karma mics

kojdogg · Post by **kojdogg** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:35 pm

Mark Alan Miller wrote:There is no reason to not go buy a $20 pair of those mini condensers.
They SLAY as room mics in my drum room - even more so when limited to all hell. Mucho loud rock drum sound that is really great even with tons of cymbal wash - which we all know is kinda a feat in itself.
Also sounded great taped to a '57 on snare for a sidestick sound, and made for a really cool, agressive hi-hat sound. That's all I've tried them on, but they've already paid for themselves a few times over with how happy we are with the tracks we've used them on.
Gonna buy another pair, methinks. And perhaps, when the cashflow permits, I'm gonna try that multi-pattern tube condenser and/or that ribbon. Oh, and anyone know how the $79 pencil condenser sounds? More info! More info!

Hey, I just saw on their site that the multipattern tube K-58 is on sale for $259. The K-58 is an awesome mic, which so far I've used for vocals and acoustic guitar. If you get one, I'd recommend getting a new 7 pin cable (I got one from Redco) as the stock one is not very good, and I also found that putting a new tube in helps open up the sound greatly. I used a GE Jan 6072a tube on the advice of some guys on another MB.
Full Disclosure: I don't work for them or anything, I'm a compliance officer in NY

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Expert insurance

Mark Alan Miller · Post by **Mark Alan Miller** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:23 pm

Thanks, kojdogg! Advice taken.

And regarding the cheapo condensers, well, they blow up easily. Now that I've used them close up on drums, they are even furrier than before under high SPL. As room mics on rock drums they now sound, unlimited, like I've got a limiter distorting them a touch.

Put another way, they're far from industructible. But that's fun, and for $20 a pair it's affordable fun. I don't work for Karma either.

stereopathetic_banjo · Post by **stereopathetic_banjo** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:18 pm

That's awesome. I'm as skeptical as the next guy regarding any "new" rock- bottom priced microphone line, but after reading this and the Karma site- they kinda seem like an upfront company. Anyhow, those cheapo omni's are exactly what i've been wanting, putting off diy'ing some myself. Trashy room omni's are what i'm a'missin. Thanks for the heads up!

themagicmanmdt · Post by **themagicmanmdt** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:13 pm

so - are the k58's any good?

Mark Alan Miller · Post by **Mark Alan Miller** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:44 pm

I'm digging my K58 a lot. At first I thought it a little bright, but in context of a mix on several vocalists it sound nicely "finished" and expensive. I is now one of my first considerations for vocals. In time i hope to get to know it on other stuff.

kojdogg · Post by **kojdogg** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:42 pm

Mark Alan Miller wrote:I'm digging my K58 a lot. At first I thought it a little bright, but in context of a mix on several vocalists it sound nicely "finished" and expensive. I is now one of my first considerations for vocals. In time i hope to get to know it on other stuff.

i found that swapping the tube made a nice difference. i found a nice ge jan 6072a tube on ebay for like $25 that made a noticeable positive difference. that stock chinese 12ax7 was a little too harsh. i like it as a top end mic on acoustic guitar paired with one of their k-6 ribbons or my oktavamod mk-219 pe. the k-6 and mk-219 pe work nicely together too.
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CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE

premiumdan · Post by **premiumdan** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:51 pm

MicOp:

Bumpin' this back up to see if anybody has had any recent experiences
with Karma microphones. Seems that their www's "recent news" section
is quite old, also... Still in business? Keeping the product-line the same
because it "don't need fixin"?

Cheers!

-Dan

kingmetal · Post by **kingmetal** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 1:47 am

I bought a ton (like 4 pairs) of the minis back when they were cardioid and $5. Haven't used them much, but once I forgot they weren't omnis and used them as room mics. Worked better than they should have.

For what they're charging, there's no reason why everyone shouldn't have some of those minis. The updated the specs on the mic since I bought mine and I'll grab a pair of the new ones sometime soon. Might as well have them around as fully disposable "I'm out of ideas" tools. Mine didn't come with clips, so buying a pair for $26 is worth it for the clips alone.

EDIT: My bad, they're still cardioids. I dunno why I keep thinking that they're omnis.

premiumdan · Post by **premiumdan** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:35 am

King'!

The mini-mics are the same in the 2-pack and the 7-pack, right?
Seems like a deal for $80-ish, but I'm wondering if "furry drums"
is what these mics will only reproduce. Could just over-gain/comp
the mics I already own...

-Dan

kingmetal · Post by **kingmetal** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 2:36 pm

premiumdan wrote:King'!

The mini-mics are the same in the 2-pack and the 7-pack, right?
Seems like a deal for $80-ish, but I'm wondering if "furry drums"
is what these mics will only reproduce. Could just over-gain/comp
the mics I already own...

-Dan

I wish I could say that I've used them on drums (or much at all, really). I bet they'd be killer on toms, but to me they seem to be more at home with acoustic intruments and the like. The newer spec'd models would probably do fine as over-heads. I'm assuming that's what they intend them for - I really can't see myself using one on the kick or the snare but who knows. Maybe they're the golden sound.

I'll throw one on my acoustic guitar and stack it up against a Joly Modded 603 tonight if I get a chance. I really haven't used them much - I keep forgetting I have them! I bought them right before I took a several-year long break from recording and they're just not in my thoughts very often, but not because they aren't great mics in their own right. And they're $13 a piece. That's amazing.

premiumdan · Post by **premiumdan** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:56 am

Bumpin' up just in case anybody's had recent experience with this brand.

Cheers!
-Dan

newfuturevintage · Post by **newfuturevintage** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:03 pm

premiumdan wrote:Bumpin' up just in case anybody's had recent experience with this brand.

Cheers!
-Dan

I picked up a half dozen of the $5 first run K-micros. Fine for talkback and ultra crushed special effects on drums, kinda useless for much of anything else. Haven't tried the newer ones.

riantide · Post by **riantide** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:29 am

I'm afraid I've had a similar experience to newfuturevintage; my micros sounded pretty awful right before they broke after like two months.

I would say I got exactly 20 dollars of use out of them, come to think of it.

Anyway, caveat emptor, I guess.

pixeltarian · Post by **pixeltarian** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:38 pm

has anyone used the K10? I'm lookin around for some cheap overheads.

riantide · Post by **riantide** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:40 pm

If you want cheap overheads I would definitely look at the MXL 603 mics (or whatever the current model number is, mine are several years old). They're pretty damn cool for the money and if you're at all handy with a soldering iron you can replace two capacitors in each mic and get a pretty substantive improvement in the sound.

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