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Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:49 pm
by DesmondWafers
So I was looking to upgrade my old sm57 and this video sold me on the beyer m201:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1cbVS6CcnM

Those little guilds sound amazing as is, but I thought that the mic sounded really nice paired with it. It says m201 in the info, but...it doesn't look anything like it. Anyone know what it is?

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 5:29 pm
by fuzzjunkie
Yeah, I think the main microphone is a Beyer M201. There are 2 microphones being used and the Beyer is at the far right of the frame. I think you’re being distracted by the gooseneck (?) microphone closer to the guitar. I don’t recognize it, but AT, Beyer, and Shure all make them.

Maybe this or similar?

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-C ... 4686695305

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:24 pm
by DesmondWafers
fuzzjunkie wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 5:29 pm
Yeah, I think the main microphone is a Beyer M201. There are 2 microphones being used and the Beyer is at the far right of the frame. I think you’re being distracted by the gooseneck (?) microphone closer to the guitar. I don’t recognize it, but AT, Beyer, and Shure all make them.

Maybe this or similar?

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-C ... 4686695305
Ah, thanks, I didn't notice it peeking out from the side. I've only ever super close mic'd acoustics so I wasn't looking that far out. Whatever the gooseneck is, the combo sounds great.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 6:54 am
by fuzzjunkie
The gooseneck mics are handy because they are a smaller and light and can get in close. A lot are made to be talk-back or oration rather than recording microphones, but there are some made to record drums, and others for woodwinds and strings.

I would imagine that this mic probably specializes in woodwind and string orchestra instruments and they are using it to get the close finger picking tones to blend in with the main recording done by the M201.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:06 am
by Larry Mal
All of a sudden the idea of having a nice gooseneck mic sounds pretty good. I would probably leave that setup more or less permanently, which I cannot do with my mic stands.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:38 pm
by Critical Distance
The microphones in the video are definitely not a Beyer M201 - the mic on the extension tube is an AKG CK28, an early version of the CK1. The other mic is hard to see, at a guess I would say a KM84.
http://saturn-sound.com/selling/list.htm have one for sale with a preamp and also an extension tube, but $$$. There is also an interesting article on the site (in the curios link) about the CK26 and CK28, if that sort of thing floats your boat.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 7:37 pm
by DesmondWafers
Well shit, that’s only a couple of thousand more dollars than the m201!

Thanks for the clarification, though. Back to the drawing board regarding mic upgrades, fuck.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:02 am
by fuzzjunkie
Critical Distance wrote:
Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:38 pm
The microphones in the video are definitely not a Beyer M201 - the mic on the extension tube is an AKG CK28, an early version of the CK1. The other mic is hard to see, at a guess I would say a KM84.
http://saturn-sound.com/selling/list.htm have one for sale with a preamp and also an extension tube, but $$$. There is also an interesting article on the site (in the curios link) about the CK26 and CK28, if that sort of thing floats your boat.
Really strange that they’d call it a Beyer if they’re using a Neumann? That’s like saying they were using a Soundcraft mixer instead of a Neve. It could be, but why?

I can’t tell what the other mic is from my iPhone and YouTube. Its true that it doesn’t really look like a Beyer, but not the Neumann either. At first glance it looked like a Royer 121 to me, but since they claim Beyer, I went with that. Good call on the AKG though.

I don’t record a lot of acoustic guitars, but an AKG-451 was always a solid choice, and they are in the $500 range. The Royer, if it’s that and not a KM84, is around $1200, but you might find one under $1000.

Here’s the AKG vs a similar Neumann:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rZnhtWWOqbY

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:40 am
by fuzzjunkie
I took the time to check the video on a laptop, and it does look like a Neumann KM84. Really strange that they would call it something else, but then they don't mention the microphone closest to the guitar at all.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 1:15 pm
by øøøøøøø
Yes, there is definitely no Beyer M201 anywhere in that shot.

It indeed looks like a C28 with a gooseneck and a KM84 at some distance.

It seems as though the bulk of the sound is the C28... I don't hear anything that sounds like where that KM84 appears to be positioned

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 3:17 pm
by eggwheat
Critical Distance wrote:
Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:38 pm
The microphones in the video are definitely not a Beyer M201 - the mic on the extension tube is an AKG CK28, an early version of the CK1. The other mic is hard to see, at a guess I would say a KM84.
http://saturn-sound.com/selling/list.htm have one for sale with a preamp and also an extension tube, but $$$. There is also an interesting article on the site (in the curios link) about the CK26 and CK28, if that sort of thing floats your boat.
Good spot..yeh CK28 or 26 on a gooseneck..which could be attached to any Akg mic body with that fitting...451, c61, C60, C28..

I have a pair of C61(nuvistor)with CK28’s..I can confirm they sound great on acoustic guitar although the CK1 capsule sounds as good to me on a C61 body.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:40 pm
by DesmondWafers
Kind of a let down as I've been trying to find a decent cheap-ish acoustic mic for solo guitar. I'm not a big fan of my sm57 for that and it's the only mic I have right now. I really like the sound they're getting in that demo and was excited because it was supposedly the sound of $300, not over 2K.


(suggestions welcome, but there's so much info I should probably just do the research myself)

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:56 pm
by Larry Mal
Shure SM81 is a nice microphone on acoustic. Classic, not expensive, a sound you've heard before, easy to use.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 5:10 am
by øøøøøøø
DesmondWafers wrote:
Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:40 pm
Kind of a let down as I've been trying to find a decent cheap-ish acoustic mic for solo guitar. I'm not a big fan of my sm57 for that and it's the only mic I have right now. I really like the sound they're getting in that demo and was excited because it was supposedly the sound of $300, not over 2K.


(suggestions welcome, but there's so much info I should probably just do the research myself)
AKG C451 or C452 will do the job for (relatively) cheap (about $300 used).

Is it as transcendent as a good KM56? No. Will it be more like "what you expect" than an SM57? Most likely.

Re: Can someone identify this mic?

Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2019 5:22 am
by eggwheat
Yes, I'd be happy with a 451 with a CK1 on it. I got my C61's for £600 the pair off ebay 15 years ago..but like everything old people are now asking silly money. I'd never pay the prices asked today for them!