MODDING a Cheap Mic = As Good As A HIGH-END TUBE MIC?? (Was Jim Lill Right?)

Comments · 49

• BO

  @BojanBojovic · 2 years ago

  These days you need to try very hard to find gear that will hold your back, but people still believe all sorts of myths.

  24

• PR

  @prodbymarj · 3 months ago (edited)

  Listening here on $20 Pyle speakers smashed into a shoebox, sounds the same have a great day.

  3

• PA

  @paulw.3967 · 1 year ago (edited)

  The Mic Parts RK12 is NOT a clone of the AKG CK12 type capsule (as in the AKG C12, Telefunken ELA M 250, and AKG C 414), as they make it out to be. &nbsp;A CK12 is more complicated in ways that mainly affect its off-axis sound and the consistency of the frequency response across different polar patterns.<br><br>The RK 12 is really just an edge-terminated (no center screw) version of a clone of the Neumann K67/K87 type capsule. &nbsp;The K67/K87 is not particularly hard to manufacture and you can get good clones (normal or edge-terminated) for $30 (cardioid only, one active diaphragm) or $40 (multipattern, both diaphragms metallized) from Takstar or Beijing 797 Audio. &nbsp;YOU SHOULD NOT BUY THE RK47 from Mic Parts because it is nothing special, but they mark it up and sell it as if was a CK12. &nbsp;IT IS NOT.<br><br>The RK47 may not be any better than the K87 type capsule already in your MXL 440 mic. &nbsp;It&apos;s just an edge-terminated version of basically the same capsule, and probably of comparable quality. &nbsp;It isn&apos;t a big upgrade.<br><br>People (even most pros) underestimate how much you can do with EQ to get one mic to sound like another, on-axis. &nbsp;If you&apos;re recording a single instrument close-miked in a in a relatively dead environment, that may be all you need to make one mic indistinguishable from another, at least in a mix. &nbsp;What you can&apos;t do is use EQ to change how the off-axis sound relates to the on-axis sound. &nbsp;If you are recording in a live space, that will affect the sound (often more than you think), and if you&apos;re recording multiple instruments arrayed in space (like a drum set, or an orchestra) in a live space, the off-axis sound matters a lot.<br><br>Nobody should be surprised if you can EQ one large diaphragm condenser to sound a whole lot like another, for recoding one instrument at a time. &nbsp; It can be very hard to tell a $100 condenser mic from a $3000 condenser mic.<br><br>One thing to know about a lot of inexpensive large diaphragm condensers like that MXL is that they use a K67 type capsule, which has a resonance that gives it a peak in the frequency response somewhere around 10KHz or maybe up to 13KHz. &nbsp;Neumann originally designed that capsule to be &nbsp;used WITH EQ to roll off the treble and keep that FR bump from being annoying. &nbsp;(Their U67 and U87 mics have a little EQ circuit built in to roll off the upper treble.)<br><br>Unfortunately a lot of inexpensive mics use that kind of capsule with a circuit with flat frequency response, or with a little bit of treble rolloff, but not enough. &nbsp;You can AND SHOULD EQ them to roll off that bump and not be shrill. &nbsp;Doing it in your DAW works just fine, and does the same thing that Neumann&apos;s EQ circuit does.

  18

• MI

  @mikaellavrell · 1 year ago

  There is so much more body to the modded 440, and the MA-200 feels kind of scooped. It&apos;s much easier to adjust some air into the 440 track in post than to add body to the MA-200.

  3

• TH

  @TheBunkhouseStudios · 2 years ago

  Great video, informative but delivered in an entertaining way

  1

• AK

  @AklemTech · 2 years ago (edited)

  From my tiny phone speaker the modded mic seems to give your voice a studio/professional broadcast quality.

  4

• DJ

  @djentlover · 2 years ago

  That high mis spike can very well be caused by the cheaper circuit and components. I would love to hear a comparison with the mxl circuit and a purpose built circuit with high quality components.

  2

• MA

  @MagnusTimbre · 2 years ago

  Listening on a TV soundbar, the main difference I hear between the tube and modded mics is that the tube mic has less mud and more high end. An audible difference, not by too much. Obviously the less post-processing required the better, but for home recording a modded mic sounds like it&apos;ll take you far.

  12

• JO

  @JoelWetzel · 10 months ago

  I listen through PreSonus Eris E3.5 monitors at relatively low (bedroom) volumes (sensitive apt neighbor) and couldn&apos;t hear any differences. In Lill&apos;s videos I could hear a few differences when he A/B&apos;d cabinets, amps, mic&apos;s, and pickups but not nearly to a degree that would merit championing any one thing over another. My ears, though, are nearly 60 so I may simply be living a diminished life, lol. Kudos on making a good video. Peace.

  1

• TR

  @Treylopez1997 · 10 months ago

  I&apos;m listening thru my sound system with pretty good speakers and I cannot hear any difference but I did hear a difference in Jim&apos;s video

• BL

  @Bleats_Sinodai · 2 years ago

  The phase cancelled recording at the end sounds pretty interesting, could be an useful effect for an intro.

• MU

  @musick777 · 10 months ago

  Great acoustic strumming riff!