# What is in (or has been in) your "mic locker"



## bill5 (Oct 27, 2018)

Let's hear its story...what'd you start out with? Have now? What did/didn't you like about em?


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## patrick76 (Oct 28, 2018)

I have never had a really nice mic until (possibly) now. I just received an order I placed quite a while ago for a Stam Audio SA47. It is a clone of the Neumann U47. I haven't had a chance to really test it thoroughly yet on different source materials, but after recording some (terrible) vocals of myself, I would say it is sounding quite nice. I need to try some female vocals on it and some high frequency stuff to see if it has that nice, smooth high end that most expensive mics have and that the more reasonably priced mics do not... you know that terrible harshness. If I remember I can post an update in a couple weeks after I have a chance to try it out.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Nov 2, 2018)

I have a bunch of mics, but I really only use the Behringer C1 and a good ol' Shure Sm58. Tracked vocals with the C1 for two albums, along with a ton of voiceover work. For a $60 mic, it has held up great for many years. Sure, there are better options out there, but it really comes down to how you record in the first place. Even a $5K mic isn't going to sound good if you don't know how to use it properly.


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## bill5 (Nov 2, 2018)

You should look up the big mic shootout Sweetwater did, included the C1 on the low end...IMO it was quite comparable to the ridiculously expensive ones.


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## wst3 (Nov 3, 2018)

one of my favorite topics! My microphone locker is modest, but I've been building it for years, and while they don't get as much use as they used to, the majority are here to stay!

I am fortunate to have a pretty nice collection of large diaphragm condenser microphones:

- Neuman TLM-193 - sure, I'd love a really good U-47, maybe a U-87 for voice over work, but the 193 is a remarkably flexible microphone, it has been my first choice for almost every female vocalist I've recorded, and quite a few male vocalists as well. I also like it, for a specific sound, on acoustic guitars, although lately I've been using small condenser microphones in that application.

- Townsend Labs Sphere L22 - recently the TLM-193 has been replaced by the L22 in a number of applications. This is a great microphone, even before you start using the software. Clean, neutral, it just "likes" everyone and everything. The models are very good, I do not own most of the models, but I've used many of them, and I think the developers got the character right on almost all of them. One of my favorites (this may sound odd) is the Coles 4038 - I can't believe they can model a ribbon microphone with a condenser, but they did.

- AKG C-414 - an older one, and a bit harsh on a lot things (at least to my ears), but when it is the right choice it is irreplaceable. Funny thing is, I never expect it to be the right one, but sometimes it just is.

- Blue Baby Bottle - I used one of these at a friends studio and immediately went out and bought one for me. It is tied with The L-22 on my voice, and wins on a lot of other male vocals.

- Shure KSM-32 - an inexpensive microphone that absolutely shocked me when I first heard it (on the NAMM floor in 2000). I bought one as soon as I got home. It is my favorite for acoustic instruments when I want that large mic sound. I recommend it a lot to folks looking for a reasonably priced, and very flexible microphone.

- Groove Tubes MD1 - a very distinctly colored microphone, and it does not work well in all cases, but sometimes you just want all that "stuff". When it works it sounds glorious on vocals and instruments - when it fits<G>!

All that said, I record a lot more instruments than vocals these days, and I've been on a hunt for the perfect (?) small capsule condenser microphone! Which isn't entirely true, I know what it is - the Neuman KM-84 - I just can't justify the expense. I had the good (or bad?) fortune to borrow a pair earlier this year. Much to my dismay they really are as cool as I remember them. Pity!

In the meantime, I've built up a rather odd collection:

- Telefunken C-60 - I just recently purchased these, I really like them, but they are about to go up for sale. It probably isn't fair, they sound great, but I don't know them. Almost everything else in my locker has been there for 30 years, I've used them countless times, and I pretty much know exactly how to place them. And I recently auditioned a DPA 2011, which sounds awesome (although still not like a KM-84) and for me at least is much easier to place. So I'll sell the C-60s and get a pair of 2011s.

- Audio Technica AT-4031 - they are a bit noisy compared to many of the others, but they sound fantastic, and when I stick them in front of an acoustic guitar the noise really isn't a problem.

- AKG C-451 - when I was starting out everyone had a pair of these, and a pair of KM-84s, sometimes more than one pair each. For whatever reason (probably financial) I ended up with a pair of the C-451s. They are my first choice for percussion, and my second choice for acoustic instruments. I just like the sound.

- AKG C-61 - these are the tube (actually Nuvsitor) predecessor to the C-451. Very similar in sound and use, but I have to drag out the power supply to use them, and I'm lazy. But sometimes the differences matter, and I end up using these.

- Earthworks SR-71 - These are very different, almost too accurate in many cases. I've set out to sell them more than once, and then used them and discovered I really can't sell them. They are my favorite for a piano, which probably means I want that clinically accurate sound when I record pianos?

