dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

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dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by permanent hearing damage » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:16 pm

looking for mics for resonant toms, mostly. i have plenty of options for more neutral or bright, but have been digging the sE electronics X1D - just had one break and they don't make them anymore, so not holding out hope for a repair (still under warranty). hell, i'm tempted to try a cheap ribbon down there, but i'm guessing the SPLs would kill the damn thing? also unsure if i want the spill from the rear?

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:59 pm

Ribbons can take crazy high spls. Just not direct blasts of air.

For dark LDCs I like Octava 219s (or 319s). They’re not really dark, just not hyped in the highs. They’re out there pretty cheap and are a great bang for the buck. Haven’t used them in toms but I can’t see why they wouldn’t work there.

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by vvv » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:43 pm

CAD M179 (or uni, 178) are cheap and great on toms.
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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by losthighway » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:27 pm

Shure ksm137 is great all around. Not dark, but definitely not bright for a small diaphragm condenser.

It's pretty much the exact same price as the venerated Oktava mk 012 which a lot of smart people love in that position as well.

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by michaelkerchner » Thu Dec 19, 2019 3:51 am

another vote for a 319 or an mk 012. both great for this position and also excel at many other jobs.
sounds good, compress it
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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by permanent hearing damage » Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:37 am

yeah, the 012s are my go to for batter head! have wanted a ksm137 for a while, might be time to pull the trigger. used to use 4050s on bottom tom duties, funny enough, but found them to be a little thin. curious about a stock oktava 219/319. i only have the Joly modded 219, which is pretty damn good, i'll say.

curious about the cheap ribbons - may give it a go

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by michaelkerchner » Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:59 am

permanent hearing damage wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:37 am
yeah, the 012s are my go to for batter head! have wanted a ksm137 for a while, might be time to pull the trigger. used to use 4050s on bottom tom duties, funny enough, but found them to be a little thin. curious about a stock oktava 219/319. i only have the Joly modded 219, which is pretty damn good, i'll say.

curious about the cheap ribbons - may give it a go
would you be using 2 ribbons or one ribbon with the nodes of the figure of eight at each tom? that could be a cool situation and less spl on the ribbon. ive seen/ heard it successfully done on the batter side
sounds good, compress it
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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:33 am

permanent hearing damage wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:37 am
curious about a stock oktava 219/319. i only have the Joly modded 219, which is pretty damn good, i'll say.
I have a pair of stock 219s that I did the mechanical mods on - damping the body, cutting the extra metal fins on the grill, removing the diffuser disk from the capsule and maybe removing some extra screening (can't remember).
They're pretty great. I think I paid $100 a piece for them way way back. I now have many higher budget options but I still use them all the time.

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by weatherbox » Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:33 pm

I'd put in a vote for the CAD M179s as well. Never had them crap out on close drums, and the polar patterns are really handy for tailoring rejection and proximity. I dunno if I'd call them dark, but I never thought of them as being overly assertive in any usage I had for them.

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by cgarges » Sat Dec 28, 2019 8:43 am

The X1D is a killer tom mic. SE is insane for discontinuing them. I liked them so much, I bought eight of them. I use them for all kinds of stuff. Anyway, they're not as inexpensive, but the Audio Technica 4047 sounds a lot like the X1D on toms. Makes sense, since they're both kinda based on the FET47.

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by permanent hearing damage » Mon Dec 30, 2019 6:44 am

damn, you got 8?! jealous. $70ish a pop when they were blowing them out was pretty tough to pass up, but i only snagged 3. i'll make do. have wanted a 4047 for a good while, but yeah, a bit pricier. soon, though. curious about trying a cheap-o ribbon, now, though.

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by digitaldrummer » Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:29 am

Front End Audio has a bunch of Se B-stock mics on sale right now https://www.frontendaudio.com/b-stock/? ... red&page=2

I have one of the X1 D that is parked in front of my kick permanently but was curious how the X1 or X1 A compared (at $69). For toms they might be ok still. X1 A spec shows max SPL of 150. or they have the X1 R if you want to try the Fig8 (but 2 X1 A's are still cheaper...).
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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by permanent hearing damage » Mon Dec 30, 2019 9:46 am

ah. hmmm. curious how the x1a compares. at $70, i'll bite! thanks!

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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by digitaldrummer » Tue Jan 07, 2020 7:28 am

let us know how it compares to the X1 D. :)
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Re: dark condensers on the cheap for high SPLs

Post by digitaldrummer » Tue Feb 18, 2020 9:02 am

I just picked up another X1D yesterday (used) for $50. it had some dents in the windscreen, so now I am also an expert in disassembly of these mics. 8) anyway, looks much better now and still sounds as good as the other one.
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