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-   -   New Mic Day - Flea 47 (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=454370)

jim1960 12-29-2016 11:22 AM

New Mic Day - Flea 47
 
I pulled the trigger on a Flea 47. I've been thinking about it for well over a year and Vintage King offered me a pretty good deal - 10% off and 6 months interest free financing. I'm pumped.

The mic and my new love seat arrived within minutes of each other.

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...o/DSC_1027.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...DSC_1028_2.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...DSC_1029_1.jpg

jim1960 12-31-2016 12:26 PM

This has been an excellent New Year's Eve.

Yamaha Man 12-31-2016 12:32 PM

Congratulations !! I can't wait to hear some sample recordings with it....

jim1960 12-31-2016 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac (Post 5176071)
I can't wait to hear some sample recordings with it....

I'll be redoing some vocal tracks with it soon. I'll post some A/B stuff when I can. I had plans for a shootout with a friend who has an assortment of 47ish mics. Unfortunately, he came down with something nasty that has required hospitalization, so that's on hold for a bit. I'll be posting stuff eventually.

KevWind 12-31-2016 01:17 PM

So that is kinnda like a Flea bitten Love Seat photo :D

Good likely hood of being a lifelong keeper .

jim1960 12-31-2016 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind (Post 5176152)
So that is kinnda like a Flea bitten Love Seat photo :D

Good likely hood of being a lifelong keeper .

There's a lot of love in that seat.
And yes, I'm expecting great things from this mic. Mostly I'm expecting to not have to work so hard to make tracks sound good coming from this.

alohachris 12-31-2016 03:49 PM

Congratulations Jim
 
Congratulations Jim,

I hope that your new & great Flea 47 makes you & your recordings very happy in the new year. Nice love seat too.

It's just so great, after the all the MXL's, Rode's & hundred dollar dynamic mic's we see, to have someone share a truly high-end Pro Studio LDC mic with us here at AGF. I don't think I've ever seen a 47 or 47 clone like your Flea mentioned before at this site before, ever. Brave soul, Jim - Ha!

I can't wait to hear your recordings, Jim. Hope it's everything you'd hoped for & more. When your friend recovers, a 47 shoot-out would be a really fun thing to share here. Hope it works out & that he recovers soon.

Truly a Happy New Year for you, brother.!

A Hui Hou!
alohachris

PS: Wonder how the Flea 47 stacks up against the Blizzard?

Yamaha Man 12-31-2016 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alohachris (Post 5176348)
alohachris

PS: Wonder how the Flea 47 stacks up against the Blizzard?


I'm curious about that too. I'm expecting the Flea to blow it away, I hope it does. For me though the Blizzard fits within my budget and sounds good enough for what I'm doing. Adding a bit of EQ really brings the Blizzard to life. You probably won't have to do that with the Flea.

jim1960 12-31-2016 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alohachris (Post 5176348)
Congratulations Jim,

I hope that your new & great Flea 47 makes you & your recordings very happy in the new year. Nice love seat too.

It's just so great, after the all the MXL's, Rode's & hundred dollar dynamic mic's we see, to have someone share a truly high-end Pro Studio LDC mic with us here at AGF. I don't think I've ever seen a 47 or 47 clone like your Flea mentioned before at this site before, ever. Brave soul, Jim - Ha!

I can't wait to hear your recordings, Jim. Hope it's everything you'd hoped for & more. When your friend recovers, a 47 shoot-out would be a really fun thing to share here. Hope it works out & that he recovers soon.

Truly a Happy New Year for you, brother.!

A Hui Hou!
alohachris

PS: Wonder how the Flea 47 stacks up against the Blizzard?

Thanks much, Chris,

I have a bunch of songs in various stages of production but over time I'm going to redo all the vocal tracks with the 47. That might not be all that soon because I'm going to invest in some mic pres. Right now I have a a Demeter VTMP-2c and a 2-channel Hardy M1. Both are very good pres but I'm not sure either is the right pre to pair with the Flea for vocals. The Demeter is a tube pre and works well paired with my Blue Kiwi but I'm not a huge fan of the tube mic/tube pre combo. I'll likely give it a go though just because I'm curious. The M1 is a very clean pre and doesn't color the audio. I use it for tracking acoustic guitar and it does a very nice job. Not sure that totally clean is the direction I'd want to go for vocals though.

My plan is to pick up an API 500 series lunchbox and grab a few pres between now and the summer. Hopefully, I can find them used and save a few bucks. The pres I'm leaning towards are the Neve 511, the A Designs P-1, and the Chandler TG2-500. Three very different flavors. We'll see how that goes. Musically, 2017 is going to be a fun year.

Cheers! And Happy New Year!

jim1960 12-31-2016 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac (Post 5176409)
Adding a bit of EQ really brings the Blizzard to life. You probably won't have to do that with the Flea.