- Earthworks SR-O - my recording space right now is awful (I need to solve that!), so omnidirectional microphones almost never work. These don't get a lot of love, but when I do remote recording projects they always go with me, and nearly always get used.

- Sennheiser MKH-405 - another omni, same deal, sounds great, but doesn't work in my current setting.

- Blue Dragonfly - an amazing microphone, I need another one. Fantastic for acoustic stringed instruments.

- Tascam PE-120 - This showed up in the bottom of a box of studio gear I purchased way back when. I didn't even try it for a couple years, and then I did. And then I modified it so it could run on phantom power instead of a battery. And then I used it even more. It is the only microphone that likes my D-18. I can stick it anywhere and it sounds cool. Even cooler, every placement sounds different.

Ribbon microphones are may latest kick. I have a pair of Royer R-101s that really are the best thing in the world to stick in front of a speaker cabinet. I have a Fostex M88RP, which is a bit of an oddball, but it can be the perfect sound on a mandolin or dobro. And I have a Beyer M500 which is really cool on male vocals. What I want? An RCA DX77, but like the KM-84 there is no way to justify the purchase. I recently had the chance to use the Shure KSM313 and an AES R84 - both cool microphones, both sound closer to an old RCA, and both are a little out of my reach, for now!

I also have a pile of dynamic microphones from the usual suspects, and I use them from time to time, but ribbon and condenser microphones are my first calls most of the time.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 3, 2018)

wst3 said:


> Which isn't entirely true, I know what it is - the Neuman KM-84 - I just can't justify the expense



Oktava MK019s.


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## bill5 (Nov 3, 2018)

wst3 said:


> - Shure KSM-32 - an inexpensive microphone


$500 is inexpensive? Are there any open positions where you work?


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## enyawg (Nov 3, 2018)

I once was the proud owner of a Neumann M49 circa 1956. All original and neumann serviced.
It was originally owned by ABC and same mic model used by Aretha Franklin and Elvis. Sold it to marry my wife! 

Everything sounded good through this baby.


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## X-Bassist (Nov 3, 2018)

bill5 said:


> $500 is inexpensive? Are there any open positions where you work?



In the 90’s I bought 4 matched Neumann U87’s at $1k each and I was going to buy a pair for myself, but I thought the price was outrageous (I remember them originally being only $700). Looked again a few years ago and the best price I could find was $4k each! Really wish I had gotten that matching pair for myself now. 

I still have my Sennheiser 416 for production dialog or foley, a Stereo MS Scheops for backgrounds and field recordings (really a stereo 416). Mics are the one area (like lenses pro cameras) worth spending the money on, the good ones making recording and mixing a pleasure, and only seem to increase in value.


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## AR (Nov 4, 2018)

Neumann only here. I had C414s, Rode Nt2a, SE x1, Samson and other stuff of the low budget ones here. But nothing beats the good ol' German quality. No floor noise and the mere it costs the better it sounds. Just as simple as that. You can't go wrong with the cheap 184s. I regret that I sold 3 of mine back in a time when I was broke.

Now I switched to Klein&Hummel/Neumann speakers either. And did not regret that. The subwoofer is a beast.


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## bill5 (Nov 4, 2018)

AR said:


> the mere it costs the better it sounds. Just as simple as that.


It's really not, esp in this day and age. Tech has gotten so good that even lower-end mics are sounding as good or better than highly-regarded mics from yesteryear and even today it's very much a point of diminishing returns, if that. More money doesn't necessarily equate to a better mic at all, let alone better to any significant degree.


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## Anders Wall (Nov 4, 2018)

A few, at least 3-4 of each

Neumann
m269c
U87
Km82
Km83
Km84
Km86

Dpa
4011
4006
4060


Sennheiser
Mkh50
416

Akg414

Some custom ribbons.
M/S and stereo, ambisonic mics
Oktavas, Rodes, Milanb/Pearl and the usual dynamic mics (shure etc).

A pair of Townsend Labs L22
On its way is a Stam u47 clone.

Jeez, I need to slow down :O

/Anders


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## gsilbers (Nov 4, 2018)

i need to get some of those stem audio mics. also the new elam clone from golden age audio seems nice. 
amazing all these clones sound so close to the 10x more expensive originals.


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## wst3 (Nov 4, 2018)

bill5 said:


> $500 is inexpensive? Are there any open positions where you work?


no... that world closed up a long time ago.

Please keep in mind that almost the entire locker was purchased back in the 1980s, when every one of these was able to pay for itself.

This is the reason I don't purchase a pair of KM-84s, I don't record other folks that much any more, and $3K is more than I can swallow. If I were going to earn $3K in a year with them it would be an easy purchase.

