Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:13:09 -0400, James O'Connell wrote
(in article ):

Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.

Regards,

Ty Ford






-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:13:09 -0400, James O'Connell wrote
(in article ):

Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.

Regards,

Ty Ford






-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

Now if only something could be done with the 8 or 9 crappy transistors in
that mic...



"James O'Connell" wrote in message
...
Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them
in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much
more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less
sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure
if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear
them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

Now if only something could be done with the 8 or 9 crappy transistors in
that mic...



"James O'Connell" wrote in message
...
Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them
in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much
more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less
sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure
if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear
them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them
in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my
vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much
more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less
sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not
sure if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear
them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound
much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for
more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes
for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.

Never assume a tube that sounds good in guitar amps will sound good in
studio or hi-fi gear. For example Svetlana's are great value for guitar,
but pretty nasty for full-range use.

The NTK can use any ECC88 variant (E88CC, CCa, PCC88, 6DJ8, 7DJ8, 6922,
7308, to name a few). They come with Sovtek 6922's, even if they have a JAN
Phillips label. A US-made JAN Phillips 6922 is a good upgrade option,
Siemens CCa is probably the best you'll find.

Here's a page with all the compatible types and a good european source for
vintage tubes:
http://www.machmat.com/sales/ecc88.htm

Of the tubes listed I'd say the NOS Tesla E88CC's are the best value at
24euro or 59 for a matched pair.

Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them
in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my
vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much
more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less
sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not
sure if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear
them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound
much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for
more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes
for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.

Never assume a tube that sounds good in guitar amps will sound good in
studio or hi-fi gear. For example Svetlana's are great value for guitar,
but pretty nasty for full-range use.

The NTK can use any ECC88 variant (E88CC, CCa, PCC88, 6DJ8, 7DJ8, 6922,
7308, to name a few). They come with Sovtek 6922's, even if they have a JAN
Phillips label. A US-made JAN Phillips 6922 is a good upgrade option,
Siemens CCa is probably the best you'll find.

Here's a page with all the compatible types and a good european source for
vintage tubes:
http://www.machmat.com/sales/ecc88.htm

Of the tubes listed I'd say the NOS Tesla E88CC's are the best value at
24euro or 59 for a matched pair.

Ty Ford wrote in message ...
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:13:09 -0400, James O'Connell wrote
(in article ):


Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.


Ty, are there certain clients for which you use the "very good" tube,
and then some clients for which you use the "magic" tube? g

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com

Ty Ford wrote in message ...
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:13:09 -0400, James O'Connell wrote
(in article ):


Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.


Ty, are there certain clients for which you use the "very good" tube,
and then some clients for which you use the "magic" tube? g

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com

On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 16:21:49 -0400, Karl Winkler wrote
(in article ) :

Ty Ford wrote in message
...
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:13:09 -0400, James O'Connell wrote
(in article ):


Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.


Ty, are there certain clients for which you use the "very good" tube,
and then some clients for which you use the "magic" tube? g

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com

Hi karl,

Well they were his mics not mine. I found it pretty interesting. I had
thought that the tubes were basically there to perform an impedance change
function, rather than an audio function. Maybe you could shed some light on
the 67. I'm guessing that different tube mic might use the tube differently.

Regards,

Ty



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 16:21:49 -0400, Karl Winkler wrote
(in article ) :

Ty Ford wrote in message
...
On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 00:13:09 -0400, James O'Connell wrote
(in article ):


Good to know. I have a friend with a Neumann U67. He has two old tubes for
it. One makes the mic sound very good, the other makes it sound magical. I
have an NTK. I wonder what one of Aspen Pittman's special groove tubes
replacements would do? They really made a big difference in my old fender
amps.


Ty, are there certain clients for which you use the "very good" tube,
and then some clients for which you use the "magic" tube? g

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com

Hi karl,

Well they were his mics not mine. I found it pretty interesting. I had
thought that the tubes were basically there to perform an impedance change
function, rather than an audio function. Maybe you could shed some light on
the 67. I'm guessing that different tube mic might use the tube differently.

Regards,

Ty



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

"Ty Ford" wrote in message
...


Hi karl,

Well they were his mics not mine. I found it pretty interesting. I had
thought that the tubes were basically there to perform an impedance change
function, rather than an audio function. Maybe you could shed some light
on
the 67. I'm guessing that different tube mic might use the tube
differently.

With such incredibly high impedance at the capsual, I would have thought
that even the subtlest of changes around the impedance convertor could
potentially have a huge impact on the sonic performance of a condensor mic.
Any variation of capacitance or inductance across the capsual is going to
have a big effect on the mic when you are talking about giga-ohms of
impedance. Fets are virtually an open circuit at the gate, but I would
guess that the internal capacitance of tubes would vary from model to model.

Bill Ruys.

"Ty Ford" wrote in message
...


Hi karl,

Well they were his mics not mine. I found it pretty interesting. I had
thought that the tubes were basically there to perform an impedance change
function, rather than an audio function. Maybe you could shed some light
on
the 67. I'm guessing that different tube mic might use the tube
differently.

With such incredibly high impedance at the capsual, I would have thought
that even the subtlest of changes around the impedance convertor could
potentially have a huge impact on the sonic performance of a condensor mic.
Any variation of capacitance or inductance across the capsual is going to
have a big effect on the mic when you are talking about giga-ohms of
impedance. Fets are virtually an open circuit at the gate, but I would
guess that the internal capacitance of tubes would vary from model to model.