I'm certainly hoping to need less eq work with the Flea but I'm sure it will need a little bit of massaging to sit just right in the mix.

KevWind 01-01-2017 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960 (Post 5176429)
Thanks much, Chris,

Right now I have a a Demeter VTMP-2c and a 2-channel Hardy M1. Both are very good pres but I'm not sure either is the right pre to pair with the Flea for vocals. The Demeter is a tube pre and works well paired with my Blue Kiwi but I'm not a huge fan of the tube mic/tube pre combo. I'll likely give it a go though just because I'm curious. The M1 is a very clean pre and doesn't color the audio. I use it for tracking acoustic guitar and it does a very nice job. Not sure that totally clean is the direction I'd want to go for vocals though.


Cheers! And Happy New Year!

The tube mic /tube pre = "too much tube" notion has been around a long time.
And because I had also heard this, it may well have been one reason that why having a good tube pre, I went looking for a good FET to pair with it, and ended up with the Brauner Phantom V FET mic. Albeit the main reason I kept the Brauner was after hearing the combo in my home studio I was hooked . But honestly I would not hesitate to try and probably use my MP2A with a good tube mic

Because while that may have had some merit way back when.
I am not sure that today this isn't simply another left over "old engineering wives tales "
I'm guessing with the quality of todays electronic circuitry that is most likely a non issue.

And that while a great paring is still a viable goal, that the question of tube/tube or SS/SS etc. is likely no longer, much of an issue.

jim1960 01-01-2017 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind (Post 5176993)
The tube mic /tube pre = "too much tube" notion has been around a long time.
And because I had also heard this, it may well have been one reason that why having a good tube pre, I went looking for a good FET to pair with it, and ended up with the Brauner Phantom V FET mic. Albeit the main reason I kept the Brauner was after hearing the combo in my home studio I was hooked . But honestly I would not hesitate to try and probably use my MP2A with a good tube mic

That Brauner/MP2A combo must cause excessive drooling. I know I'd drool a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind (Post 5176993)
Because while that may have had some merit way back when.
I am not sure that today this isn't simply another left over "old engineering wives tales "
I'm guessing with the quality of todays electronic circuitry that is most likely a non issue.

And that while a great paring is still a viable goal, that the question of tube/tube or SS/SS etc. is likely no longer, much of an issue.

I wouldn't be hesitant to use an SS/SS combo. But the tube/tube... my gut tells me I'll get too much noise and so much warmth that it would require quite a bit of taming. In truth though, I've never had the opportunity to try that combination with a quality mic. The only tube mics I have are an AKG Solidtube, an MXL V69, and a few very cheap Chinese knock-offs. I'll absolutely give the Flea a shot with the Demeter and see what happens but it would have to blow me away to stop me from experimenting via the 500 route.

I'm going to pose the "wives' tale" question over on Gearslutz and see what people think about that today. You may be right in that it's a non-issue now.

KevWind 01-01-2017 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960 (Post 5177066)
That Brauner/MP2A combo must cause excessive drooling. I know I'd drool a bit.



I wouldn't be hesitant to use an SS/SS combo. But the tube/tube... my gut tells me I'll get too much noise and so much warmth that it would require quite a bit of taming. In truth though, I've never had the opportunity to try that combination with a quality mic. The only tube mics I have are an AKG Solidtube, an MXL V69, and a few very cheap Chinese knock-offs. I'll absolutely give the Flea a shot with the Demeter and see what happens but it would have to blow me away to stop me from experimenting via the 500 route.

I'm going to pose the "wives' tale" question over on Gearslutz and see what people think about that today. You may be right in that it's a non-issue now.

Actually there have been some older threads On GS about this question, but it might well be time for a new one.

I remember in one older thread someone commented that Eddie Kramer often used tube/tube for vocals.
I do not know about your Demeter but the MP2A is considered on the clean side of tube pres. And remember it is not "noise" so much as "signal to noise" plus tubes allow for slower rise into saturation before breakup . For example for certain when my Brauner breaks, it is VERY quick and very noticeable even thru the MP2A

jim1960 01-01-2017 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind (Post 5177098)
Actually there have been some older threads On GS about this question, but it might well be time for a new one.

I sent you a PM with the GS link.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevWind (Post 5177098)
And remember it is not "noise" so much as "signal to noise" plus tubes allow for slower rise into saturation before breakup . For example for certain when my Brauner breaks, it is VERY quick and very noticeable even thru the MP2A

Are you talking about the kind of distortion that is desirable in some situations, or something else?

KevWind 01-01-2017 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim1960 (Post 5177141)
I sent you a PM with the GS link.


Are you talking about the kind of distortion that is desirable in some situations, or something else?

First I am by no stretch an electrical engineer and this subject gets quickly into some very technical aspects . So with that limited knowledge in mind.
No I talking about something more like clipping
More like this quote from Klaus Heyne

"The one area where the single FET mic will always do more poorly is high sound pressure."


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