KSM

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vvv
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Post by vvv » Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:50 pm

Last week I rec'd a KSM27 I evil-Bogged for and now I've used it on a cuppla (7) songs.

This thing is the most stable inexpensive cheap condensor I've ever used! I like the tone of the AT4040, and the ADK A51V even more, on vocals, but damn!, this thing sounds great and just records so clean.

Yes, I've UTFSF's all over the place and seen the critiques but I want to hear from all y'all TOMBsters:

Does anyone here regularly use a KSM, what model, what for, and can you contrast them?

I mean, should I also look for the 32 or 44?

Also, mine came w/out the Shure shockmount. I have the KSM27 sitting, basically, atop a generic shock-mount because that mount's holder won't take the extra-wide Shure shell. Does anyone know of a cheaper than Shure (theirs is US$50+) shock-mount to secure this thing?
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Post by jhharvest » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:06 am

I haven't used the KSM27 but the KSM32 and KSM44 work great. Pretty neutral. There's not much tonal difference between the two - it's all down to if you need the different polar patterns.

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Post by permanent hearing damage » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:43 am

i've been thinking about getting a ksm44 as i don't have many multi-pattern mics, but from what i read, i get the feeling it might be pretty close to my 414b-uls pair i have had and been fairly bored with for the last couple years.

that said, i've heard great things about ksm141s on snare and have been wanting one (or a pair) of those for a while.

i've heard a ksm32 on loud guitar amps before and it has sounded pretty good to me.

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Post by Scodiddly » Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:24 pm

KSM 27 has been discontinued, and replaced with the PG 27 and the Beta 27.

The Beta 27 is a really nice mic. Not hyped.

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Post by vvv » Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:03 pm

Actually, I thought the successor was the SM27 ...

But I gotta KSM, hence my query.
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Post by Scodiddly » Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:27 am

vvv wrote:Actually, I thought the successor was the SM27 ...

But I gotta KSM, hence my query.
I'm on vacation, and take no responsibility for the accuracy of my statements. 8)

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Post by vvv » Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:43 am

:lol:
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Post by GooberNumber9 » Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:30 am

permanent hearing damage wrote:i've been thinking about getting a ksm44 as i don't have many multi-pattern mics, but from what i read, i get the feeling it might be pretty close to my 414b-uls pair i have had and been fairly bored with for the last couple years.
That might be right or it might be wrong. I used a 414 XLS and a KSM44 together on several recordings and the KSM is much sweeter and cleaner, to my ears (not that I don't love the 414, it's just different). I never would have confused the two. I can't compare the XLS and the ULS, so maybe you would have that problem.

I don't find the KSMs boring at all. The first time I heard the KSM32 was A/Bed with an AT4033 and I thought the 4033 might have had more high end but was just so flat and blah. I fell in love with the KSM32 instantly. When I had the chance to get one at a discount, I went with the 44 which doesn't quite have the same "tingly feeling in a special place" sound that I got from the 32, but it's like 95% there and having the multi-pattern has been very useful.

If I had to buy an under-$1000 LDC all over again, I'd get a KSM32 or 44 for sure. They are sweet sounding but enough in the middle of the road that they can be used on lots of sources successfully.

Edit: P.S.: I recommend laying out for the Shure shock mount. Unless you are not at all clumsy (I am clumsy). Having the right shock mount is a good extension to having the right stand and when I spend that much on a mic it's not too much more to have the right mount to make sure it doesn't fall or whatever. If you buy the 44 it will come with a shock mount and all kinds of nice things.

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Post by Studiodawg » Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:57 am

I have the KSM42. I wanted a "vocal mic" and figured the engineers at Shure know how to design a task specific microphone. I like it and need to use it more to learn it, but what I've recorded so far sounds "comfy" for lack of another term...definitely not harsh or strident.

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Post by GooberNumber9 » Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:02 am

Studiodawg wrote:I have the KSM42. I wanted a "vocal mic" and figured the engineers at Shure know how to design a task specific microphone. I like it and need to use it more to learn it, but what I've recorded so far sounds "comfy" for lack of another term...definitely not harsh or strident.
Yeah, like the audio equivalent of putting on a nice, soft, warm hoodie. It wouldn't stand up to a rainstorm, but great for hanging around on a cool fall day.

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Post by Scodiddly » Wed Sep 19, 2012 3:32 pm

I will say that we've got KSM32 and 44 at work, as well as 414's, 4050, etc.

Also more recently a pair of Beta27.

I think the Beta27 is a really good-sounding mic, natural, not hyped, etc. Really impressed when I borrowed one to test out at home. The mics Shure are coming out with nowadays are really a step forward for them, really a step back to their golden days.

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Post by vvv » Wed Sep 19, 2012 4:11 pm

I really like my old 545, 57's and 58.

And while the Beta 58 is no longer new, I gotta say that it is just so nice on snare; it makes for such a solid and EQ-able track when ya can't do top and bottom, and it's nicely directional, sturdy and takes the SPL.

Makes a nice live vocal mic, also. :lol:

I'm quite happy with the KSM27; it has easily become my fave vocal condensor, ahead of my AT4040, ADK A5.1 V, M179, etc.
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Post by kslight » Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:39 pm

I really like the KSM44, I used to use them for a lot in school, especially drum overheads, acoustic guitar, vocals, and piano. Nowadays I own one KSM44 (I'd get another if I found one cheap!), and it gets used as my primary vocal mic, sometimes guitar amp mic. No complaints here, and I can get any Neumann at cost through a friend, I really haven't felt the need.

I don't think it sounds anything like a 414, myself, other than the fact that neither are overly bright. For lack of better words, the KSM44 is a pretty "warm" mic compared to any other condenser I've used in this price range (which are normally fairly bright, harsh, and sibilant), pretty full. I think its comparable to a U87 with a little more body, at least in my own, non-scientific head to head tests.

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Post by vxboogie » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:05 am

I have a pair of KSM27s that I got used fairly cheap and a KSM44 that has been my primary vocal mic for a while. I use the 27s on drum OH quite often and also on amps, acoustic, etc.
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Post by tonewoods » Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:19 am

I did a huge shootout years ago, looking for the "perfect" mic for recording an arched-top F5 mandolin...

I wanted the mando to stand out in the mix in a nice way (obviously), but still capturing that distinctive low-end woof that my mandolin had in spades...

Tons of mics were in the shootout, and the KSM32 was the clear "winner"...
...and the low-end content of that mandolin was the reason....
Just a solid woodiness that wasn't muddy or cluttered.....

So-ooo, yeah.
KSM32 = solid woodiness around here... :wink:
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