AKG SolidTube opinions wanted!
Prentice Tyndall, Jr.
for the price? How does it compare with the AT4060 (more "air" or
"bottom")?
Prentice Tyndall
Quarter Note Recording Studios
Deep Run, NC
http://quarternote.50megs.com
pren...@icomnet.com
Ricky Hunt
and a high arc.
"Prentice Tyndall, Jr." <pren...@icomnet.com> wrote in message
news:3AC405E6...@icomnet.com...
Stephen Bennett
decent pre amp, a fine vocal mic. It's warm, full of body, not as sibilant
as my other Mics (Joe Meek, U87) and sounds like a 'valve' mic. It was also
very cheap!
Ricky, could you expand on why you don't like it?
Regards
--
Stephen Bennett. Composer and sound design. (UK)
http://chaosstudios.gen-next.com
henry fool http://www.collective.co.uk/henryfool The Fire Thieves:
http://tft.gen-next.com
Author of 'The Fast Guide To Logic' http://www.pc-pubs.demon.co.uk/fgel.htm
and 'Making Music with E-Magic Logic Audio
http://www.pc-pubs.demon.co.uk/mmela.htm'
"Ricky Hunt" <ricky...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5_Uw6.138$y35....@nntp3.onemain.com...
Bryson
Tim
Ricky Hunt
be good for acoustic instrumentation recordings with vocals. It sounds very
large and spacious to me. I don't know how a track, definitely a lot of
tracks recorded with it, would sit in a mix together.
"Ricky Hunt" <ricky...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5_Uw6.138$y35....@nntp3.onemain.com...
Fletcher
> Anybody with personal experience of this mic? Is it a good "tube" mic
> for the price? How does it compare with the AT4060 (more "air" or
> "bottom")?
As pieces of crap go, the 4060 buries the 'SqualidTube'. In terms of good
sounding mics, I've never found a use for either of them that wasn't
better covered by a myriad of other choices. Their best feature is adding
to the salesweasel at the guitar-mart's commission check and damn little
else.
--
Fletcher
Mercenary Audio
TEL: 508-543-0069
FAX: 508-543-9670
http://www.mercenary.com
"this is not a problem"
Producers/Engineers/Hardware forum:
Go to: http://www.recording.org
register, then proceed to 'Pro Talk'
it's next to the frozen food aisle
Scott Dorsey
>Why do people have a downer on this Mic? I find it, in conjunction with a
>decent pre amp, a fine vocal mic. It's warm, full of body, not as sibilant
>as my other Mics (Joe Meek, U87) and sounds like a 'valve' mic. It was also
>very cheap!
Because it sounds muffled and smeary and has no definition.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
WillStG
price?<
I had one and thought it sounded pretty good for the money - but that
money was like half the price of a 4060 and included a couple of NOS RCA
replacement tubes. Mark Planke told me they sound better without the internal
pop filter foam if you're using a windscreen, which was a good tip. But I
wouldn't pay more than $600-650 for one, maybe even less used. I sold mine to
one of my assistants when I got a good deal on a U87, because between the U87,
my KMS84i and some ribbon mics I found wasn't using the "Solidtube" a whole lot
anymore.
You should do an a/b comparison with other mics in your price range,
nothing beats trying 'em out, and unless I had a really compelling reason to I
wouldn't limit my choices to a "Tube" mic.
Cheers,
Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Fox And Friends/Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits
RandyBtncl
"better" than the AT4050, which I have been very happy with but now doesn't see
as much use as my main vocal mic (vs. Lawson, TLM103).
Thanks! Steve
Ted Spencer
>Stephen Bennett <s.be...@uea.ac.uk> wrote:
>>Why do people have a downer on this Mic? I find it, in conjunction with a
>>decent pre amp, a fine vocal mic. It's warm, full of body, not as sibilant
>>as my other Mics (Joe Meek, U87) and sounds like a 'valve' mic. It was also
>>very cheap!
>
>Because it sounds muffled and smeary and has no definition.
>--scott
Oh.
Ted Spencer, NYC
"The R.A.F would never allow chickens at the controls of complex aircraft!"
From "Chicken Run"
WillStG
>As far as the AT4060 was concerned, I was wondering how it was different/
Actually the AT4047 has the same capsule as the 4060, sort of a non-tube
version for less than half the money.
Jay Kahrs
>version for less than half the money.
The 4047 and 4060 sound nothing alike. It's like comparing an apple and a
cheeseburger. The 4050 and 4060 are closer to each other.
---
-Jay Kahrs
Owner - Engineer - Producer
Mad Moose Recording Inc.
Morris Plains, NJ
http://www.madmooserecording.com
JMuirMan
Solidtube. I removed the internal pop filter and replaced the tube with a nos
Telefunken. It sounds better, and really pretty good. But I have to always add
para eq at about 10k, narrow bandwith. That seems to add air. i also usually
have to cut at 300 to remove some boxyness. I don't like it on guitar or piano.
It picks up a lot of the room. My voice has the same quality/range as James
Taylor. I've recorded other baritones - sounds good. haven't recorded any
females. It sounds better than AT 4030s/4050s.
