But WHICH Joly LDC?

kingmetal · Post by **kingmetal** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:35 pm

My 67G showed up today. Impressions so far: it's green and has the same shitty mic clip that the 990 comes with if you get the version without a shock mount. I'm at work so I have no way of testing it.

I'm going to try to get one of my artists to come in this weekend and do a quickie demo so I can send it along to you all.

Anyone have any recommendations for cheap (decent) shock mounts? I was just going to just use the one that came with my R0de NT1-A, since I hate that damn thing, but of course I found out on Tuesday that it works really well one one of my artists's voice. he's kind of mumble-y and soft spoken so the ridiculous harsh, ugly upper end actually compliments his voice really well.

Michael_Joly · Post by **Michael_Joly** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:29 pm

ah, yeah. Green with a freak'n faux gold grille. It really is too bad that mic looks like that because it doesn't sound that way.

Any cheapo eBay 2" "barrel type" shock mount will hold that mic and perform the role of aesthetic upgrade.

kingmetal · Post by **kingmetal** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:43 pm

Michael_Joly wrote:ah, yeah. Green with a freak'n faux gold grille. It really is too bad that mic looks like that because it doesn't sound that way.

Any cheapo eBay 2" "barrel type" shock mount will hold that mic and perform the roll of aesthetic upgrade.

weirdly, I kind of like how ridiculous it looks. hopefully it will get 'worn in' over time and if it starts to bother me I'll just put some duct tape on it.

duct tape, as we all know, adds +3db @ 3khz.

Producer/Engineer · Post by **Producer/Engineer** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:05 pm

kingmetal wrote:
hopeless_opus wrote:
OR IS THERE SOME SECRET OTHER OPTION?

Yup, but it really no secret... it might not have been available on your first posting date, but the Joly NT1A mod is amazing! Go to oktavamodshop.com and check out the files of the NT1A mod and the Neumann U87 purple badge mic's.
My NT1A is in his shop for the mod as I type and I can't wait to get it back!

kingmetal · Post by **kingmetal** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:08 pm

Yeah that came out a few weeks ago after I had already sent in my MXL 67G (which I've only had limited time to test so far but is astounding, it seems). Way into the NT1A mod since I own an NT1A and I generally hate it. It's going on my want list, but I'm probably getting an SM7 first. April will probably net me an Apex 460 w/ mod, depending on projects, but that NT1A mod is tempting.

Michael_Joly · Post by **Michael_Joly** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:58 pm

I seem to be developing this bad habit of giving things away (but, like many bad habits, it feels so good) ...

...I am so enamored of this new NT1a mod, I'll upgrade your mic for free Kingmetal. Just go to my shop, put the mod in your shopping cart, proceed to check out but don't pay once you reach PayPal. This will give us your shipping info and alert Meryl to schedule your mod. Sorry, I can't do this for everyone who asks, its just sort of a random 'spread the love' thing that comes over me from time to time unexpectedly.

About the sound of the NT1a mod -

As you can imagine, I get a steady stream of 219 and 319 mics across my bench and listen to several of them each day. I've had the first mod'd NT1a sitting at the side of my bench for a couple of weeks just so I can listen to it in-between other mics to see how it fares. In fact, I've put off sending it to a Tape Op reviewer who's asked for it because its still my new baby and I can't quite bring myself to part with it.

Well, its got all the lower midrange "umph" of the 219 / 319, but it has a lovely extra bit of 12-16kHz air that comes from 1.) the 3 micron MJE-K47 capsule that has a faster transient response than the 219 capsule (and this transforms to more extended HF in the frequency domain) and 2.) the super low noise, transformerless circuit in the NT1a. I'll have to say, I have a whole new respect for transformerless circuits after hearing these Rode mics.

This mod'd NT1a will make a great vocal mic for quiet, whispery vocals that require lots of detail and intimacy without sibilance. That's not to say it shouldn't be yelled at - it can handle that well also. But it seems to call out for nuance. Its also great for delicate acoustic guitar or other stringed instruments. I'll bet it would be wonderful on hammered dulcimer or auto harp. It has this terrific presence-without-harshness coupled with a low noise floor that is just ear-opening.

It takes a lot to impress me, and I'm really impressed with the Rode circuitry across the board - when driven with the MJE-K47 capsule sitting in a single-layer headbasket. hehe ; )

@?,*???&? · Post by **@?,*???&?** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 9:36 am

losthighway wrote:4047, 4050

Not for vocals...there are WAY better mics.

mscottweber · Post by **mscottweber** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:35 pm

...I am so enamored of this new NT1a mod, I'll upgrade your mic for free Kingmetal.

Kingmetal FTW!

