How 'bout a pair of MG MV692/M71's for a choral recording?

[zemlin]

I met with the choir director tonight to discuss an upcoming choral gig in a large church with a pipe organ & brass. He said he had some mics I was welcome to use. He dug around in an old suitcase full of tissue paper and pulled out a pair (not matched) Microtech Gefell mics - MV692 amps with M71 capsules.

Not sure what to make of these. What little I was able to find in writing was not overly flattering.

At this point I intend to use a pair of AKG C451Bs for the main pair - or perhaps a pair of C391Bs, if I can get them in time. I know those aren't first pick for this sort of work either - but they aren't paying me enough to get big-boy mics.

[liuto]

I had 2 Gefell M71/UM70 and I can imagine that they are usable as microphones for choir (recording). They are nice microphones but what I found out about them was a kind of nasal (?) colouration I did not like for classical music. I also had a pair of C451 which I used a lot for choir but changed for Neumann KM84 later because they were rather bass shy and bright from typical recording distances and the Neumanns produced a warmer and better balanced sound. If you are on abudget I'd recommend a pair of Oktava MC012 with any of their capsules (Omni, cardioid and hypercardioid). I especially like their hyper capsule. I think in their price range they are hard to beat. I own three of them and they are a good addition to my microphone collection (2 Schoeps CMC54 and 4 Neumann KM84/83). Of course I prefer the Neumann and Schoeps as main microphones, but if needed I use the Oktavas as spots without any problem.

[Frost]

I own 4 of the 692 bodies with um71 heads (same capsule, not multi pattern) and I would use them any day of the week to do a stereo recording. Mine are warm but detailed and have that slightly thick M7 sound but have a lot more upper extension than my u47 or my gefell cmv 563. I think they are great. If you like the small diaphram choral sound, these might not do it for you. I personally like a large diaphram for a main pair.

One caveat, some of the 692 bodies exibit RF problems especially with long cables. Many of them that I have seen have been fixed but its worth checking in a venue before, the problem will be very obvious if its a problem.

Frost

[zemlin]

Originally posted by Frost
One caveat, some of the 692 bodies exibit RF problems especially with long cables. Many of them that I have seen have been fixed but its worth checking in a venue before, the problem will be very obvious if its a problem.

Tried them last night as for a live concert recording - an acoustic celtic/sea shanty band. Had them on 35 ft (canare starquad) cables going into a 100' (foil shielded) snake. Lots of dimmers in the room and a nearby radio station that often causes troubles.

They were awful - MAJOR buzz/hum, plus I could hear the radio station. Replaced them with my NT5s and they were silent (by comparison).

Can these be "fixed" by a third party, or does one need to send them back to Gefell?

[fifthcircle]

The kind of situation you described is where Star Quad cable comes in really handy... Also, if your shield is tied into the case of your XLR, you can have issues, too...

Hate dealing with that in the field- the worst is when just moving the cables a few inches fixes it (better have the tape handy so that the radio doesn't come back).

--Ben

[zemlin]

Originally posted by fifthcircle
The kind of situation you described is where Star Quad cable comes in really handy... Also, if your shield is tied into the case of your XLR, you can have issues, too...

Hate dealing with that in the field- the worst is when just moving the cables a few inches fixes it (better have the tape handy so that the radio doesn't come back).

I have to question how much difference starquad all the way would have made if swapping mics cleared it up. It seems to be a mic problem, not a cable issue.

I moved the cables around quite a bit, but was only able to change the noise - not shut it down.