Large Diaphram Condenser studio microphone

[Rexx]

I recently bought a nice condenser mic, The Apex 450

It's a vacuum tube dual diaphram condenser
?
Selectable polar patterns with a 9 position rotary switch
Carderoid
Omni Directional
Figure 8

A low frequency roll off switch
A -10db pad switch
a 7 pin XLR cable

It cost me about $570 cnd

One can spend much more for Nuemann's, AKG's...

Anyone else use Tube condensers? :P

[Enigma™]

In the studio I take my lessons in, he uses something very similar to what you just mentioned... VERY nice mic, but he only uses it for vocals and the occasional sample... But it's almost always in it's box...

You should take a pic man! :)

[Digilog]

I wish I could afford a nice tube condenser mic, but alas being a poor college student, I'll stick to my Shure SM-58.

[Tigerfolly]

I've used the Groove Tubes GT55 and the Rode NTK, both around $500 US, and both were great sounding microphones, but I easily prefer the BLUE Baby Bottle ($500), the Shure KSM44, KSM32, or KSM27 (which is my project studio's mic). But then, I use a tube preamp, and tube parametric EQ on vocals, so the benefits of the tube mic are in other pieces of gear.

I find that using a good mic with a good preamp will always sound better than a great mic without any preamp at all. And if you can afford a great mic and a great preamp, then there's nothing you can't get in the studio. If you can afford it, the Neumann U49, U87, Neumann TLM103, BLUE Mouse, BLUE Blueberry, or AKG C414 are absolutely beautiful microphones that each have their own characteristics (although the Blueberry is geared to sound like the U87, and Mouse like a U49 with a larger diaphragm).

You can get a great mic preamp for pretty cheap too. Joe Meek, Focusrite, and dbx all make excellent mic preamps for less than $500. For twice that you can get a nice Avalon, or better Focusrite or Presonus preamp. I find that if I can get some really good gain without distortion, I can add the tube mic feel anywhere else in the chain.

[synthguy]

If you people are choking at the costs of these microphones, keep in mind that you get what you pay for. And if you want your recordings to sound like Dream Theater or Rush in the studio, you'll have to save your pennies to get a pair of good mics and a preamp or two, as the electronics of the preamp make a big difference as Tigerfolly says. There are some excellent budget mics available, but when you want to do a serious recording, you'll need some good mics, so count on paying from $200 - 500 US per mic for a stereo pair. You can flesh out the rest of your mics with good budget units, but to get that sweet stereo acoustic guitar or grand piano recording, you can't skimp too much.

I can see I'll have to do a thread about studio gear in the near future. :)

[Rexx]

Here's a few picktures of the Apex 450
http://www.apexelectronics.com/images/products/apex450.jpg

http://www.apexelectronics.com/images/products/apex450ps.jpg

[Rexx]

What I noticed right away was my vocals sounded much better when I record or even when I crank things loud and rock out.

I couldn't find any reviews on this model and I'm worried that maybe there are better choices within the price range?
It sounds good to me, I guess that's all that should really be important :o

[Over The Edge]

I use my Groove Tubes GT66 which I picked up at Guitar Center for $400. It's not a Neumann but it sounds great none the less. I use it with my Tascam DM24 pres.


FL
www.franklucas.net

[Over The Edge]

Sound on Sound magazine is featuring some amaaaaaazing microphones by Studio Electronics. Some people may be put off that they are made in China but many of the reviewers concur that for the price, which is very reasonable, there is nothing out there that compares.


FL
www.franklucas.net

[keys76]

I own a Joe Meek condensator Mic and I really like this mic.
I'm planning to buy a tube pre-amp for it to make it sound more warm.

jeroen

[Over The Edge]

Has anyone used a Joe Meek mic pre. I've heard some really good things about it.


FL
www.franklucas.net