Bill Ruys.

Any contemporary transformerless mic is going to have transistors, including
the likes of Neumann. How exactly are the transistors in the NTK crappy?

Bill Ruys.

"JK" wrote in message
...
Now if only something could be done with the 8 or 9 crappy transistors in
that mic...



"James O'Connell" wrote in message
...
Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them
in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my
vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much
more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less
sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure
if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear
them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound
much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for
more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

Any contemporary transformerless mic is going to have transistors, including
the likes of Neumann. How exactly are the transistors in the NTK crappy?

Bill Ruys.

"JK" wrote in message
...
Now if only something could be done with the 8 or 9 crappy transistors in
that mic...



"James O'Connell" wrote in message
...
Hey all. My friend gave me a set of NOS Mullard CV2493's and I put them
in
my pair of Rode NTK's. I have done my first tests on ac gtr and my
vocals
through an API 312. WOW! Huge difference! Smoother highs and a much
more
natural response. Definitely mellowed out the top end. Much less
sibilant
on vocals and less annoying pick noise on a freshly strung Martin HD-28.
Also, the low mids felt more robust (not wooly though), but I am not sure
if
that feels that way because of the smoother top. I can't wait to hear
them
on drums. I was very skeptical, but I am very happy. The mics sound
much
warmer and "vintage" in a very good way and now they will be used for
more
than just 2nd choice room and vocal mics.

Just my thoughts and I thought you all might be interested.


http://twintwelve.net/

Bill Ruys wrote:

With such incredibly high impedance at the capsual, I would have thought
that even the subtlest of changes around the impedance convertor could
potentially have a huge impact on the sonic performance of a condensor mic.
Any variation of capacitance or inductance across the capsual is going to
have a big effect on the mic when you are talking about giga-ohms of
impedance. Fets are virtually an open circuit at the gate, but I would
guess that the internal capacitance of tubes would vary from model to model.

FETs are much more ugly loads than tubes... they not only have input
capacitance, but that capacitance varies with modulation (imagine a varactor
diode). Tubes don't have that problem, but they do have Miller effect which
results in an input capacitance that is effectively multiplied by the stage
gain.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Bill Ruys wrote:

With such incredibly high impedance at the capsual, I would have thought
that even the subtlest of changes around the impedance convertor could
potentially have a huge impact on the sonic performance of a condensor mic.
Any variation of capacitance or inductance across the capsual is going to
have a big effect on the mic when you are talking about giga-ohms of
impedance. Fets are virtually an open circuit at the gate, but I would
guess that the internal capacitance of tubes would vary from model to model.

FETs are much more ugly loads than tubes... they not only have input
capacitance, but that capacitance varies with modulation (imagine a varactor
diode). Tubes don't have that problem, but they do have Miller effect which
results in an input capacitance that is effectively multiplied by the stage
gain.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Bill Ruys" wrote in message ...
"Ty Ford" wrote in message
...


Hi karl,

Well they were his mics not mine. I found it pretty interesting. I had
thought that the tubes were basically there to perform an impedance change
function, rather than an audio function. Maybe you could shed some light
on
the 67. I'm guessing that different tube mic might use the tube
differently.

With such incredibly high impedance at the capsual, I would have thought
that even the subtlest of changes around the impedance convertor could
potentially have a huge impact on the sonic performance of a condensor mic.
Any variation of capacitance or inductance across the capsual is going to
have a big effect on the mic when you are talking about giga-ohms of
impedance. Fets are virtually an open circuit at the gate, but I would
guess that the internal capacitance of tubes would vary from model to model.

Bill Ruys.

This seems reasonable enough, although I honestly don't know enough
about tube electronics to say it's true or not. But different tubes of
the same designation sound different in every other type of circuit
(IMO) so this would suggest the same thing for mics.

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com

"Bill Ruys" wrote in message ...
"Ty Ford" wrote in message
...


Hi karl,

Well they were his mics not mine. I found it pretty interesting. I had
thought that the tubes were basically there to perform an impedance change
function, rather than an audio function. Maybe you could shed some light
on
the 67. I'm guessing that different tube mic might use the tube
differently.

With such incredibly high impedance at the capsual, I would have thought
that even the subtlest of changes around the impedance convertor could
potentially have a huge impact on the sonic performance of a condensor mic.
Any variation of capacitance or inductance across the capsual is going to
have a big effect on the mic when you are talking about giga-ohms of
impedance. Fets are virtually an open circuit at the gate, but I would
guess that the internal capacitance of tubes would vary from model to model.

Bill Ruys.

This seems reasonable enough, although I honestly don't know enough
about tube electronics to say it's true or not. But different tubes of
the same designation sound different in every other type of circuit
(IMO) so this would suggest the same thing for mics.

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com

"Bill Ruys" wrote in message
news
Any contemporary transformerless mic is going to have transistors,
including the likes of Neumann. How exactly are the transistors in the
NTK crappy?

They have less mystique , and don't glow in the dark. Well, shouldn't ....


geoff

"Bill Ruys" wrote in message
news
Any contemporary transformerless mic is going to have transistors,
including the likes of Neumann. How exactly are the transistors in the
NTK crappy?

They have less mystique , and don't glow in the dark. Well, shouldn't ....


geoff