old/new "characterfull" old sounding, sleeper dyna

[creature.of.habit]

hello guys,

i'm sure threading a lot so i apologize. But i really like to plan ahead and know what to look for on ebay. So here it is, i decided that my personal chinese LDC gold rush fever is over. I'm very very happy with my B1 (trully indeed, it opened up a whole new dimension of sound to me), but before i get myself into another chinese LDC (the new revised joe meek 47a), idd like to explore this very neglected (especially these days) part of recording...

Here's what i have to consider as of lately:

- construction of a new building has started near my house again, gotta love the big city.. (gotta deny the room and ambient noise, the B1 picks up the friggin traffic! let along construction work)

- my room will stay, at least for a long while, untreated..

- i just bought my laptop for my future hybrid (digital and analog) setup..it's a toshiba, seems like a good one, silent, but just to make sure, i want to not go into the risk of picking up the laptop fan on my tracks, and only hear it when i stack up a few, thus throwing away hours of work

- i took out my old vynil "bod dylan" and good god was i blown away again, after 2 years of not listening to the man...i still can't make much sense of the radical panning, dont make much sense to me..im all for radical panning, but main vocals on just one side it's just..i dunno, its just not how we're used to listening i guess....but i think ill be able to to at least get something close (very far still i know, but ill have fun trying) (in terms of coloration and rawness) with some old dynamics...

main aplications:

1 - vocals

2 - acoustic guitars

3 - guitar amps


if they're cheap ill get one for each aplication..more colours...the more the better!!

i would like to avoid the usual suspects though, cause they're going for a lot these days (EV RE20, Shure SM7, etc...)..i really wanna look for some sleeper dynamics, that give me some colouration, character - lots of it!, and pick up lots of detail but at the same time negate the rest of the room. When i feel the need of a room mic, ill just put the B1 in there and wait till the wee wee hours to start tracking. I need proxy effect though...or not..i dunno, maybe i just cant get too picky at this level right?

guys, don't be mad at me but i would also like for them to sound old...and..err..cozy.

preamps ill be using: DMP3 and Electro Harmonix preamp (thanks again Joel!)

btw, what Sennheiser 421 should i look for? There's literally a ton of models, the 421-U5, the 421-2, the 421-whatever...I guess one of the sugestions will be a 421 right? So im kind of doing my homework...

thanks again guys.


ps. i had a 57 and didnt like it one bit...gave it to my girlfriend and she's using it with an Edirol UA-25...she's having fun, but that mic just aint for me...too bleh..dunno...sounded boring...is it just me and albini?

i know its not. but a 57 needs a good pre right?

well...what do you guys say?
i think some sugestions on this particular matter could really help out lots of homerecorders to get out of the LDC fever thing, and finnally get some character and raw interest in their tracks...that's what im hoping for.

[r0ck1r0ck2]

So once a week i drop this link cause i'm obsessed with radio nerds...
http://www.coutant.org/
check out the Electro Voice Mics
they rule my little world....
660 664 664A
all verry cool mics...
The rest of the re series is good newz too
Also the Senn 441
AKG D1000E
UniDyne mics!!
some of those old akgss are shit....but theyre still on the cheap side

anything made of chrome will be cool...
just make sure you test those old mics as they can be quite varried

[creature.of.habit]

r0ck1r0ck2,

thanks man, i've seen you dropping it it's pretty helpful, the descriptions and all, but the soundclips are useless to me cause of the crappy computer speakers :/

say, how do you go round the 4 clip cable on most of those mics? the 664 is widely avaliable...tempting...how would u describe the sound?

the 441 has a 4 clip too right?

[r0ck1r0ck2]

i usually listen to the samples on headphones (beyer 770)
if you can..plug a pair into your put0r then listen quietly...
i wouldn't venture a description on how the mics sound (any mic)
it's too subjective....if i say sharp you could think too bright...that sort of thing...
i will say i love the sound of my 664..its my main vocal mic... good for overheads, cabinets...prety much anything i've put it on..and i could beat the living shit outta someone with it...and that's a good feeling

i'm in luck as there's a shop in town that had about 10 of those 664's and quite a few more odd balls...
he also had cables to match....
and he lets me take em to the studio on a trial basis...
these things are sleepers after all...so nobody gives a fuk about them..

the 4 pins are on eBay and i suspect theres a few more places to find them tho i dunno...
as to the 441 clip it depends where you get your 441..they still make and they sell for around $700 new.....yikes...
used they go for around $250 to $400 on th bay...

