which overhead mic?

pixeltarian · Post by **pixeltarian** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:47 pm

I have about a 150$ budget for overheads with a little wiggle room. what should I shoot for?

Karma K10
MXL 603
MXL 604
samson C02
a pair of ECM 8000s

I've been really looking at the karma k10s but no one seems to know anything about them except for one guy in africa. he likes em. anyone in tapeop land ever get a chance to hear what the karma k10s sound like? I think it would be nice to use omni caps so that would leave just the MXL 604s right?

if you had about 150$ and had to live with your choice for the rest of your days, what overheads would you get?

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:57 pm

What kind of music are you recording? I'd avoid the ECM 8000s and the MXLs. They're pretty harsh.

Danly · Post by **Danly** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:05 pm

i've been diggin' mono lately, but that's just me.
i think the re-15 has been used before.
junkshop is right though, depends on what kind of music. you might not want a dynamic as an overhead if this is your 'desert island' o.h.
Hey, what about 2 of ubetar's $35 ribbons?

Danly · Post by **Danly** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:20 pm

mxl v69 tube mic on ebay for 225. those are good mics. you can pretend you have a c12 or something.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:36 pm

Of those I'd pick the 603 or 604, but I've always wanted to like Karma mics (never had experience with them, they seem great, just very hard to find info/opinions of them as you've seen). I've got two 603s that I love. You can always have Michael Joly mod them later, it's not too much money compared to getting new mics later. If I were you I'd probably try to save up a bit more and try to get an Oktava MC012 or two. I don't have any but I've used them a friend's place and they're great. Honestly I haven't gotten my own yet because the 603s don't seem drastically different from them, but if the 603s died I'd probably go for the Oktavas.

Shane Michael Rose · Post by **Shane Michael Rose** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:57 pm

i second looking for a pair of oktava mk012's they smoke everything you suggested.

pixeltarian · Post by **pixeltarian** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:25 pm

Shane OConnor wrote:i second looking for a pair of oktava mk012's they smoke everything you suggested.

omni or cardioid?

Style of music would fit in with these:
desert city soundtrack, calexico, jeff buckley, murder by death, my morning jacket, holopaw, black heart procession, the mountain goats, neutral milk hotel, the appleseed cast, rachel's, faraquet, the yeah yeah yeahs, beirut, sparklehorse, the album leaf, sigor ros, the cinematic orchestra, coco rosie, devendra banhart, tom waits, ryan adams, black black black, hope sandoval, cursive, minus the bear...

I actually have one MK-012. but even getting one more is over budget. unless you guys know some magic place I can pick up another for not too much money. just one with a cap seems to cost $250 everwhere I look. the sound room is where I got the first one. the problem is that I use it for my main vocal mic with the R.T.T. "lomo" head. so I'd be doing a lot of swapping, which isn't soooo bad I guess.

the reason I can't save up for a better one is that I did some work for someone and they said they'd get me some overheads if they stay around the 150$ mark. It's a tall order I know. I've got student loans to pay off now and I don't think I'm going to see any gear money for a long long time.

*update*
the preamp bodies by themselves are cheap in the UK. $50 cheaper. what the heck? if they were 115$ here I could buy one and a capsule and use my charm to bump the offer from 150$ to like 180$.

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:39 am

Can you hold out and wait a little longer. I also notice there are a range of deals on MK-012's on Ebay. This goes back to the kind of question: Would you rather spend $120 on something you will use and dispose of within a year, or wait an extra month and buy something that could cost twice as much, but you will likely use for the rest of your life as an engineer?

The resale value of most equipment seems to correspond directly with this quality. I can think of dozens of things that I have bought that still go used for only 10% less than their new price, or the same used price I bought it for. I can also think of dozens of things that I have bought, outgrown, and later sold for less than 60% their original value.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:10 am

pixeltarian, I'm in the same boat as you, and often. Very low budget, paying back student loans. I record a friend, and instead of paying me he'll buy me gear. Usually it's those smaller things that add up that I never feel like spending money on but really need (ie. multi-channel headphone amp, a couple mic stands, drum heads, etc). But occasionally he's wiling to go a bit higher to get a mic that'll help what we're working on, but not too much (like around $100). So I'll have to get something that's not as nice as I'd really like, but still something I'd use and not want to get rid of right away. I've kind of been planning on picking up the smaller diaphragm dynamic range, like another SM57, an Audix i5, Sennheiser e609, those kind of things. I could use them for options on guitars but also when I'm recording a full band live they're similar enough that I could use them all across snare, guitar, toms, and I'll have something everywhere I need it.

Anyway, I'd love an MK012 but honestly SDCs are not what I'm going to be spending money on soon since I'm happy with the 603s. If I were in your situation, I'd do one of two things:

1, put in my own money along with what they're giving, and get the MK012 (if they give you $150, you just have to save $100. For me that's a lot but it's a lot easier to save than getting a full $250 would be, so I'd go for it). If you have one MK012, it'd be great to get another so you have a pair or SDCs (that match at least closer than two different mics would).

2, get the 603/4. It's always hard to get behind anything that some people think is "just not quite good enough" and many others absolutely love. You never know what experience is backing people's opinions. But the 603s have never disappointed me, I've used them as overheads constantly, acoustic guitar, room mics for guitar amps, piano, and I haven't been disappointed. I understand what losthighway says with "Would you rather spend $120 on something you will use and dispose of within a year", but I don't really believe that the 603s will need replacing, that soon if at all. I'm biased since I think they sound great, but I haven't found many people online who really think they're less than nice mics, and many like me who think they're great.

Sean Sullivan · Post by **Sean Sullivan** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:25 am

You can find an Oktava for $150. In fact, I sent you a PM with a place that has one for $99

Jitters · Post by **Jitters** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:48 pm

I'll put in another good word for the 603/4s. I'm certain there are many mics that would blow them away and reveal thier shortcomings in an A/B test, but I've never listened to the results I've gotten from them and thought they were in anyway unpleasant. I find them really useful and am in no hurry to replace them. Pretty solid kit for the $.

thegeek · Post by **thegeek** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:52 am

I've had good success with gauge mics... some people don't like large diaphram mics for OH but I do... they are a breeze to work with.

thegeek · Post by **thegeek** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:08 am

sorry to double post... but I just got a matched pair of Rode NT 5s for about $200. I know it out of you budget but for $50 more you can really get an nice pair of mics. Just check your local craigslist and evilBay

Sean Sullivan · Post by **Sean Sullivan** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:18 am

Did you get any of those Oktava's I told you about pixel?

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:54 am

thegeek wrote:I've had good success with gauge mics... some people don't like large diaphram mics for OH but I do... they are a breeze to work with.

I had never heard of gauge mics before, what are you using? It seems they have two large diaphragms, the ECM-87 and ECM-47, are you using one of those? I listened to the samples on their site, they sound nice (the male vocals sample for example and especially the acoustic guitar), but I feel like I'm hearing more processing than the actual mic sound. I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what've you got and what do you think of it?

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which overhead mic?

which overhead mic?

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