Jim Williams wrote on Wed, 21 January 2009 08:49 |
Got $39.95?
MCA SP-1
www.pssl.com
|
Jim posted this into rec.audio.pro a number of times, until I finally thought, what the hell, if he's willing to risk his rep on such a rediculous proposition I might as well try them.
He is absolutely right. These mics are freaks of industrial nature, even without Jim's mods. They have no right to sound as good as they do, nor to be as versatile.
I am not saying dump a U47 and replace it with one of these. I am saying that any time I see someone asking for cheap mic advice, I put forth that these are not only cheap, they are also good.
I have now also used one live for a lovely female vocalist singing standards in a trio with two acoustic guitars backing her, and recently live on a fine Clinesmith resonator. Listening to the results people could not believe that a forty dollar mic was offering such admirable sound quality.
The dobro player was apprehensive about not using his pickup, and I assured him that if the mic didn't cut it we'd certainly use his system. But we have been aiming to get a mic'd sound for our acoustic instruments, and we most certainly did. He had no problems whatsoever.
Note: one will naturally want to open one up. Their internal construction in the amp section is obviously from the Erector Set School of Industrial Design. When reassembling the chassis do not attempt to screw the housing on too tightly or you'll twist the Erector Set stuff apart.
Other than that caveat I can't see spending in the $200-$400 range for a condensor mic. I think the MCA SP-1 silly good for what it costs, and truly decent regardless of cost.
I paid just under $95 for my pair including shipping and California sales tax. I added a pair of OnStage shock mounts for $25 apiece. The mounts are somewhat problematic, but the mics work very well.