Which sounds most similar to KM86 on acoustic? M300 C42 KM184 KM84?

wayne mox · 14th November 2005

Basically looking at these mics. I'd go with vintage KM86's but the price and quality/history of most of them is not good. The one's I've come across were abused.

Basically I'd like to get the one based on a consensus on this forum. For you guys that have used em, please give me an idea. Picked acoustic guitar. Thanks. Wayne.

ps. Oh if there's a mic not mentioned here that you feel sounds even more similar, please do tell!

NathanEldred · 14th November 2005

Nothing is extremely close...they have their own sound (I personally own an excellent condition pair [I am not selling BTW]). You'll get comparable results out of Gefell or Schoeps.

wayne mox · 14th November 2005

Are you saying the Gefell M300 would give similar performance over the others?

15th November 2005

The KM84 is not so similar to the KM86?

fifthcircle · 15th November 2005

The capsule in the KM84 is the same as the 86, but the mounting is completely different. Means the 86 has a distinctly different sound, but of the three the 84 is probably the closest.

--Ben

Bob Olhsson · 15th November 2005

KM-86s didn't sell very well because they were just as expensive as the "classier" looking U-87.

They were a "go to" mike every day to those few of us who had them. While a used one may look rough, I'd be very surprised if there was much wrong with it sonically because it would have been used almost entirely in high-end studios that had great maintenance.

JeffreyC · 19th March 2012

Bumping this thread as I don't see any recent discussion on this topic - anything out there today that is close to the km86 on acoustic guitar?

mds · 19th March 2012

I find the Gefells the most similar. In my case the m200, but the 300 is very similar to that.

JeffreyC · 26th March 2012

Anyone else?

James Lehmann · 26th March 2012

Hugh Robjohns of Sound on Sound magazine reviewed the Gefell M300s back in 2006 and he included some lovely acoustic guitar clips alongside the KM84 (and KM184).

Check it out here.

14th November 2005	#1
wayne mox Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 533 Thread Starter	Which sounds most similar to KM86 on acoustic? M300 C42 KM184 KM84? Basically looking at these mics. I'd go with vintage KM86's but the price and quality/history of most of them is not good. The one's I've come across were abused. Basically I'd like to get the one based on a consensus on this forum. For you guys that have used em, please give me an idea. Picked acoustic guitar. Thanks. Wayne. ps. Oh if there's a mic not mentioned here that you feel sounds even more similar, please do tell!

14th November 2005	#2
NathanEldred Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: West Coast Central Florida Posts: 7,242	Nothing is extremely close...they have their own sound (I personally own an excellent condition pair [I am not selling BTW]). You'll get comparable results out of Gefell or Schoeps. __________________ Nathan Eldred Visit Atlas Pro Audio

15th November 2005	#5
fifthcircle Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,324	The capsule in the KM84 is the same as the 86, but the mounting is completely different. Means the 86 has a distinctly different sound, but of the three the 84 is probably the closest. --Ben __________________ Benjamin Maas Fifth Circle Audio Long Beach, CA http://www.fifthcircle.com

15th November 2005	#6
Bob Olhsson Motown legend Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Songwriter Gulch, Nashville TN Posts: 10,879	KM-86s didn't sell very well because they were just as expensive as the "classier" looking U-87. They were a "go to" mike every day to those few of us who had them. While a used one may look rough, I'd be very surprised if there was much wrong with it sonically because it would have been used almost entirely in high-end studios that had great maintenance. __________________ Bob's room 615 562-4346 Georgetown Masters 615 254-3233 Music Industry 2.0 Interview

19th March 2012	#7
JeffreyC Gear interested Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 23	Bumping this thread as I don't see any recent discussion on this topic - anything out there today that is close to the km86 on acoustic guitar? __________________ http://radiantreplica.com/

15th November 2005	#4
chikkenguy Guest Posts: n/a	The KM84 is not so similar to the KM86?

19th March 2012	#8
mds Lives for gear Joined: May 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,469	I find the Gefells the most similar. In my case the m200, but the 300 is very similar to that.

26th March 2012	#9
JeffreyC Gear interested Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 23	Anyone else?

26th March 2012	#10
James Lehmann Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2003 Location: Europe Posts: 2,428	Hugh Robjohns of Sound on Sound magazine reviewed the Gefell M300s back in 2006 and he included some lovely acoustic guitar clips alongside the KM84 (and KM184). Check it out here. __________________ James Lehmann Voice-Over Artist - Project Studio Jockey www.jameslehmann.net · Use your real name - keep Gearslutz authoritative, accountable and courteous. · Stop the superlatives madness - just say no to gear threads with the word 'best' in the title. · Words or WAVs? The former are interesting, the latter are convincing.

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