[Arkansan Raider]

Has anyone tested this mic?

I'm kinda' interested in a ribbon mic, but I own a Rode K2 and I don't
know what a ribbon mic is gonna' do with my voice compared to that.

My voice is rather brassy in my high range, but rounded and rich in my
low range--I'm primarily a contrabass vocalist, but I also sing some
rock vocals.

In that upper range, I tend to take on a Jagger/Lennon quality (not
saying I'm at that level, just saying what it sounds like to me). In my
lower range, I'd say it's more of a Chris Isaak sound--though several
octaves lower.

If it helps, I sing lower than the typical four string bass guitar in
full voice, and gravel down below the last note on the piano. My upper
range gets up to A above middle C before I have to use falsetto--which
sounds again like a Chris Isaak falsetto.

That falsetto can reach up another couple of octaves, but I generally
don't go much over an octave and a half or so to stay melodic with it.

I'm wondering if this ML19 is going to help much with my vocals, or if
it's more of an instrument mic, or if it just needs to be avoided,
period. I'm wanting to mellow out some of the brassiness in my voice,
because the K2 seems to show off the brassiness. OTOH, I don't want to
go muddy with it.

Any ideas?

---Jeff

[Scott Dorsey]

Arkansan Raider wrote:
Has anyone tested this mic?

Yes, it's actually one of the better Oktava ribbons.

I'm kinda' interested in a ribbon mic, but I own a Rode K2 and I don't
know what a ribbon mic is gonna' do with my voice compared to that.

My voice is rather brassy in my high range, but rounded and rich in my
low range--I'm primarily a contrabass vocalist, but I also sing some
rock vocals.

I'm not going to try and predict what it will sound like, but the first
thing you will notice compared with the K2 is that there is no presence
peak and the top end is very mellowed down in comparison.

I'm wondering if this ML19 is going to help much with my vocals, or if
it's more of an instrument mic, or if it just needs to be avoided,
period. I'm wanting to mellow out some of the brassiness in my voice,
because the K2 seems to show off the brassiness. OTOH, I don't want to
go muddy with it.

Any ideas?

I like it for a lot of things, but it's not going to add the kind of
artificial detail on top that people want for pop vocals today.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Arkansan Raider]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
Arkansan Raider wrote:
Has anyone tested this mic?

Yes, it's actually one of the better Oktava ribbons.

I'm kinda' interested in a ribbon mic, but I own a Rode K2 and I don't
know what a ribbon mic is gonna' do with my voice compared to that.

My voice is rather brassy in my high range, but rounded and rich in my
low range--I'm primarily a contrabass vocalist, but I also sing some
rock vocals.

I'm not going to try and predict what it will sound like, but the first
thing you will notice compared with the K2 is that there is no presence
peak and the top end is very mellowed down in comparison.

I'm wondering if this ML19 is going to help much with my vocals, or if
it's more of an instrument mic, or if it just needs to be avoided,
period. I'm wanting to mellow out some of the brassiness in my voice,
because the K2 seems to show off the brassiness. OTOH, I don't want to
go muddy with it.

Any ideas?

I like it for a lot of things, but it's not going to add the kind of
artificial detail on top that people want for pop vocals today.
--scott


Thanks, Scott! Much appreciated.

Question: Is this, then, actually more of a crooner mic? There are some
songs that I'd like that effect on.

---Jeff

[Scott Dorsey]

Arkansan Raider wrote:

Question: Is this, then, actually more of a crooner mic? There are some
songs that I'd like that effect on.

I don't know. It's the classic sort of thing for that job, but I have
even used them (or BK-5s, which are a somewhat swankier version of the
same concept) for spot mikes on classical tenors. It's definitely very
different than what you're used to, if you're used to the U87 kind of thing.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Arkansan Raider]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
Arkansan Raider wrote:
Question: Is this, then, actually more of a crooner mic? There are some
songs that I'd like that effect on.

I don't know. It's the classic sort of thing for that job, but I have
even used them (or BK-5s, which are a somewhat swankier version of the
same concept) for spot mikes on classical tenors. It's definitely very
different than what you're used to, if you're used to the U87 kind of thing.
--scott

Okay, roger that. I may have to try it out.

Thanks again, Scott!

---Jeff