Used with the Pendulum MDP-1- it sounds pretty good.
Without any modification, I'd tend to agree with Scott and Fletcher. I'd like
to try a Lawson, EV RE-20 and an 87. FYI and fwiw, I'm not a pro, but I'm
getting better thanks to this group. The reviews were good in Mix and
Recording, but i guess they were just trying to sell them, cause the reviews
differ greatly from these pros who have heard really good mics.
D C
maybe an RTT MKL-102. To my ears it's much more desireable than a Rode NTV. I
like it better for voice than Neumann TLM 103 or AKG 414BULS. I've gotten some
good sizzle and zip out of Solidtube with a Joe Meek VC6Q recording to a Tascam
38 and Tascam MX-2424. Although on occasion you can get better vocals with a
Sennheiser MD421 or an Oktava MK 319 or 219 depending on the singer and
situation.
Portmusic
female not to bad but needed to cut around 5k.
Moose
Ty Ford
>From: D C <fi...@i2020.net>
>Newsgroups: rec.audio.pro
>Subject: Re: AKG SolidTube opinions wanted!
>Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 19:27:10 -0500
>
>I think for the money there's not a better tube vocal mic out there. Except
>maybe an RTT MKL-102. To my ears it's much more desireable than a Rode NTV. I
>like it better for voice than Neumann TLM 103 or AKG 414BULS. I've gotten some
>good sizzle and zip out of Solidtube with a Joe Meek VC6Q recording to a Tascam
>38 and Tascam MX-2424. Although on occasion you can get better vocals with a
>Sennheiser MD421 or an Oktava MK 319 or 219 depending on the singer and
>situation.
My experience was that sizzle and zip were mutually exclusive to the
SolidTube, unless paired with a nuclear-powered equalizer. Your last
sentence, however, helps a lot in helping us establish your frame of reference.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Ty Ford's audio equipment reviews and V/O sound files can be accessed at
http://www.jagunet.com/~tford
Fletcher
> I think for the money there's not a better tube vocal mic out there.
Ya know, it costs way less to go buy a porno rag and jerk off to a thought than it
does to pony up for a blowjob...frankly, I'd prefer to spend that little extra.
What the fuck is this marketing horseshit you're so caught up on...."tube vocal
mic". Jesus H. motherfucking Christ how fucking stupid a statement is that? Who
cares if it's tube or solid state, as long as it sounds good on the tone you're
trying to record. Ain't nobody going to buy a record because the vocals were cut
with a tube mic instead of a solid state mic...they'll buy the record because the
singer has some emotion to their performance, and that performance was captured in
a manner that was complementary to the rest of the presenatation...*period*.
Some of the greatest vocals of all time were captured with with a Shure SM-57 and
no tubes at all, some were captured with a $20,000 Ela M 251 that was specially
modified for the singer by one of the 'microphone modification genius's. The fact
of the matter is that some shitheels that advertise piss poor product in magazines
keep saying over and over that "tubes" [even current starved poorly implemented
tubes] are superior to 'solid state'
Wasn't it Hitler that said if you repeat a lie often enough, and loud enough people
will begin to believe it? I think it was Hitler...I'm pretty sure it was Hitler...
Scott Dorsey
>
>Without any modification, I'd tend to agree with Scott and Fletcher. I'd like
>to try a Lawson, EV RE-20 and an 87. FYI and fwiw, I'm not a pro, but I'm
>getting better thanks to this group. The reviews were good in Mix and
>Recording, but i guess they were just trying to sell them, cause the reviews
>differ greatly from these pros who have heard really good mics.
Since you already have the thing, you might look into getting it cleaned
up. The capsules in these things are actually pretty good and I don't
think it would take THAT much work to rework the electronics. Ask Jim
Williams or one of those folks if they know of any standard mods.
Scott Dorsey
>maybe an RTT MKL-102. To my ears it's much more desireable than a Rode NTV.
That's not saying very much now, is it?
WillStG
<<Wasn't it Hitler that said if you repeat a lie often enough, and loud enough
people will begin to believe it? I think it was Hitler...I'm pretty sure it
was Hitler...>>
Ok, Fletcher has called "Hitler" (which means we have to end this thread,
it's the rules on usenet <g> ), but before it ends let me say if you do a deja
news search on this subject you might find a more interesting discussion thread
we had about this mic about a year and a half ago. Harvey Gerst, Ty Ford,
Stephen Paul, Fletcher, quite a discussion for such a kinda cheap mic, with me
saying I thought my Solidtube just didn't sound as bad as Fletcher thought it
did . I think Mike Rivers said something like "shut and record something
already will ya?", so I wrote a little cajun ditty lamenting Fletcher's lack of
love for hamsters (ummm, guess you had to be there...)
Mic repair/mod pioneer Stephen Paul said because of the way these mics
were built the capsules would never stay tensioned properly, and so as far as
_capsule_ modding there wasn't much he could do to the mic. He did say though
that guys had sent him even cheap 414's and asked him to mod them and been
quite pleased with the results, but if you want to go with a custom Stephen
Paul modded mic, he felt there were better choices. Then Stephen said he
really wasn't really a mic snob though and he recorded David Lindley in the
bathroom quite often.
