Fellow Europeans...finally

[The Low Volta]

Like a lot of others here on MDCF, I got my Hi-MD for recording. My first need was to record interviews, lectures and discussions for my university work (and masters thesis), but gradually, after reading MDCF for a bit I got to see the live music recoding potential of MD.

I decided to throw myself onto this aspect, as I'm a frequent festival and club visitor and Belgium has some of the best festivals/clubs in Europe, and Dutch/French and even British ones are also within reach. But soon my urge was tempered a bit! As a poor student my budget wasn't really big to start with and especially after buying my NH900 (when it was still €250) and a new portable (so SS would run and other things) it was really low. So naturally the very cheap SoundPro' BMC2's caught my attention, but then horror struck me: after adding all extra costs (shipping, import taxes VAT) the BMC2's ($39) and a battery box ($49) would cost me $170!! The CS binaurals - which I liked better but are more pricy - really didn't fit my budget anymore because of this anti-import behaviour.

I had almost given up on live-recording until I stumbled upon Soundman (a German mic manufacturer) after reading someone mentioning them here on MDCF. They are German so shipment within the EU is not bothered by any import-crippling-taxes. They do ship overseas and will apply reduced prices (minus the 16% VAT) when doing so (and also have overseas dealers).

Just take a look at the different models on their site... they look like brilliant little binaural mics, with good frequency response and S/N ratio. For taping live music of the harder type or in small/loud clubs (like I would like to do), the Klassik version's max SPL (108/128dB) might be a bit risky, but they do have a special Rock version which is 22dB less sensitive. You can get the mics separately or with a battery box (the A3 adapter) which has an additional -20dB switch to reduce the risk of clipping when recording close to the max SPL (the 128dB mentioned above is with the -20dB switch on).

They aren't as cheap as the BMC2's, but if you remember how much the low-cost mics actually cost when importing, they aren't that expensive either (about €195 for the Klassik or Pop/AV and €247 for the Rock version, both times A3 adapter included). And besides, I'm pretty sure that they will be 'not just good' but 'really brilliant' or 'outstanding'... as has been confirmed by the BBC and the RTBF (PSB from the French speaking part of Belgium) who both use these mics.

Correspondence (in English or German) with 'Soundman' Rolf himself has been easy and he will honestly advise the best model for your needs, if you mention what you want to record. I have just ordered me a pair of OKMII-R(ock) and A3 and went a bit over the top by ordering the OKMI (speech) mic too as I'm fed up with my Sony mono mic (whose unnatural soundcolor makes listening back to interviews a pain in the behind). As soon as I've had a chance to do some serious recording (won't be right away, as I'm very busy writing my thesis, I've even had to resell my ticket to a brilliant festival ) I will post some clips and I promise to write a very thorough review of the little mics as well (but keep in mind, they will be my first stereo mics, so a real comparisson will be impossible)...

But I'm so sure they will be just fine, no even better, that I thought I'd share my views already... they appear to be comparable to the top (midrange costwise) mics you can get from N-Am, but my fellow Europeans, without the extra import costs, you can get so much more bang for your buck (euh euro)...

Sorry for this commercial ranting, but I'm really delighted by this find

Greetings, Volta

P.S.: if someone is convinced and beats me to a clean recording with these babies...feel free to post your clips/review, I will add my insights later anyway...

Edited June 3, 2005 by The Low Volta

[greenmachine]

You've been recording monoaural as yet? You'll be impressed how a second channel can change the whole image, especially with such an advanced technique as binaural recording. Welcome to the real world.

[The Low Volta]

You've been recording monoaural as yet? You'll be impressed how a second channel can change the whole image, especially with such an advanced technique as binaural recording. Welcome to the real world.

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haha, all my live music recording has indeed been limited to mono recordings with a lousy Sony mono mic which has a response of 100Hz-15kHz, without an attenuator or batt-box... so you will not be surprised that I have only taped 2 shows (rather just as a test whether I could get the recorder in and could stay stealth during the entire show, it also was handy for learning to check levels etc but I didn't expect any results), and that both results were horrifying to say the least

But I have listened to recordings made by friends who use (old and much overpaid) N-Am equipment, so I know how stereo should sound

Unfortumately their mics are nearly finished (and so are their recorders) so now it's up to me to continue our little concert-memorabilia legacy... therefore I was searching for some good binaurals and a way to keep 'em stealth in a good position (not quite sure about the last point: the Soundman binaurals really look like earplugs, so could just go with the 'earplugs against hearing damage'-look and explanation or try my mic-cap idea I've been brooding on for some time [attachmentid=329] but the design still has to be adapted to the Soundman-elements as it was originally designed for SP-BMC2's)

[greenmachine]

Just stumbled on some interesting OKM samples in the archive:

http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=19394

http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details...dRecordings2003

I'm not sure about your mic-cap idea though, i think placing the microphones up front would change the sound noticeably, whether it be in a positive or negative way, anyway it wouldn't be 'binaural' anymore.

[The Low Volta]

I'm not sure about your mic-cap idea though, i think placing the microphones up front would change the sound noticeably, whether it be in a positive or negative way, anyway it wouldn't be 'binaural' anymore.

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I forgot where exactly I read this, but binaural is indeed just a way of mic placement and directing both elements more towards the soundsource (but separated a bit) does not give the same spatial soundpicture as binaural when played back through headphones, but a clean stereosound especially suited for playback through speakers (which is actually what I intend)

but believe me, once I get these little beauties, I WILL experiment with binaural AND stereo setups! I'm very interested in hearing true binaural recordings, especially after your convincing words in some other threads, greenmachine.

greetings, Volta

[greenmachine]

I'd really like to join your praises, but i think this manufacturers' microphones are still way too expensive and pro-orientated to be widely accepted by average users. There needs to be an european competition in the low to mid price range as well. Maybe we should build our own company.

[Wedge]

I had considered OKM when looking at mics. The only one I would have bought would have been the OKM II Rock.

But the problem with these are they are great for loud rock shows, but I also want to record quieter shows (e.g. acoustic) - and for these kind of shows, the Rock is no good - it is prone to generate feedback (I got this from Soundman's site).

So I plumped for a Sound Professionals CMC-2 (and brilliant it is too), along with a second hand Core Sound Binaurals I got from a chap in Germany.

If you are going to mainly record very loud shows, then the OKM II Rock should suit you fine.

[greenmachine]

...for these kind of shows, the Rock is no good - it is prone to generate feedback (I got this from Soundman's site).

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Huh? You might get feedback in live sound reinforcement applications, but for pure recording without live monitoring there can't be any. If you use headphones for realtime monitoring and place the mics far enough apart, the risk to get feedback is still very low with any microphone.