To your point - yes, I consider a $500 microphone to be reasonably priced.

I know there are less expensive microphones out there, but my limited experience with them has not been positive, so I'd rather own one $500 microphone than five $100 microphones! (It helps that I don't often need five microphones at any one time.)

Everything is relative - not sure what I'd do it I were starting out today - but I think I'd probably stick to quality over quantity. But that's lessons learned, so who knows.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 4, 2018)

The AT 4050 is a good, affordable, all-purpose condenser, and it's now $700 new. It used to be in the $400s if I remember right (and I may not - I bought mine a very long time ago).

So $500 isn't expensive for a good mic today. The good news is that they last a lifetime.

You can get Shanghai U87-alikes for $100 if you're on a budget, and some of them are okay. Likewise, my Oktavas were... I forget now, but they're very good instrument mics. I got lucky, both in the sound and in how well matched they are. They might have been $300 for the pair.


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## wst3 (Nov 4, 2018)

Ah yes, the AT-4050 is an excellent microphone, I'd put it up there with the TLM-193, a well built, reliable, relatively neutral microphone, honest, not clinical, all of these characteristics make for an excellent first large diaphragm condenser microphone. The AT has one big advantage over the Neumann in that it is a multi-pattern microphone, so it is more flexible.

The Oktava microphones can be really good, or not so good, and it is a crap shoot. I've used probably a dozen of them over the years, and there were no duds, but they still would not be my first choice.

Having "spent twice" a couple times in the past I stopped looking for bargains. They are out there, but I don't have the funds to take the gamble.

There's also the part where I can no longer stop by my favorite music store to try them out.


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## storyteller (Nov 4, 2018)

My favorite mic that I have owned was a Manley Reference Cardioid. I hope to have another one again sometime.


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## bill5 (Nov 4, 2018)

wst3 said:


> no... that world closed up a long time ago.
> 
> Please keep in mind that almost the entire locker was purchased back in the 1980s, when every one of these was able to pay for itself.


Technology has come a LONG way since then FYI.


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## JohnG (Nov 4, 2018)

I just use Neumann mics. I had a pair of Octavas but never used them so I sold them.

Incidentally, the person who bought them was obsessed with whether they were "new" Octavas (which he said were inferior) or "old" ones. I had the old ones which maybe @Nick Batzdorf does as well.

I didn't do the research but if you do decide to buy Octavas I would investigate a bit.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 4, 2018)

Yeah, they're old ones. There was also a difference back then between Russian- and Chinese-made ones, but the bigger difference was what Bill says - you don't always know whether you're getting a good pair (or a matched pair).

I picked them - and the AT 4050 - for price reasons. But I do have an amazing outboard channel (Millennia Media STT-1).


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## Loïc D (Nov 5, 2018)

I second this for Oktava.
A while back, if i remember well, there was a copyright issue with a retailer (in UK?...) and this retailer started to produce chinese copies of Oktava, so there were both genuine russian & chinese copies of mics branded as Oktava.
I had my pair of matched MK012 directly from the russian factory with certificates. I still have them and like them but I’m no microphone geek.


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## bill5 (Nov 13, 2018)

Recently had the isK ICDM (their new flagship dynamic) on my radar. Normally only $60 to begin with and a promo deal (because it's new, marketing thing) half off, $30. A total steal. And not just "good for the $" but a very fine mic period, worth several times over what it costs even at reg price. FYI/FWIW


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## Quasar (Nov 13, 2018)

I don't want to make everyone else who's posted here jealous, but I have THREE microphones!: A Shure SM57, a Shure SM58 and a CAD M179... That's it.

I doubt I'll ever have a high-end mic, although I'd like to one day upgrade the LDC to the CAD e100s for general vocal use.


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## al_net77 (Nov 24, 2018)

1x Neumann TLM 107
2x Neumann KM 184 (stereo set)
2x MXL CR89
2x Rode NT5 (stereo set)

Very happy about CR89, tried on a grand and they are very good for the price...


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## al_net77 (Jan 17, 2019)

al_net77 said:


> 1x Neumann TLM 107
> 2x Neumann KM 184 (stereo set)
> 2x MXL CR89
> 2x Rode NT5 (stereo set)
> ...



Just an update, during the last month I added:
1x Neumann TLM 107 (so 2x, now)
2x Sennheiser MKH 8040 (stereo set)
1x Sennheiser MKH 30

I mainly record live piano sessions, sometimes a bit more articulated performances (with flute, violin, choir). Never recorded in a good room, so I bought no omni mic for now. When I will need them I will get a pair of MKH 8020 and a pair of Schoeps MK 2 (probably s or h), if I can afford them all.


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## KallumS (Jan 17, 2019)

I get by with a Shure Beta 58A.


