AKG C451- solo or pair.. worth it?

[maderic]

Originally Posted by moon

Just discovered this site with an extensive range of sample clips from different mics.

The AKG 451 does sound nice in the acoustic guitar clip.

Thanks for the link.. maybe it doesnt come across my crappy laptop earbuds, but I couldnt hear much difference between the AKGs and say Sure SM57s... I hope if I invest 900+ in a couple of AKG 451s, I'll be able to hear an appreciable increase in quality over, say, $100 Mics!! (I know it can be a bit subjective, but thats a bit of money!).

If only I could try it out first.

[moon]

I'm listening through an M-Audio 2496 and Sony 7506 headphones and I think there is a significant difference between these two mics. The AKG is richer and more focused and the SM57 is much "scratchier" sounding. It's definitely not capturing as much of the original sound. If the guitar was a minor part of the mix the SM57 might be good enough, but for solo work I'd strongly prefer the AKG 451.

I'd also like to hear it up against an ADK A6 at half the price - that's the mic used on the dreamguitars.com samples I mentioned earlier.

[moon]

Somebody ought to mention these as well. You can hear an un-modded Mk 012 in the comparison site.

A Schoeps would be nice though...

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by maderic

Thanks for the link.. maybe it doesnt come across my crappy laptop earbuds, but I couldnt hear much difference between the AKGs and say Sure SM57s... I hope if I invest 900+ in a couple of AKG 451s, I'll be able to hear an appreciable increase in quality over, say, $100 Mics!! (I know it can be a bit subjective, but thats a bit of money!).

On my Mac Book speakers, there's not a big difference.

Not that I'd expect there to be and thanks for all the hard work in putting those samples up there.


Regards,

Ty Ford

[maderic]

I think I'm paring it down here.. now, to let you know the application, I will be using these mics to record acoustic guitars, but to be mixed in with vocals and sometimes other instruments.. some songs will have the acoustics as a prime element.... the guitars I will be recording are a Martin HD-35 6 string and a Guild F-512 12 string...

... with these guitars, I want to capture as much of the beautiful natural sound that they produce.. so from what I've been reading, the Sure SM81s seem to do the trick (flat response, captures the sound accurately).

Right now I'm down to AKG c-451b, Sure SM-81, Oktavia MK012... I would even entertain Neumann KM-84s (if they truly produce a noticeable superior sound). As a bonus, if I can use any of these mics for vocal applications, thats a bonus, but not my prime requirement

[ChuckS]

Not sure if this will be helpful or not, especially since there are lots of variables, but here are links to a few recordings I put on SoundCloud.

This first link is using a single Oktava mc-012. There's more description of the setup, guitar, etc when you get to the link.

http://soundcloud.com/chuck_s/sets/bresnan-gs/s-3BtzV

This second link is using the Oktava mc-012 and a Cascade ribbon for a stereo recording. There are lots of other changes compared to the first link; different guitar, different room, etc.

http://soundcloud.com/chuck_s/sets/p...rdings/s-3gW5b

[maderic]

Thanks Chuck.. great playing.. at this point I am actually leaning towards the Oktavas... looks like one of the top performance/$ ratios out there.

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by maderic

Thanks Chuck.. great playing.. at this point I am actually leaning towards the Oktavas... looks like one of the top performance/$ ratios out there.

Hmm,

If you can't afford the Schoeps, I'd lean toward the AT 4053B or Audix SCX-1 HC.

Regards,

TyFord

[Sage97]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Hmm,

If you can't afford the Schoeps, I'd lean toward the AT 4053B or Audix SCX-1 HC.

Regards,

TyFord

Ty,

I like the Audix suggestion.

How about the Peluso CMC6 (or something like that).

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by Sage97

Ty,

I like the Audix suggestion.

How about the Peluso CMC6 (or something like that).

tried 'em and (sorry) not a fan.

Ty

[Sage97]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

tried 'em and (sorry) not a fan.

Ty

Thanks again.

Got my eyes on a matched pair of the Audix model you suggested.

[moon]

This isn't helping to narrow the field but I liked the sound of the Josephson C42's in this clip. According to the reviewer they are a bright-sounding mic. Sound sweet though, not harsh.

[maderic]

Thanks for all your input... in the end, I've purchased a matched pair of Oktava MK-012 with the 3 capsule options. They're being shipped now.

[Sage97]

Originally Posted by maderic

Thanks for all your input... in the end, I've purchased a matched pair of Oktava MK-012 with the 3 capsule options. They're being shipped now.

The modded ones? Enjoy and give us a review or post some clips when you can.