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Author Topic: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141  (Read 12859 times)

guitarbth

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Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« on: July 29, 2009, 02:05:18 PM »

Hello all,

How do you guys like the Shure KSM137 and KSM141 small diaphragm mics? They seem to sit at a good price point for a pair of quality, workhorse small diaphragms. I own the KSM44 large diaphragm and it's pretty solid.

Does anyone have experience with these mics and how do they compare?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Brandon
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tom eaton

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2009, 09:21:03 AM »

I have owned a pair of 141s for a number of years.  I can't compare them to the other KSM small diaphragm mics, as I haven't heard the others.  

The 141s are great little mics, very quiet, flexible, honest mics.  I love the mechanical omni/cardioid switch, too.  They are terrific room mics (I sold my Earthworks after buying the 141s), and are great on piano, overheads.. all the typical SDC uses.

tom

Derek DiFilippo

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2009, 02:51:36 PM »

tom eaton wrote on Fri, 31 July 2009 06:21

I have owned a pair of 141s for a number of years.  I can't compare them to the other KSM small diaphragm mics, as I haven't heard the others.  

The 141s are great little mics, very quiet, flexible, honest mics.  I love the mechanical omni/cardioid switch, too.  They are terrific room mics (I sold my Earthworks after buying the 141s), and are great on piano, overheads.. all the typical SDC uses.

tom


Ditto everything Tom said.   I haven't compared with the 137.  

If you head in this direction, I would absolutely go for the 141s over the 137s because the omni option is useful.   I've used them in omni for room mics and also for close mic'ing of banjo and acoustic guitar.  We were surprised at how nice one omni 141 sounded right close to the bridge of the acoustic guitar.

A brief list: acoustic guitar, banjo, "distant" (4 feet away from source) XY-pair for spacious telecaster sounds, drum overheads, omni room mic for ambient stuff, pointed at the forehead of a singer doing BGs (made for a nice diffuse sound that blended well with the main vox), omni inside of a kick drum,  in XY for gang vocals, in roughly ORTF for recording a percussion orchestra (about 20 people), etc., etc.

We listen back and we are pleased with how things are captured.  The people I work with are solid musicians who know very little about recording but a lot about how their instruments sound.  

If you like your KSM44, you'll be happy with a pair of 141s or 137s.   I have compared them with Neumann 184s and Gefell M300s and haven't found the KSM141s to be lacking in any way.  

Other things:  I have had no mechanical or electrical issues with them after a lot of usage.  The variable pad is very useful for snares or other loud things.  The mics are still quiet even with the pad engaged.  The cardioid pattern is very tight so I can use them in more "live" situations and end up with useable bleed.  They put out a lot of level and make an API 3124+ very very very hot even with both the mic and the preamp padded.  The input transformers on my Hardy M1 allow me to keep the pad off the mic in most situations and my ears tell me that's a good thing.  

If you can audition them against other SDCs in that price range, absolutely do so, because everyone's taste is different.
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Senad

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2009, 11:09:15 AM »

I originally bought a pair of KSM 137s for overheads and acoustic gtr but mostly end up using one on snare (with 15 db pad) and the other on the hats. Gives me a nice, fat snare sound angled more parallel to the skin and nice smooth high end usually suits the hihats application. Got a good o/heads sound a couple of times with them, but snare and hats are the main uses for my pair..I think 141s are essentially same mic with the omni option.
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mattrussell

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2009, 01:28:51 PM »

been a while since i checked in on this forum, but i had to chime in and say that my 141's are my secret weapon. i use them on a lot of things ESP piano, acoustic instruments like viola and violin, mallet percussion and on my modded fender champ, it's the only mic i use. used them in x/y in front of an acoustic guitar a while back and i still can't believe the sound i was able to get.  

simply put, get them.  the 137's and 141's are exactly the same except for the mechanical device that makes them omni (which i LOVE having).  they are by far, my favorite pair of SDC mics and i have two pairs of them.



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matt russell
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Jeff Roberts

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2009, 12:14:06 PM »

The KSM 141 in omni is very good for bass cabinets. Check the frequency response curve on the low end.
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Jeff Roberts
Latch Lake Music
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tom eaton

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2010, 07:24:09 AM »

So which do you like better, the 141s or the 141s?

tom eaton

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Re: Shure KSM 137 and KSM 141
« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2010, 07:32:33 PM »

Mine, too!  Someone had posted that they loved the 141s that they had, but had never tried the 141s.  Now that post seems to have vanished into the ether!

t
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