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## charlieclouser (Jan 17, 2019)

wst3 said:


> The Oktava microphones can be really good, or not so good, and it is a crap shoot. I've used probably a dozen of them over the years, and there were no duds, but they still would not be my first choice.



I randomly bought a pair of Oktava MKL-2500's at Guitar Center about 17 years ago on blowout for $99 each. I figured they'd come in handy for something at that price. About then, I was doing a mic shootout to get ready to track Page Hamilton's vocals for a Helmet album, and we had some serious iron in the room and did a shootout of about 12 mics through vintage 1073's (8 of 'em) and a real Fairchild 670, including Jimmy Iovine's personal Ela M 251 (insured for $20k), a brand-new M149, M147, vintage 87 and 67, etc. - and the Oktava came in THIRD, beating out many others. The Ela M was first (no surprise, it's magic), the M149 was second (biggest sound, it's the "super mic", but doesn't have "character" like the Ela M), and then the Oktava (surprisingly good tone but noisy). The 87 and 67 weren't right for his voice, and the M147 was just crap, even though we knew it had weird proximity effects and tried different distances and positions.

So I went back to Guitar Center to see if they had any more of the Oktava's lying around - and I walked out with six more - all they had. $800 total for eight tube mics! The reason I bought them all was because I knew they were hit or miss, and the build quality was such shit (the cable especially) that I knew there would be failures - and I was right. I have two down at the moment due to one bad PSU and one mic that's just static. But I still have six that work! They are surprisingly good, although the floor noise issue limits how much you can use them for things like distant room mics etc. They can be modded though, google it up.

I also have four Rode NT2K (very neutral and dang quiet), some vintage 451's (sizzle for days), a bunch of Audix drum mics with color-coded grilles for kick/snare/toms (rarely used but the built-in eq curve does help on toms), and this weird Audio-Technica AE2500 dual-element mic which is great on kick, bass amps, and similar things - two capsules, two outputs, one housing. For situations where you'd use a dynamic and a condenser at the same time (like kick, gtr+bass amps, etc.) it's great as the capsules are phase aligned and only millimeters apart. I also have one Coles 4038 (I really should have a pair), and of course some 58's and 57's. After my success with the Oktava tube mics I bought some of their ribbons and pencils on blowout, but they're not so great.

The only thing I really want is a matched pair of the M149's - that thing is the super-mic for sure. Just bigger than life no matter what you put in front of it. But $$$.


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## Anders Wall (Jan 17, 2019)

charlieclouser said:


> I randomly bought a pair of Oktava MKL-2500's ... They can be modded though, google it up.
> 
> After my success with the Oktava tube mics I bought some of their ribbons and pencils on blowout, but they're not so great.


Second that!
I had my 2500 modded by Michael Joly, http://www.oktavamod.com/
I'd say that a great sounding mic became amazing(ly) sounding 
It holds up agains vintage Neumanns, we did some tests a few years ago, if you ever stumble upon a modded (by Joly) oktava you should at least try it.

Re: Oktava ribbons, the supplied transformer is crap, change to Lundahl and the mic will come to life.
https://www.lundahltransformers.com/product/ll2912/
I've recorded choir and strings with the Oktavas (52's) and they hold up great.
But the holder around the ribbon is really heavy and it sits on a lid of cheap plastic...
Both of mine are broken, I've got replacement parts but haven't fixed them yet.

As low price ribbons goes I use modded Reslos
http://xaudia.com/shop/the-beeb/

Cheers,
Anders


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## Anders Wall (Jan 17, 2019)

patrick76 said:


> I have never had a really nice mic until (possibly) now. I just received an order I placed quite a while ago for a Stam Audio SA47.


...I immediately orded a second one :O
Works like magic !!!
/Anders


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## al_net77 (Jan 17, 2019)

Polkasound said:


> I finally added this to my mic locker over the holidays: an MXL R-77L ribbon mic with Lundahl transformer.



Heard about that. But is it the same than a R77 with a commercial Lundahl LL2912 in?


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## Polkasound (Jan 18, 2019)

That's all it is. It's an R-77 that was modified with the Lundahl transformer, except it was modified at the factory and released as a special edition.


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## enyawg (Jan 18, 2019)

Does the MXL R-77L have a fixed figure-8 polar pattern?


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## Polkasound (Jan 18, 2019)

enyawg said:


> Does the MXL R-77L have a fixed figure-8 polar pattern?



Yes, the polar pattern is figure-8 as ribbon mics are by nature, so you always have to take into consideration what's behind the mic. When it comes time to use this mic on vocalists in my iso booth, I'll have to remember to angle the mic so that the back doesn't face a glass window and pick up reflections.


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## patrick76 (Jan 18, 2019)

Anders Wall said:


> ...I immediately orded a second one :O
> Works like magic !!!
> /Anders


It is an impressive sounding mic. Worth the long wait.


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