Recording Acoustic Guitar on a shoe string

[max the mac]

Yes the greens are an older series...
basically in simplest terms (according to their blurb) the reds minus the transformers.

whatever the difference, they are very very clean and accurate.

They dont have "charachter" that some might prefer, they just do clean and accurate.
Not the right thing for everything, but ohhhhhh so good when they are!!

given that a pair retailed for not far short of a grand....
i felt under 200 squid to be a bargain....

Max

[StuartMac]

Max, I already picked up a GT67 last month, and I agree with every word you say.

I also ended up sticking it in front of an acoustic guitar on a session where time was so tight I just grabbed the mic I had been using to cut the lead vocal! Fortunately it was sublime, at a distance of about 30" from the guitar in cardioid. I found the super-cardioid pattern really works with some voices too.

[neilsby]

Whats the signal to noise on the GT33s like? How does it respond in the frequency range? Preferably i'd want something as neutral as i can get, the NT5s lose a lot of the sparkly highs which i'm not too keen on doing.

If you see any more greens about in your habit has been satisfied please let me know

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Another vote for the Octava's.. as ppl have mentioned find one that u like the sound of as some have QC issues.

That is an excellent starting point for accoustic micing.

I prefer the older AKG 451's for accoustics ( and TOMS!) as they are not as bright and cutting compared to the new reissues.. the silver ones are the ones to look for.

As the budget is low u may not be able to scarpe enough for a decent pre and or compressor.. so u may have to be careful with whatever u are recording with as a pre.

PEACE
Wiggy

[neilsby]

The pres wouldn't be included in the mic budget. What QC problems do the Oktavas have? Are they really better than the NT5s or just value for the buck? I never considered recording the acoustic in mono with one LDC, maybe a 414 or a TLM103? Too many choices, so little time.

[Saucyjack]

I haven't heard the NT5 but I would bet the Octavas are going to be more useful and flexible....The pair from the Soundroom with the multi capsules is the way to go....solves the QC problem and you have essentially 6 mics.I would love to compare the Octavas with the Josephons c42s.

I'm sure the Octavas are not the best SD condenser out there but I will bet you will outgrow a lotta other stuff before they cease to be useful.

[Mr Funk]

Just a quick interesting couple of points about the ADK mics at Turnkey.

I have it on good authority that turnkey are selling the ADK mics cheaper than anywhere else on the planet!

As for the SC-1 for £60. They are actually advertising it for £49 now! BUT even better, they have made a silly mistake. The SC-1's they are selling also under the name of the A51SC are actually the SC-T's and I am assuming the SC-T's they are selling for £99 are actually the SC-1's?

The SC-T is in fact also called the A51SC (so they got that bit right) and is the top of the range SD condenser. The SC-1 is the lower range version!

So, snap a few up now before they realise the mistake!

[neilsby]

They tend to make quite a few mistakes! They were selling the soundcraft M12 with digital ouput cheaper than the M8 with digital ouput. You just can't get the staff!

How do the microphone brands rate in terms of prestige and respect?

[sonic dogg]

Neilsby...go to www.adkmic.com and read their story...unfortnately a lot of people are going on hearsay rather than actual useage of these mics. They are very good..There are two top dogs in the chinese capsule indusry as far as quality control and sound..These are the Studio Projects and ADK...Dont let the price fool you..have alisten.. put em up to a Neumann K184...It only takes a moment to find out what others are finding out slowly.As far as prestige goes, the prestige will be instant on the listening..And if you can get the deal for the higher grade mic as was mentioned drop on it like a hungry hawk...I have two of the SC-1's and two older C451L's...on most sources there is not a lot of difference...on the cost there is mucho difference...

[StuartMac]

sonic dogg, I already have a pair of KM184s, and am looking for another pair of SD condensors to offer me a slightly different flavour. I was considering a pair of 4041s or 451bs, but do you reckon the ADK SCTs would be different enough from the 184s?

[Jay Kahrs]

ADK and Rode have been doing the China capsules longer then anyone else and seem to have the best made and supported products out there.

