Seeking suggestions for 'Dark'non-ribbon mic - under $200

[somniferum]

EV PL-10. You have to hunt carefully for a good price, but they can often be had for $150 or less. It is a variable-D dynamic, so no proximity build up, but it does have a fairly loose, woolly sound in the low mids and no big presence boost.

The BLUE Ball might be a candidate (Banjo Mart was running them at $99 for a while), but it's kind of an iffy affair - a lot of people don't like them, a lot of times they like them for very specific apps, and it's an odd physical form to work with.

Bear

I think the PL 10 is the same as a 660. Great on bass cab.

Huh, I thought the PL6 was the same (PL series version) of the 660. I'm probably wrong though, there are so many different EV mics it gets pretty confusing.

[Bear's Gone Fission]

I think the PL 10 is the same as a 660. Great on bass cab.

Huh, I thought the PL6 was the same (PL series version) of the 660. I'm probably wrong though, there are so many different EV mics it gets pretty confusing.

Never handled a PL-6, but the pictures I have seen look much like the 660, and the 660 looks very much unlike a PL-10.

I don't believe the PL-10 ever had a professional line equivalent, unlike most of the rest of the PL series mics. It looks like a little RE-20 that'll fit in the palm of your hand, but it sounds different - it's got a wider pattern and woollier response. They are often sold on ebay as baby RE-20's by the unscrupulous or the tin eared, as mics sound like what they look like, right? (No, not always.)

The RE-10 is a nice mic, but a different animal. It is basically an RE-15 that didn't meet the full spec, so it's likely to have a less extended top end - likely a benefit for the requested application. It's a hypercardioid mic with a very tight pattern, well, at least the 15 is, but I'd still snap up the RE-10 if I spotted any deals. The RE-15 is very similar to the RE-16, which is still in production, except the RE-16 has a presence boost where the RE-15 is basically flat, and the RE-15 has a more even frequency response off axis. All these mics - the RE-10, 15, and 16 - are variable D, so no proximity boost.

Bear

[jc]

a simple modification on the oktava 319 or 219 is to take off the plastic "HF presence booster" held on by 4 screws in front of the capsule. did that and a case mod to my 219 and now its slightly more useful than yr average paperweight....heard aboot it on this here msg board! the HF response drops something like 4dB round ~10k. a couple searches here shld turn up some useful info.
good luck.

[linus]

The EV 666 is way cool dark warm sounding dynamic. (and the model number kicks ass! Rock-n-Roll...) They stopped making them many years ago but you can find them used in your price range.

[krash]

I own several dark condensers mentioned here and can comment on some of them.

I have two Oktava MK-219s both with the "grille mod" (remove aluminum "bars" from grille, re-ground mesh grille with copper tape). One with the resonators removed. What can I say? The MK-219s were peaky-ish ringy but good sounding mics when I started, the ringiness went away with the grille mod and the one with the resonators removed is dark and lush. I use it on bright acoustic guitars to tame them and it sounds gorgeous. It's great on vocals too but doesn't have that "presence" bite. The one with the resonators still on it is also a very good dark mic but has that presence thing that makes it a bit better for vocals or percussive tracks that need some "shimmer" (like shaker). I use both of these mics all the time.

I just got a pair of KEL HM-1's and tried them yesterday as drum overheads with the "recorderman" technique and they are simply killer for that application. I compared them with my Behringer ECM8000's which are very flat and uncolored. The KEL's have a little less top end shimmer/extension/airiness compared with the ECM's but they have a lot more meat in the lower mids. In fact, we recorded with the oh's and also 421's on the toms, a 57 on the snare and my SP B1 on the kick, and found that while the ECM's benefitted from adding in some of the spot mics (notably the kick), the KEL's had plenty of oomph in the kick and toms, and meat in the snare tone to basically make a 2-track drum track for rock really usable.

So, while I haven't tried recording acoustic guitars or vocals with the KEL's, my experience with the drum kit tells me that the KEL's have less "sizzle" and frankly less distortion than the Oktavas, flatter response, more top end extension than the Oktavas. I would say for a darkish vocal mic, I'd pick the Oktava MK-219 with the essential (imho) grille mod. For darkish instrument mic, the KEL HM-1 is probably a better choice. For a really more dark instrument mic, the MK-219 with the resonators removed is a gorgeous mic but it really doesn't have a lot of top end like you expect from a condenser.

[TNO]

If the Nady ribbon is really out of your budget try a Beyer Soundstar mkII M400.

[Bear's Gone Fission]

If the Nady ribbon is really out of your budget try a Beyer Soundstar mkII M400.

Tried one for a while and the treble would take the head off of most Shure dynamic mics.

If you're interested in the Nady, there is a European rebadger who has the same mic but with a different grill, for like $180. I think it's in the New Product Alert forum at Gear Slutz where they were talking about it. Initial reports were quite good, sounds like it should be a much better mic than the Oktava ribbon.

Bear

[Mark]

If the Nady ribbon is really out of your budget try a Beyer Soundstar mkII M400.

Tried one for a while and the treble would take the head off of most Shure dynamic mics.

Bear

Do you regard that as a good thing or a bad thing? Personally I think my M400 sounds just fine

[Bear's Gone Fission]

I think it's a cool mic, I'd like to own one. But I would not call it a dark mic, as requested by the initial poster. Some great mics have that presence boost and brightness that will disqualify them for this thread, one of my faves, the M-88, being a case in point.

Bear

[Mark]

Ah, right. Gotcha

One question: why do all the M400s I see on eBay have a really clunky looking switch when the one on mine is all nice and flush with the body?

[twitchmonitor]

I got my ML52 at GC for $200. Are they not running that deal anymore?