Attention Tapers

[Uncle Reg]

I am looking for affordable, but good quality, cardiod condenser microphone(s) to take on the road to record shows. Any suggestions on makes/models and types to avoid would be very helpful.

Also, my minidisc player has an optical input, anyone know if digital outs and optical outs are compatible and, if so, are there any smaller mixers that offer digital/opitical outputs. My research is young, but I thought it smart to go to people with knowledge on the subject early in my travels.

thanks

G

[bradm]

Tungsten Gruvsten is the guy you want to talk to. I did, and ended up with a pair of Oktava MC012s. If you buy them from here, you can get them as matched pairs, which have gone through rigorous quality control. (Oktavas are made in Russia, and the factory quality control is somewhat less than desired.)

You can buy them with a single capsule, or get a set of three (omni, cardioid, and hypercardioid); I got the whole set.

As far as pre-amps go, you'll need portability and battery power. Something from Apogee, like the Mini-Me is expensive, but is one of the "industry standards" in taping land. I think its digital outs are compatible with MDs, but you'll need the right interface cable.

A simpler option might be a basic battery-powered phantom power unit, fed into the mic ins on the MD. This'll be cheaper than a full pre-amp/DAC.

Aloha,

Brad

[Schwa.]

just about every source i have with Oktava's is a pretty good one. i'm not sure if that means that they belong to people who just know what they're doing, or that they're good mics.....for what its worth.

[bradm]

In fact, I bought mine from Tungsten, based on him having done (as he said) months of research, concluding that they had the best bang for the buck.

In terms of the next level of quality, I think I'd have to go from several hundred dollars for the Oktavas to several thousand dollars for, say, Schoeps, and for me, it's just not worth it; my money is better allocated to the things that limit the quality I get, such as pre-amps, DACs, and the recorder itself.

Aloha,

Brad

[Weirdness]

ADK would be a good option for cost effective microphones, likely similarly priced to the Oktavas. AKG also has numerous options at numerous price points as well, the C1000's being a popular choice. Far as a pre/ad goes, the Edirol UA-5 seems to be the best cost effective option and has an optical out for your MD deck but the catch is they have to be modified to work without a laptop.

A great place to do some research on all this would be:

www.taperssection.com