Affordable Mics for the Whole World

[A440]

For years people have been asking about where to get small affordable mics outside the USA. And now it seems the estimable Greenmachine has started building his binaurals for sale.

Since apparently he's too modest to promote himself in his own thread, I'm taking the liberty of doing so here. This is fantastic news for people who don't want to pay huge shipping fees from the USA.

Here's his site:

http://www.geocities.com/greenmachine_audio/

I don't speak German, but Bestellen is the price list.

Go GM!

Edited July 25, 2006 by A440

[The Low Volta]

I'm using a pair of mics produced by the honerable G. and I must say: "this guy knows his craft!!"

so if you live in Europe (well, in other parts of the world as well, but in Europe it is especially difficult to find cheap/affordable decent steeo mics) and you fancy recording... don't hesitate... great gear, great guy!

[woulfer]

Although I don't have any of Greenmachine's products, I can vouch for the man's knowledge and his willingness to help. Congrats on your new venture, Greenmachine. Nice looking website, by the way. (Too bad I can't read German)

[RockyJ]

From what I can xlat you list s/n as 58db and 60db but the panasonic mics I got recently were spec'd out at 62db. I thought you use the panasonics.

Anyway, good luck and thanks for your DIY.

[greenmachine]

The wm-61 are not easily available where i live. I had to find high quality alternatives. The specs are partly manufacturer's specified values, partly estimated. Don't take them too seriously, they're not 100% accurate but should rather represent a rough orientation point. I might even consider to remove them completely in order not to confuse people with not too important numbers. The various sample recordings tell more about their quality these.

By the way, i don't plan to do this professionally, it's just a hobby, which i enjoy at the moment.

[Ishiyoshi]

Thanks for your generous effort, greenmachine and A440 for bringing this to attention. I will pinned this thread accordingly.

[jonny mac]

Would these mics be good for recording both my own music and lectures/interviews?

[greenmachine]

Lectures/interviews/voice in general should be one of the easiest tasks which virtually any microphone can handle more or less satisfactory. Complex signals like music/noise show the real qualities of the microphones. You can find lots of sound samples made with my microphones in the gallery to judge the quality for yourself:

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m..._album&album=50

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m..._album&album=42

[danreetz]

greenmachine, I really want to check out your site, but it's not loading from Russia. I wish I'd seen this post a few days ago, as I just bought a handmade mic on eBay. Can you possibly list your prices and the details here?

[fatmuttony]

Wow! Way cool. I wish there was an English version of the site though... I can't read any German.

Congratulations GM, on going e-tail

[soundalike]

Just to say that I highly recommend GM's mics and battery box.

I purchased one of each after posting pleas for help from my fellow European MD users! I've been using the mics and BB for live concert recordings with excellent results. I must have been to 30 or so different sized venues to make personal recordings of a range of diverse artists – never any clipping even when it was so loud my ears hurt! When I have more time I'll post some decent quality samples in the Gallery.

I'd also say that the service is excellent too - mic and battery box arrived very quickly and well packed!

PS GM does not know I'm writing this! Maybe it will come in handy when I order my next pair

Cheers

[jonmarcus]

Thanks, people. To be more competitive,

- all MDCF members get 10% off the listed price

- all members with more than 25 posts get 15% off

- all members with more than 250 posts and musicians (prove it) get 30% off

- friends and extraordinarily talented musicians (my decision) get a special price

... for microphones (I currently have two models, battery box excluded from discount)

Don't hesitate to contact me personally for details. I'll start working on an english translation of the website soon.

Hi Greenmachine. I am a relatively new member in the UK and I am very interested in purchasing one of your mics and probably a battery box too. It will be mainly for recording live gigs for my band and band rehearsals, as well as recording vocal ideas for songs.

I don't want to spend much more than £80 for the mic. What are my options and how do you need to be paid? I have had a quick look at your website, but I don't speak German!