[r0ck1r0ck2]

tho i think cozy would be a good word for the 664...
check out the RE Series of EVs!

if you see a Dynamic mic for 10euro's just get the damn thing...
you could use it to beat the neighbors if nothing else...

[helmuth]

If you go for a sennheiser my advice is german ebay.
100-200 euro for a 421 and 200-300 euro for a 441 wich is like nothing, and many(most?) of them is willing to send it within europe.

Happy hunting

[eeldip]

if you are feeling cheap:

stedman n90. its an EV mic, i guess. from what i readon internets. anyway, under $100. i sold my EV 666s cause this mic sounded like them but i liked it a bit better.

peavey pvm 520i. down below $50 if you are patient. frankly a pretty good mic. it gets better if you remove the 12 miles of foam between you and the capsule. for vocals. put it back in for kick.

[creature.of.habit]

i usually listen to the samples on headphones (beyer 770)
if you can..plug a pair into your put0r then listen quietly...
i wouldn't venture a description on how the mics sound (any mic)
it's too subjective....if i say sharp you could think too bright...that sort of thing...
i will say i love the sound of my 664..its my main vocal mic... good for overheads, cabinets...prety much anything i've put it on..and i could beat the living shit outta someone with it...and that's a good feeling

i'm in luck as there's a shop in town that had about 10 of those 664's and quite a few more odd balls...
he also had cables to match....
and he lets me take em to the studio on a trial basis...
these things are sleepers after all...so nobody gives a fuk about them..

the 4 pins are on eBay and i suspect theres a few more places to find them tho i dunno...
as to the 441 clip it depends where you get your 441..they still make and they sell for around $700 new.....yikes...
used they go for around $250 to $400 on th bay...

oh u listen on headphones...nice thinking i shall save some samples and listen to them on the laptop...right here (desktop) is where i got the internet and no headphone jack..

i understand that you don't want to describe them sonically, im in for a surprise though anyway i trust that any mic will sound very good through the electro harmonix preamp..at least that's what im expecting, especially the Senns.

the 664, can u adapt it to a normal mic stand? That would be useful...one more thing, the cable is unbalanced in the jack end right? That might prove hard to deal with...arent there any adapters to make the 4 pin usable with a 3 pin xlr? it would make sense..

im eyeing 2 or 3, its pretty cheap...but everytime i get my hopes high on cheap (but good) stuff on ebay, on the last day tons of bids usually pile up i really like this quote from the website on the 664: "It is practically indestructible with normal use."

the 441...im thinking of getting a 421 (the white ones...any idea of why they're so cheap in comparison to what the other ones go for?).. and a 441...the older ones are also cheaper and thiner than the newer ones...is it worth it to go for older ones on these two models? Im searching the site but i cant find any info on the models...but i think the ones i'm eyeing are something like:

- 441-2 (?)

- 421-HL (?)

i dunno if these models even make sense..just describing whats written there...

thanks again Rock!

[creature.of.habit]

If you go for a sennheiser my advice is german ebay.
100-200 euro for a 421 and 200-300 euro for a 441 wich is like nothing, and many(most?) of them is willing to send it within europe.

Happy hunting

eskimo, thanks. But all the business ive ever done on ebay was with german folks...always. Especially cause their voltage plugs are the same as mine so...but the prices are also cool...try getting the same stuff on ebay.uk...prices are always huge :/

[creature.of.habit]

if you are feeling cheap:

stedman n90. its an EV mic, i guess. from what i readon internets. anyway, under $100. i sold my EV 666s cause this mic sounded like them but i liked it a bit better.

peavey pvm 520i. down below $50 if you are patient. frankly a pretty good mic. it gets better if you remove the 12 miles of foam between you and the capsule. for vocals. put it back in for kick.

eeldip thanks for the sugestions..ill keep my eyes peeled...but the stedman goes (at least the one i found) for 300 euros! lol