got a great deal on a pair of Schoeps...so I now use them whenevr and wherever. That being said...one of my favorite sounding shows was Live from Lincoln Center... the audience sounded fantastic... it was a pair of Schoeps w/ CK4 capsules.

So...if Schoeps came out with a new line of very heavy microphones would they be called ........................................
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Schleps?

Danny

[boojum]

Originally Posted by DannyL

I got a great deal on a pair of Schoeps...so I now use them whenevr and wherever. That being said...one of my favorite sounding shows was Live from Lincoln Center... the audience sounded fantastic... it was a pair of Schoeps w/ CK4 capsules.

So...if Schoeps came out with a new line of very heavy microphones would they be called ........................................
.............................................................
.............................................................
.............................................................
.............................................................
.............................................................
Schleps?

Danny

Officer! Officer! Arrest this man! For bad puns.

[klaukholm]

Originally Posted by kittonian

Just to chime in here for a sec, the Peluso CEMC6 is basically an identical recreation of the Schoeps CMC64 for a whole lot less money. Major people are using them everyday with great success. You can get a stereo pair with a flight case, shock mounts, windscreens, etc. for under $700.

Come on, they are a knock off and not a recreation. I am sure Peluso is good value for some, but they are a cheap and lesser knock off.