Thanks

[The Low Volta]

all info is here (it's still in German, but it's pretty straightforward)

he takes paypall and if you mail him with further enquiries on the email-address you can find on that site I'm sure he'll provide further info as well

*edited so the link points to greenmachine's pricing page again

Edited August 2, 2006 by The Low Volta

[leroy91]

I was at the Frankfurt fair recently and got a pair of high quality binaurals for my MZ-RH1. they are made in Belgium and are amazingly good and quiet for their price (under 250 euro)...they need to be powered by the microphone input of the minidisc or videocam. really worth checking out: www.aevox.be

leroy

[The Low Volta]

leroy...as I live in Belgium I had checked them out and they do make good products... but the price

for the same sort of cash you can get Soundman (soundman.de) binaural mics (used by the BBC and the RTBF etc.) but I really didn't want to spend €250 on mics (especially not on a first set)

I got some greenmachine made mics and I have trouble imagining those expensive mics providing much better SQ in the circumstances most of us use them (taping live concerts,...)

so yeah, if you wanna spend the cash...there are some other options in Europe, but if you want to get started at a reasonable price without dropping SQ much, greenmachine's products definitely deliver more bang for your buck (or hooray for your euro or something )

[Guest admin]

I think it's nice

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[soundalike]

I may have clicked at the wrong time (i.e. if the site is offline to be updated) but it appears that the links in this thread now direct you to an adult dating site! GM, are you branching out into new markets or have you moved your site!?

Perhaps someone could post another link?

Cheers

[jonny mac]

Yeah, I get the dating page too. I tried googling Green machine audio but can only find this thread.

[looonie]

it's actually in his profile http://www.geocities.com/greenmachine_audio/

still no english section though

[greenmachine]

Seems like the free hosting site has gone offline. Until i find a different host, it's been moved here:

http://www.geocities.com/greenmachine_audio/

email:

[attachmentid=1706]

[chriswalmsley]

Just adding my 2p, I've just bought one of greenmachine's binaural mics and it's absolutely brilliant! Road-tested it this evening in both a bedroom rehearsal context and also at a gig in a club, and it has come out great both times.

It was also incredibly reasonable priced, and was with me in a matter of days after I'd got in contact with him.

Looking forward to getting more use out of it!

Cheers

Chris

[octoberwoman]

Hi

Am desperately trying to access GREENMACHINE's site but everytime I click on any number of links posted in this forum and even if I go via google, I get some stupid porn site coming up and cannot get the guy's genuine webpage. Is there another address I can paste into my browser and/or do you have an email address for him as I just want to contact him with a few questions.

May the pornsters who are stealing his web identity go to hell!

[greenmachine]

I see you have found me, got your mail. For others, see post #20. Also, there's always the PM button.

[octoberwoman]

Hi Greenmachine

I'd be interested to hear about your mics and what you could recommend for me. Emailed you at your website address 2 weeks' ago but haven't had a reply (maybe you're away?!) In a nutshell, I am a semi-professional musician (member of British Musicians' Union) and I play double bass. I'm looking for a mic to record my live gigs with, usually 3 - 5 musicians who are either amplified/miked through a PA or a semi-acoustic set up. I need a mic that is sensitive to reproducing a good bass sound but takes account of the high frequencies (i.e. cymbals). I will be recording through a minidisc recorder/player (Sony GZ-755)

What do you make that could cater for this? How much is it and how do I go about ordering if I'm keen? I await your response with interest.

Best wishes

October Woman

[greenmachine]

Hello octoberwoman,

have you checked your 'spam' folder, maybe my reply ended up there? Anyway, i'll send you another message, this time via PM of this board.

[dogville]

all info is here (it's still in German, but it's pretty straightforward)

he takes paypall and if you mail him with further enquiries on the email-address you can find on that site I'm sure he'll provide further info as well

Low volta, your link leads me to a sex-contact page

Regards

Edited August 2, 2006 by dogville

[The Low Volta]

ah yes, I see... that post still has the old link and greenmachine's old address is now indeed not connected to mics in any way

try the address greenmachine provided a couple of posts earlier (http://www.geocities.com/greenmachine_audio/)

PS: I'll edit the old post so I won't provide these gansters with more potential 'customers' anymore

[fanimej]

Maybe this is a stupid question but there's one thing i don't understand about these mics; how do you use them when you're recording? Do you just hold them in your hand or do you lay them on a table or something? They look like small earphones and i can't imagine how any one could use something so slack? Since i've been listening to the samples i know they sure can be used, and that they sound very good but could someone tell me exactly how you use them?! I don't really have any big experience when it comes to mics, but e.g. i've used the MS907 and that i certainly can understand how you hold it when you're recording :-)

[The Low Volta]

hi fanimej... indeed as they are shown here they require quite some imagination to become really usable mics.

Here's a few things I did:

- attached some small clips to them (the smallest electronic gator-clips I could find) using a second layer of heat shrink tube

- I (temporarily) mount them in croakies (a fabric retainer/protector for eye-glasses) just follow the 'stealth setup' link in my signature and you'll understand what I'm talking about

- I've mounted a pair in a small (3cm h/ 4cm w) cardboard pyramid so it can be easily used for conferences/interviews etc.

