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[jb3oc]

I've noted a couple of references here to David Pearlman's new microphone the TM LE.

Has anyone had an opportunity to listen to, compare with, try this new microphone?

If so, what are your impressions?

...JB

[J.J. Blair]

Are you sure you're not talking about the TM1?  I can't find anything about a TM LE.

[jb3oc]

See:
  http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/1   35261-gear-shootout-part-deux-mic-pre-compressors-8-10-a-3.h tml

Entry #66, pictures from the evening.

This was the prototype.

It supposedly has a Neumann KK67 capsule with Dave's electronics following, omni and Cardioid modes, and a roll-off switch.  Just wondered if there was any other info out there on this mic...

...JB

[J.J. Blair]

Well, his TM1 also has a K67 type capsule.  Can't find anything regarding this one.  

[Steve Hudson]

That's a TM-2. The LE reference was to a Peluso 2247 LE that someone was comparing with the Pearlman TD-1, IIRC. Dave's sending me a pair of TM-2s next week to demo, they have gotten some nice reviews from some respected folks.

[J.J. Blair]

Here's what I've found, about the technical aspects:

"The mic has the smaller Peluso capsule (32MM) and a 6AK5 tube with a smaller Tamura transformer."

That would be the Peluso, dual backplate, K67 type, same as the TM1.  

I think Dave has some good ears and makes some great mics.  My only complaint about the TM1 is that he kept revising the thing for various reasons, so you could never definitively say what it sounds like!  Well, that and the same complaint I have with the Peluso 2247: Don't market it as being a U47 type mic when it's using a K67 type capsule!

Otherwise, he makes great mics for the money.  I've been recommending them for a couple of years.

[jb3oc]

Ahhh, that's good to hear about Pearlman microphones in general.

But I believe that what makes this one the LE or Limited Edition (of the TM-2?) is that instead of the Peluso capsule, he has a limited number of Neumann kk67 capsules he is using in the LE.

?

[Steve Hudson]

JJ's right, it IS cornfusing how many variations of his mics Dave builds. But being a boutique manufacturer, he has the ability to custom-tailor mics to each buyer's taste. When Dave brought the prototype of his Church Cinemike reproduction to Austin last spring, we heard something a bit cloudy in the top end response, so he opened it up, clipped a capacitor off, and voila, top end restored. Plus he's a helluva pedal steel player.

[maarvold]

I own both a TM-1 with a KK47 capsule (different from, and more expensive than, the stock model) and a TM-2 prototype with (Dave told me) a K67 capsule.  They both sound great to me, each in its own way.  The TM-2 really has a significant amount of that "reediness" quality Klaus refers to in the thread I started which he retitled "U47 - Mic Of The Month"

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/18723/1146/

and Dave said that sonically it (the TM-2) was a lot like a 47, but with more top end (at least that's my recollection of what he said).  I would characterize the TM-2 as that big, baritone sound of a good 47 (tube) with top end that is significantly more apparent than a 67.  In truth, I would prefer a more subdued top end (like the 67), but the TM-2 definitely has a 'thing' that I like a lot.  

I initially borrowed the TM-2 to 'test drive' it and bought it immediately after the first session where I used it. I don't know if the TM LE is exactly the same, but I remember Dave talking about [what must be] the TM LE when I gave him the check and he left me with the impression was that it would be substantially the same.  I think he said, regarding the TM-2, "I won't be making those as a model I'll be selling" or something like that.  I was under the impression he would be making them for another manufacturer to sell.  But maybe things have changed there.  

Although I'm primarily mixing these days, I used the TM-2 on Alvin 'Vin' Chia recently (the bass singer in the group Take 6) and it sounded FANTASTIC on his voice.  It also sounded great on a vocal I did with Ellis Hall recently.  And it also worked really well on a female lead vocal I did for a Mattel Barbie commercial.  And it sounded great on bari sax as well.  

Regarding the comment that he changes things: it is a lot like other manufacturers that make the things they sell by hand--they are always looking to refine the model.  Dave has always been very open to addressing any small changes I requested (and I show my gratitude by giving him a nice bottle of wine or some freshly-roasted coffee beans).  

For me it takes a long time to really get to fully know the characteristics of a piece of gear.  I still highly value both my Pearlman mics as they continue to stand up to the test of time.  Are they exactly like the classic mics with which they share common components?  No.  Are they really good-sounding tools that share some of the prized characteristics of mics they are compared to?  Absolutely.  YMMV.  

[J.J. Blair]

Here's what I don't understand: I like the TM-1.  I think it's a great sounding mic.  I just don't get what, if anything about it, resembles a U47.  

Other than the basket design and the round body, which sorta look U47-ish, you can't even begin to compare the sound of the K47 capsule and the K67 capsule, not to mention that this isn't a real Neumann K67 capsule.  Add the absence of the VF14 tube and the BV8 transformer to the mix, and the equation has even less to do with the U47.  