I'm still pondering that one....
Mike Rivers
> Then Stephen said he
> really wasn't really a mic snob though and he recorded David Lindley in the
> bathroom quite often.
That doesn't necessarily mean that they were both in the bathroom
together, or quite often.
--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mri...@d-and-d.com)
WillStG
<<wil...@aol.com writes:
> Then Stephen said he really wasn't really a mic snob though and he recorded
David Lindley in the bathroom quite often.<
>>That doesn't necessarily mean that they were both in the bathroom together,
or quite often.>>
Hey, I didn't mean it like that! Just a little bathroom humor... < g
> Actually I think he said he recorded him "playing his violin in the bathroom"
, not sure what kinda non-snobby mic he said he used.
Goober
> Some of the greatest vocals of all time were captured with with a Shure
SM-57 and
> no tubes at all, some were captured with a $20,000 Ela M 251 that was
specially
> modified for the singer by one of the 'microphone modification genius's.
So why could you not use an AKG solidtube as well? These are not bad
sounding mics, and do have their own sound, as much as a 57 or a u87 has, so
why so down on them?
Scott Dorsey
There is no mike which is completely useful.
However, there are a lot of mikes which have extremely limited utility
given their cost. The SolidTube is probably less useful in the studio
than an SM57 or a 635A, and it costs many times more. This makes folks
pretty down on them, even though it may have occasional uses.
I'm down on the Sony 800G too. It's a great microphone, but for what
they charge for it, I'd want something absolutely spectacular, not
just great.
If the SolidTube cost $50, I'd want everybody to buy one. But it doesn't.
Stephen Bennett
>
> If the SolidTube cost $50, I'd want everybody to buy one. But it doesn't.
Well, I got mine for about 250 dollars - I think that's a bargain!
Fletcher
> > just great.
> >
> > If the SolidTube cost $50, I'd want everybody to buy one. But it doesn't.
>
> Well, I got mine for about 250 dollars - I think that's a bargain!
>
I'd say that's about right...maybe a little high for value I've found in it.
Stephen Bennett
"Fletcher" <Flet...@mercenary.com> wrote in message
> I'd say that's about right...maybe a little high for value I've found in
it.
No, come on Fletcher, don't hold back. say what you really mean:-)
After reading all your comments on your intense dislike for this mic, I
spent a few hours comparing the recordings I've done with it and my other
vocal mics (Meekrophone, U87). I honestly can't see why you hate it so much.
On some voices it's so obvioosly superior to the others. It's my best
acoustic guitar recording mic too. It's warm & full of body for breathy
voices and it's fatness and lack of excessive top make it very suitable for
sibilant singers. It sounds great on my voice. It's no worse than my other
mics, just different. Perhaps you can't find a use for it. Others can. But I
honestly can' see how you can say it's a 'bad' microphone - perhaps you had
a duffer? Or perhaps I have a good one.
Luke Kaven
what used to be a great line of mics. First they stopped making the CK12
capsule in a transparent attempt to cut costs with a huge sacrifice in
quality. By several reports, they even replaced some existing CK12s with
their newer inferior plastic-ringed capsules on mics sent in for service,
depriving the original owners of this valuable item. Then of course, they
continued to make the worst low-priced mics on the market (C1000, etc). All
of this seemed to add up to a reckless disregard for their customers and
their own distinguished past. For reasons like this, one doesn't find much
in the way of charity for AKG these days.
Stephen Bennett <s.be...@uea.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:9ac2hm$tlt$1...@cpca14.uea.ac.uk...
Rob Adelman
Luke Kaven wrote:
> By several reports, they even replaced some existing CK12s with
>their newer inferior plastic-ringed capsules on mics sent in for service,
>depriving the original owners of this valuable item.
They did it to me. I didn't know any better, until years later.
Rob Adelman
hank alrich
> 'microphone modification genius's
Shit. Not this again.
Please see the punctuation subthread of the grammar subthread of the
whatever-that-thread-used-to-be thread.
--
hank alrich * secret__mountain
audio recording * music production * sound reinforcement
"If laughter is the best medicine let's take a double dose"
Daniel Fuchs
>
> Fletcher <Flet...@mercenary.com> wrote:
>
> > 'microphone modification genius's
>
> Shit. Not this again.
>
> Please see the punctuation subthread of the grammar subthread of the
> whatever-that-thread-used-to-be thread.
>
Thanks... I've been seeing "idea's", "arpeggio's" and stuff like this
here today... Can't stand it....
Daniel
Ted Spencer
Someone said recently (here?) that apostrophes used to indicate a possesive but
now they're just a warning that an "s" is coming : )
Lynn Fuston
>but now they're just a warning that an "s" is coming : )
>
>Ted Spencer, NYC
That's ab'solutely right. For 'sure. Enough 'said.
Lynn Fuston
3D Audio Inc
Music Mixing and Mastering
On a scenic hilltop outside of historic
Franklin, Tennessee
http://www.3daudioinc.com
email:go3d...@aol.com