Let's talk about CAD mic's...

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A-Barr
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Let's talk about CAD mic's...

Post by A-Barr » Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:54 am

I think it's time for a new mic. :)
I am looking for a condensor, preferably multi-patterned in the $500 and under range, I want a nice smooth top end, deep low end and somewhat recessed mids, almost a ribbon character but with a little more detail and intimacy for female (not me) vocals.

I have read and listened, etc, etc, and I really like the sound, features and price of the M179 mics, but they are just so damn ugly, I think it would ruin the vibe, plus you can only seem to buy them from ebay sellers, which I am not crazy about.

Musicians friend is selling a "bundle" of the new e100 and e300 together for 400 bucks! Are these mics similar to the M179? I like the 179 because it seems like a unique mic - made in Ohio, I think they avoid the cheapie, crumpling tin foil sound of Chinese condensors and also don't have the hyped upper-midrange sound of some mics like the 414 and 4033, but maybe I am wrong about all of that.

Anyone have any ideas? Are my opinions remotely valid here? What would you think of that pair of CADs from MF? Interestingly, they sell the e300 alone for 399, so the e100 is basically free if you get the bundle.

Any and all comments welcome, thanks!
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Leopold
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Post by Leopold » Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:07 am

I have an M179 and love it. They also have a new Trion Series bottle multi pattern mic that I'm probably going to get next month. You really think they look that bad? I never really thought about it.


If it's a good mic, you've used it, it's at an affordable price I'd go with it, might not look as cool as other mics but you know it works for you.

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Last edited by Leopold on Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by KennyLusk » Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:45 am

IMO it's hard to beat an M179 for the $$. Those circuit boards have been around for a long time and have proven to be very reliable. Even the old M37 had the M179 PC board for the preamp and IMO the M37 is a great cheapo mic if you can find them. FWIW they rock on flutes, esp. native american and other end-blown flutes, voice-over, and are really decent as a room mic.

Fair warning though. don't under-power the CAD mic's with a cheap pre or a pre known to not provide a true 48v. They get excessively slow, dark, and spitty/grainey in the mids. Female vocals sound like crap through an underpowered CAD no matter how trained the singer is and without a full 48v they choke on the lower-mids with AC guitars. So, if you've got a good solid pre, the CAD's are generally a good deal.

Regarding multi-pattern (non-tube) LCD's I'd be interested to hear what Michael Joly has to say about Oktava's MK-220. I've never seen him make mention of it for some reason and wonder why.
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Post by darkhorseporter » Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:53 am

I recorded my bands cd with almost entirely CAD mics. I really like the e100, and have found the CAD mics I have to be versatile and decent sounding. I don't have the e300, so I can't speak to that.

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Post by joel hamilton » Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:57 am

We have the E300 and the E100. The E300 still gets used, even in the company of some serious choices here. There really are times when it sounds better for a certain vocal than either of the U47's, or the FET47, or any of the Neumanns I have here (M49/U47/269/CMV563/7151bottle/TLM170/BCM705/whatver)...

The E300 Has a "hole" in it in the upper mids that makes it totally great for a larger than life sound with someone that thinks they are too "nasal" or honky...
Kind of like an "already mixed" SM7 if that means anything to you...
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Post by Scodiddly » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:19 am

8th Street ( http://www.8thstreet.com ) carries the CAD mics. Though that E300/E100 bundle sounds like a pretty good deal!

In general I think that the CAD mics are underrated - though you do hear about guys like Joel and Fletcher giving them some respect.
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Post by trodden » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:29 am

I use a cad e300 (the older one) nearly every time i record a band. Its a good mic. Now that my older cad e100 is back in service (thanks Patterson) it should start being used as much as it was a few years ago. I'm not sure what the difference is between the newer designed 300 and 100 though. I do know that CAD won't fix the older "e" series but will offer to trade out mics at a price that isn't that much better than what the banjo marts are offering with the 300/100 deal.
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Post by JWL » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:42 am

In general I'm a fan of CAD mics, though I don't have as much experience with their condensers. I remember using one of the medium-diaphragm equitek condensers years ago, and thinking it was ... pretty good. Compared to the 414 and the 4033 I had in that studio.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE their dynamic drum mics, in particular the TSM411 is one of my favorite mics. I use those in place of an SM57 in pretty much every application.

CAD has certainly won the benefit-of-the-doubt battle in my mind. I'd pick one up without hesitation, provided the place I buy from has a reasonable return policy in the even that the mic just isn't quite it.

That said, my next LD condenser will almost certainly be a Michael Joly modded Oktava, which is in the same price range as the CAD.
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Post by RodC » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:43 am

I was always a bit skeptical about CADs. One day I was at a GC sale and they had a pack of 3 condensors (1 GXL3000 and 2 GXL1200's) clearanced for $99. I bought one pack, they had one more, I beat myself evertime I find a new use for the multi pattern on the GXL3000 and the tone of the 1200s on acustic instruments. These may be their bottom end condesors but I really like em.

YMMV because you can take a look, my mic locker aint as deep as others, so I dont have too much to compair to.
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A-Barr
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Post by A-Barr » Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:37 am

Thanks for the replies, guys, that is pretty much exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

Man, now I'm starting to get back into that head-spinning cognitive overload state I get when I start thinking about actually buying mics...

On the one hand I could get a pair of M179's for 400 bucks - very versatile to have a pair of multipattern mics, but I could get the e-100/e-300 combo for the same price and they should, by their retail prices, sound better, it sounds like the 300 would do well with my singing fiance who benefits from some upper-mid reduction, but I don't really know how much use I'll have for the 100, and really, my R121 sounds so good on her that I may end up not using the 300.... I bought the 121 for my guitar but I always wind up using it on her voice, so maybe I should get something like the Shinybox ribbon mic for me, but then I'll have too many ribbons, I need a good quality LDC besides my Baby Bottle and 319, but what I really need for my fiance's voice is something with really good isolation as I play my guitar in the same room with her, so maybe a nice dynamic would be in order, I could buy the M177's for a utility stereo pair, though they're not multi-pattern and get a beta 58 or something too but I already have an SM5b, which is as good as an sm7, etc, SO... maybe I should get the CADs and they would be versatile utility mics, which would be good to have but...

Now I'm in a gear-frenzied feedback loop, jeez...
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Post by eeldip » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:06 pm

interesting...
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-CAD-Trion-6000- ... dZViewItem
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Post by JASIII » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:11 pm

Even more interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.com/CAD-Trion-6000-Mult ... dZViewItem
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trodden
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Post by trodden » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:32 pm

do we know if those suck or not yet?
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eeldip
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Post by eeldip » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:43 pm

the one mic i got the first week it came out was the "blue ball".

man, that mic sucked.

so based on that experience if you get this mic the first week it comes out, its gonna be a sucky mic. wait a bit longer and CAD might have made a better mic.
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Post by trodden » Fri Jan 12, 2007 2:50 pm

eeldip wrote:the one mic i got the first week it came out was the "blue ball".

man, that mic sucked.

so based on that experience if you get this mic the first week it comes out, its gonna be a sucky mic. wait a bit longer and CAD might have made a better mic.
yeah i still don't "get" the 179. yeah it works, yeah its multi pattern, but i've not been using it much cept for a room mic. sounds too harsh and shrill to me.
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