The B.L.U.E.-47s may have had an EF86 and a different transformer, but at least they were using the correct capsule-type.  That mic sounded like a U47 should sound, with the exception of the authoritative low end and low midrange the Neumann electronics give you.  But the capsule was right, and the response to the higher frequencies was spot on.  The K67 is a much brighter beast, and has that weird phase shift thing that the dual backplate does, which necessitated the NFB filter in the U67.  I have actually put a K67 on a U47 basket to have as an additional flavor, and you couldn't make a more radical change in the sound. Talk about bright and sibilant.

I am just getting a little tired of hearing the Peluso 2247 and TM-1, which are both fine mics that share the exact same capsule, being likened to a U47.  There's nothing U47 about them!  Hell, the Neumann 147 sounds more like a U47 to my ears.

[Steve Hudson]

JJ, your beef is legitimate, and it's endemic to audio gear these days.

So many builders are hyping their products by comparing them to something classic that we all know and love (like U47s, 1073s, LA-2As, etc.). And so many inexperienced and/or naive buyers out there...

It should be enough to say, "Our [insert gear name here] is great because..." and describe the qualities that unit has. It's disingenuous to make stock comparisons to classic audio designs just to stir up attention. That doesn't make the gear bad, it just makes the marketing practices suspect.

[maarvold]

J.J. Blair wrote on Sun, 16 September 2007 15:45

Here's what I don't understand: I like the TM-1.  I think it's a great sounding mic.  I just don't get what, if anything about it, resembles a U47....   ...I am just getting a little tired of hearing the Peluso 2247 and TM-1, which are both fine mics that share the exact same capsule, being likened to a U47.  There's nothing U47 about them!  Hell, the Neumann 147 sounds more like a U47 to my ears.

J.J, I'm assuming you are not specifically referring to my post, but in case you are here are a couple of reminders (clarifications) and amplications:

1. My TM-1 does have a KK47 (an extra cost, and not the way Dave usually sells this mic).  My TM-1 also has an EF-14 (identical schematic to VF-14 but different heater voltage, I believe).  In making the TM-1, Dave also looked at the circuit design in the original U47 and emulated at least one design parameter that he thought was a bit unusual about the circuit, but may account for some aspect of the personality of the original.  This--at least on the surface--makes a lot of sense to me.  My TM-1 sounds a whole lot more similar to BOTH the KK47 and the M7 U47s at Bill Schnee than the Westlake [KK47?] U47 sounds to either one of them.  It's been a while, but my recollection is that it also sounds closer to the 2 Schnee U47s than the U47 at The Complex, although I like the U47 at The Complex very much.  My recollection is that it is leaner-sounding than the couple of 'reedy' U47s I have ever used and maybe more similar in character to my friend Carlos Castro's U47 rebuilds that I believe were done by Martins at Blue.  

2. Head basket--from everything I have ever read--has a large effect on the sound and frequency response of the mic.  

3. I actually said that my TM-2 had the "reediness" I believe Klaus referred to; the TM-1 doesn't have that quality.  I would refer to the "reediness" as a big, baritone quality.  I'm guessing that Klaus's characterization as "reediness' refers to the fullness and richness that a bass clarinet can produce in the middle and low registers.  

4. The "reediness" is apparent on the mic that doesn't have a KK47/EF-14: the TM-2.  The TM-2's head basket is also much closer to a U67 head basket than a U47.  

5. I don't know if my TM-2 prototype is the same, or substantially the same, as the TM LE, but I'm guessing it is, based on my earlier conversations with Dave Pearlman.  

Klaus: please correct or edit me if I have stated or interpreted anything incorrectly.  

[J.J. Blair]

Michael, I wasn't responding specifically to you.  Regardless, the fact is that use of a K47 was a custom option.  Dave normally uses a K67 type, and I find the reference to the U47 even more misleading with the Peluso mic.  2247 is an absolute reference, with 'U' being the 22nd letter in the alphabet.  

I'm sure I would find it less objectionable if they were using K47 type capsules.  

[maarvold]

Again today I was using my TM-1 and TM-2 (prototype) at Schnee's.  And again I was reminded that the "reediness" aspect was present in the TM-2 (K67-based) and not my TM-1 (with optional KK47 and EF-14).  I like both mics a lot--especially the TM-2.  Dave came by to deliver a shock mount for the TM-2 and I now owe him either coffee, wine or (I forgot about this passion of his) some cool old watch or watch-related thing.  While I was there, I asked him about the TM LE and he said it is indeed the same as the TM-2 prototype.  I have to say, I think that mic is really something special.  Really nice on the right singer.  He also said it would be sold exclusively by one person or entity, but not by him directly.  

[steve p]

Dave, where are you ? ......  

I am loving the two TM-2s i have Sn# 3 and 4 )   ive used them on every session possible

I also have  TM-1 with the EF14, Cinamag, and i love it !  it is an amazing mic, ive never compared it to an original 47

As for the TM-2LE, we should ask Dave  



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