The problem with the Oktava's is that the QC and build quality sucks. You might buy three of the same mic and pull them apart to find that the caps and various other parts are all different. When they run out of one piece they'll stick anything that fits in there to fill the hole. Also, the overall build kinda sucks. One of my MC012's won't take a Nuetrik XLR and lock into place but a Switchcraft fits just fine. The other mic will lock onto either. But you get what you pay for. I ended up chucking my bad mic body. It's not worth fixing it.

[StuartMac]

How do the ADK SD mics compare with the Rode NT5s? I just sold a pair of NT5s, purely because I never once found an application where they sounded as good as te KM184s. If the ADKs are much the same as the Rodes, I may well never use them either! I'd really like a viable alternative to the km184s for acoustic instruments, but the NT5s weren't it, unfortunately.

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

I had a chance to use the ADK Area 51 tube mic recently for a week or so. It was quite nice but WAY overpriced. It was priced as the equivalent of a U87!.. ouch like im ever gona get me resale on that ADK puppy. It still had a hint of that 797 audio china thing about it like the SP mics do, but overall it was the best thing i have heard come out of china as far as mic go. Half the price and they would make an awesome pair of overheads.

give em a sniff cos they really arent as bad as one may suggest.

PEACE
Wiggy

[neilsby]

After reading lots of reviews i think i'm going with the Studio Projects C-1, it sound too good to pass up and i can put my money into better preamps, acoustic treatments.

[sonic dogg]

Wiggy...I feel yer pain...fortunately(fer us americanos) we get these ADKs at half or less than the retail which is what i gotta assume yer seeing there in Oz.....My local per-fesh-anal gear garden shoppe has recently aquired an ADK A-48 tube...a test is in order..

[sonic dogg]

Stuartmac...
as far as comparison to the KM184's i think the 451's are gonna be closer in sound...The adk sc-1 is a bit darker but they have a very focused pattern...ie theres not a lot of back bleed like a lot of cheaper SD's...i have only heard the rodes on a couple of occasions and never got to place them so my comparison would be on hearsay...that being said, the adk's compete with them sonically but if a different flavor is what yer looking for in comparison to the neumanns then i would give that sc-t pair mentioned earlier a try. ADK's trying very hard to emulate the 'older' sounding german mics and the sc-t is the high end ones so they're probably more on par with a set of km84's rather than the 184's which to my ear is a bit brighter than the older ones.And as wiggy stated having a set of AREA51's for overs would be great!...they are LD mic with a tube circuit and they really do sound great...I lust for them as any good slut might

[Mr Funk]

According to Larry V, the KM84 was the 'inspiration' for the SC-T (A51SC). It has been used to mic up the orchestra on Tony Benett's latest tour as well as some others. Although, according to JP, it is a little too noisy (18dBA?) at the present and he intends to work on a new version at some point. He did still think it was good value however.

They are available for $49 from Turnkey!!! The A51TC is £379, the TT (Area51) is £639 and the A48 is £549. Larry is hoping to get the prices of these tubes lower! What are the prices in the US?

BTW. How does the AKG C451E (with CK1 cap) compare to the new C451B?

[Jason A]

On a really really thin shoestring budget you could try a EV635a but only if budget is the main constraint.

Jason A.

[Curious G]

Originally posted by Saucyjack
I...I would love to compare the Octavas with the Josephons c42s...

I bought the c42's as an upgrade from my Mk012's and love them. They are very different, with a lot of air and open sounding, compared to the Octava's. I've used the c42's overhead on the kit and with acoustic guitars with very nice results. Like any mic, they're better on some sources than others. The mk012's are darker and recently worked better than the c42's on a bright acoustic that needed a meatier sound. They are a good compliment to the mk012's.

[neilsby]

Carillon have launched some cheaper versions of their 'core' pcs. Almost to good to miss out on, i would have bought one but their website hasn't updated yet!

I'm still unsure of the 'grey' imports around as far as mics are concerned. Has anyone had any dealing with the customer services? With big companies part of what you buy into is their support and warranty, on a tight budget assurance that the mic will last is very important, i can't turnover mics like a big studio.

Where can you buy Senns MD421 from? I can't find them listed anywhere.

[Mark]

Here has some for £200 each.