Shure SM81 vs Oktava MK012, vs Neumann km184

[Al Acuff]

The SM81 has been used on many many records. JD Sumner used it as a vocal mic. It's a common choice for acoustic guitar. It hold's it's value and if you list one on eBay it will sell quickly at a good price. If it breaks Shure will fix it and they are in the US so you won't have to ship your mic to Germany.

I love collecting microphones but the mic isn't what makes you sound good. It's the song and the performance. When I lived in Los Angeles I knew folks with number one hit records. If I went to hear one of them in church or at a neighborhood bar they made those cheap PA system sound great.

It's the singer (or the guitarist) that makes the microphone sound good.

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

The SM81 has been used on many many records. JD Sumner used it as a vocal mic. It's a common choice for acoustic guitar. It hold's it's value and if you list one on eBay it will sell quickly at a good price. If it breaks Shure will fix it and they are in the US so you won't have to ship your mic to Germany.

I love collecting microphones but the mic isn't what makes you sound good. It's the song and the performance. When I lived in Los Angeles I knew folks with number one hit records. If I went to hear one of them in church or at a neighborhood bar they made those cheap PA system sound great.

It's the singer (or the guitarist) that makes the microphone sound good.

Too bad we don't have "stickies" for individual posts. This one should be at the top of the "RECORD" section, imho.

Fran

[Al Acuff]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

Too bad we don't have "stickies" for individual posts. This one should be at the top of the "RECORD" section, imho.

Fran

Thank you for your kind words

PS. In the late seventies I worked for a well know guitar tech in Venice Beach, CA. My boss had a saying (he had lots of them) that went, "It's a poor workman that blames his tools."