- I've used a 'helping hand' for electronics and model toys (you know the thing with two arms with gator clips and a magnifying glass) and attached a fabric covered disc onto the magnifying glass to create a stereo separator

... so what's the lesson? Experiment, share your findings and use what works best for you (playback over headphones requires a different setup than playback over speakers,...)

... and most of all, have fun doing so... it is all part of the game

[fanimej]

So basically you have to build your own construction to be able to use these mics? Perhaps that's fun but to me it just sounds complicated Well well, i guess i should buy some recorder first of all, and then start to search for good mics! (I've only tried the MS907 and that didn't impressed me)

Edited December 17, 2006 by fanimej

[A440]

So basically you have to build your own construction to be able to use these mics?

Professional electronics stores sell lavalier microphone clips. You'd have to see what's available where you live, and test what fits the mics.

I use these Sennheiser MZQ2EW with my old Sound Professionals BMC-2, and they're a tight fit around the thinner end of the mic.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...oughType=search

I don't know if Greenmachine's mics are fatter--or cylindrical rather than tapered--but there are other clips around, too. I use these clips--Audio-Technica AT8420--with my Church Audio mics by putting the wire under the holder and then twisting a wire (a trash-bag tie, actually) around the mic to hold it in. They should hold just about any small mic.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...egoryNavigation

Edited December 17, 2006 by A440

[inovermyhead]

sorry to bring back an old thread. I was just wondering what it would cost to import a green machine mic to the US. I am looking for a mic to record some live music. Most of the recording I will do will be open mic stuff, and small/large jazz ensembles, and maybe a wind ensemble or two. I appreciate it!

[A440]

You should send greenmachine a PM through the board.

[inovermyhead]

oops, good idea, sorry

[ametade]

Hi,

I own a Sony ECM-MS907 mic to make music recordinds of mostly Jazz acoustic music (piano + doublebass + drums). I would like to get better quality recordings and I'm thinking of buying a new microphone (stereo) or a pair of mono microphones. Then, I found this forum and the GreenMachine mics

How do these microphones from GreeMachine compare to the Sony ECM-MS907? Will I get better recordings?

Thanks you.

[A440]

You will get much fuller bass with Greenmachine's mics. Frequency response is 20-20,000 Hz with GM mics, 100-15,000 Hz with the Sony. The low A on the piano is 27.5 Hz, so with the Sony you are losing the lowest octaves of the music.

The Sony is a directional mic. It shuts out noise behind it. Greenmachine's mics are omnidirectional. So if you are recording in a noisy place, the Sony might be more practical. But omni mics are more realistic.

[ametade]

The Sony is a directional mic. It shuts out noise behind it. Greenmachine's mics are omnidirectional. So if you are recording in a noisy place, the Sony might be more practical. But omni mics are more realisti

Thanks for your reply!

Another question: I'm thinking of recording a jazz trio (piano + doublebass + drums), like I said to make a CD. The problem I have when I use the Sony mic is that the instruments seam to be far away. If a put the mic near the instruments I get distortion... I was thinking of using my Sony mic (while I don't buy a pair of Greenmachine mics...) to capture the "ambience" of the room, but maybe use extra three mics (directional mono mics, maybe) to record the instruments near and to get more detail. Is there some kind of directional mic you could recommend me, at the same price range? Or is it possible to build one, like it is explained at http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=11254.

Thank you!

Edited February 28, 2008 by Ametade

[ametade]

Thanks for your reply!

Another question: I'm thinking of recording a jazz trio (piano + doublebass + drums), like I said to make a CD. The problem I have when I use the Sony mic is that the instruments seam to be far away. If a put the mic near the instruments I get distortion... I was thinking of using my Sony mic (while I don't buy a pair of Greenmachine mics...) to capture the "ambience" of the room, but maybe use extra three mics (directional mono mics, maybe) to record the instruments near and to get more detail. Is there some kind of directional mic you could recommend me, at the same price range? Or is it possible to build one, like it is explained at http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=11254.

Thank you!

Sorry. Ignore or delete this post.

Edited February 28, 2008 by Ametade

[A440]

You're going to need a mixer if you use mono mics. The only input on the MD is that one stereo plug.

Here's a recording made with a pair of omnidirectional mics similar to Greenmachine's.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?autom...si&img=3080

[monradon]

Been away for awhile but is Green still making stero Mics ??? Does anyone know how much and how to get to his web site .

Thanks