Michael Joly's mics really are great, and he has a history of being very generous with them. A friend of mine had a box of them on lone and I was playing drums/perc. on the session. Those mics are killer, and the fact that we got to use them to record a project that otherwise wouldn't have happened was incredible. I'm not even close to having the funds right now, but I plan on buying a pair of Joly-modded SDC's in the semi-near future.

(Don't take this as a "Give me free mods, too!" post. Just giving props where props is due!)

kingmetal · Post by **kingmetal** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:50 pm

man, best Tuesday EVER.

my Joly SDCs are incredible on their own, and when you consider their price it's mind-boggling how good of a deal they are. I use my pair for EVERYTHING and they go up on every session. I use them so much that I was just leaving them on my stands for the longest time in plastic bags.

the best thing about all of Joly's mods, in my opinion, is the upgrade path -- most of his mods work on mics that most people end up starting out with. I already had an MXL 991 lying around from a 990/991 kit I bought (second mic I ever purchased) and I got my NT1A 6 or so years ago before I knew any better.

It's a no brainer for folks who are starting out -- just buy any mic that Joly will mod, use it until you've really outgrown it and by that time you've probably saved up enough for the mod.

I used Joly SDCs on every single track on the record in my sig (my studio's first record). I used it on guitar, musical saw and stand up bass -- and on 'Shine' I ran a stereo pair of them in an X/Y straight to a 4 track cassette.

But I'm not doing these mics justice! The guitars we used on this record are really bad and I'm an inexperienced mixer (and I had to master the record myself so that just made it worse). That being said, working with mics like these really made my life a lot easier and let me focus on other things.

I've got a couple of tracks that I've recorded over the last year where I got to put the SDCs on a nice guitar, I'll post clips of them this week so you all can listen. I've been meaning to do that for forever!

I've got some voice-over tracks with the 67G as well, so I'll throw that up as well.

losthighway · Post by **losthighway** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:19 pm

@?,*???&? wrote:
losthighway wrote:4047, 4050
Not for vocals...there are WAY better mics.

I love my 4047 on some people's voices. I also love the 4050 sound on the Neko Case records. Better is a weird word once you get into usable vocal mics. We could easily call a Neuman, or a Telefunken "better", cause they are really nice and very expensive, or you could call a Mojave, or a Blue better for being really nice and only slightly more expensive. But if you're looking at $500ish mics I think they're awesome.

Producer/Engineer · Post by **Producer/Engineer** » Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:44 pm

ABSOLUTELY +1 on the AT4047/SV ! Out of the 24 mics in our cabinets it's always goes up in the first round with a few others. Beautiful on most voices and also quite useful on other things as well.
13- time Grammy winning producer Phil Ramone and engineer Dae Bennett chose it on Tony Bennett's Duet's CD for a reason, Versatility!
(They also used the AT5400 on that project.) Here's a list of the 18 major recording artists on "Duet's." Bono, Elton John, Barbra Streisand, the Dixie Chicks, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, k.d. lang, James Taylor, George Michael, Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder, Tim McGraw and John Legend.
The 4047 rules in it's price range IMO. Workhorse vocal mic for sure.

Michael_Joly · Post by **Michael_Joly** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:08 pm

People keep asking me to modify their 4047 mics. I guess I should buy one and investigate why they have this request.

phantom power · Post by **phantom power** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:17 am

Mr. Joly,

Will your k47 capsules work with 603s if they've been Royer modded?

I did the MXL2001 Royer mod and while I was truly impressed with the imrovement, it still sounded like a crappy capsule to me. I've been wanting to Royer mod my pair of 603s, but haven't been that motivated because the capsules.

Thanks
-AE

Michael_Joly · Post by **Michael_Joly** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:33 am

You're talking about Dave's 5840 (miniature tube) mod for the common 22mm SDC mics? If so, yes. The MJE-K47H sounds righteous in that set up.

Unfortunately, neither the Mojave MA-200 or Chameleon Labs TS-1 SDC bodies fit the MJE-K47H. I have not evaluated the Peluso or Lauten 22mm SDC bodies.

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:03 pm

Michael_Joly wrote:You're talking about Dave's 5840 (miniature tube) mod for the common 22mm SDC mics? If so, yes. The MJE-K47H sounds righteous in that set up.

Unfortunately, neither the Mojave MA-200 or Chameleon Labs TS-1 SDC bodies fit the MJE-K47H. I have not evaluated the Peluso or Lauten 22mm SDC bodies.

What about the Studio Projects C4? I didn't see it on your compatability list either.

I have a pair those lying around, and they have a decent sound for the money, but since getting my modded oktava mc012's they haven't seen much use. With the improved capsule it may breathe some life into them. I'd be interested if you have any modding recomendations for them as well.

Also....Michael, you are truly one of the nicest guys in business. We are so fortunate to have people like you on this board.

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