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R/E/P => R/E/P Archives => The Acid Test => Topic started by: itsapleasure on October 14, 2008, 03:16:08 PM

Title: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: itsapleasure on October 14, 2008, 03:16:08 PM

Anyone care to share their opinions of this mic?  

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: maarvold on October 14, 2008, 04:18:43 PM

I really think this mic has something special.  It's got guts & power.  A couple of people have told me that it seems bright, but it doesn't really hit me that way; it is not dark, though.  It has worked great for me on both male and female singers, but there was one female singer who made it sound 'broken' on her voice.  But I've used it and been VERY happy on many singers and in many settings.  It sounded especially good on Alvin Chia--bass singer for Take 6.  Also sounds great, although not quite as 'earthy' as a U67, on sax.  On Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Bands' new cd ("Act Your Age"), all the sax solos and all of Patti Austin's vocals on "September" were recorded with this mic.  

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: Steve Hudson on October 15, 2008, 04:38:00 PM

I've had a pair of these for about a year. They are well-balanced tonally and cut through a mix without being hyped on the top. They have nice low end, especially since I replaced the stock EF95s with NOS Mullards. I especially like them on acoustic guitars because they do have some "weight" as well as detail. Fabulous on electric guitars and pedal steel; I recorded Kim Deschamps (Cowboy Junkies) playing PS through a blackface Vibroverb and it was so sweet. The other producer/engineers at my studio seem to use them a lot, too, so I'll solicit some comments from them as well. I have used all of Dave Pearlman's designs and the TM-LE is by far my favorite.

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: danickstr on October 16, 2008, 05:32:32 PM

I thought it had an OTK7 tube

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: Steve Hudson on October 17, 2008, 02:47:38 PM

danickstr wrote on Thu, 16 October 2008 16:32

I thought it had an OTK7 tube

From the Pearlman web site:

The microphone features ... a hand selected military spec 6AK5 (5654 or European equivalent EF95)...

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: itsapleasure on October 17, 2008, 04:34:39 PM

sounds like a must try.  

Maarvold, I think I understand where you're coming from.  Very interesting...curious if the female "broken" issue was something like what I experienced last week w/ an 87ai.  

Steve, ever directly compare it to a 67?  I'm basically looking for a 67, but can't shell out anywhere near that kinda dough.  

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: Steve Hudson on October 17, 2008, 05:38:25 PM

itsapleasure wrote on Fri, 17 October 2008 15:34

sounds like a must try.   Maarvold, I think I understand where you're coming from.  Very interesting...curious if the female "broken" issue was something like what I experienced last week w/ an 87ai.   Steve, ever directly compare it to a 67?  I'm basically looking for a 67, but can't shell out anywhere near that kinda dough.

I've A/B'ed it with my M269c, which has a bit of an extended top end compared with a U67, but the TM-LE does not have the kind of forward midrange that both of those Neumanns have. On many sources I find that the rich mids of the M269 a bit too much and think the TM-LE is more balanced tonally. For the money, the TM-LE is probably the single best mic in my bag.

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: J.J. Blair on October 18, 2008, 10:26:32 AM

itsapleasure wrote on Fri, 17 October 2008 13:34

Steve, ever directly compare it to a 67?  I'm basically looking for a 67, but can't shell out anywhere near that kinda dough.

I keep saying this in various threads, but the only thing that sounds like a U67 is a U67.  This mic shares the same capsule, and that's about it.  A U67 is a very complicated circuit that has lots of filtering going on, which is a good part of what gives it its tone.  Nobody is recreating that circuit, that I know of.  

As far away from a real U47 as most clones are, this is even further.  It's a very cool mic, but it's really got nothing to do with a U67 sonically.

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: maarvold on October 19, 2008, 01:19:54 AM

J.J. is right: it's not like a 67.  I've talked to Dave about emulating the 67 circuitry, but he wasn't really interested--probably because of the transformer needed.  But I still get plenty of use out of mine and still like it a lot.  

Title: Re: Pearlman Tm-Le
Post by: itsapleasure on October 19, 2008, 04:52:29 PM

eeentereting...

yeah..JJ- I know it's not going to be a 67 clone (due to the reasons that you mentioned), but what you said helps.  

i'll spare you guys w/ any more questions and try to get a hold of one to check out.  

I'm definitely open to other suggestions, but I want to follow the forum rules and not turn this into a GS thing...