boojum Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 I have had a professional recommend that I use AKG CK91's to record with, and have found a pretty good price for a pair. But with the collets (cables) it starts getting real expensive and then there is the BB/pre-amp, too. Now we are talking real money. I cannot afford to buy these and not have them be the best thing since bottled beer and sliced bread. So, who has had experience with these specifically and AKG in general? Help me out here. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted April 29, 2007 Report Share Posted April 29, 2007 (edited) I have had a professional recommend that I use AKG CK91's to record with, and have found a pretty good price for a pair. But with the collets (cables) it starts getting real expensive and then there is the BB/pre-amp, too. Now we are talking real money. I cannot afford to buy these and not have them be the best thing since bottled beer and sliced bread. So, who has had experience with these specifically and AKG in general? Help me out here. Thanks! The CK91 is part of the "Blue Line "series they have interchangeable capsules . You Definately want a preamp to conrrol those , but they ae very nice , The are better instrument mikes than field mics . IE. Good quiet room , nice preamp , (Joe Meek pre is very nice on those) If you want outdoor or portable try a pair of C451 's they will also need Phantom power but they arent as susceptable to the issues of the CK's The CK91's are flat 20hz-20khz and very smooth , but I dont think you need to go that high in price for what your after (Just depends on How cheap your getting them!!!!!)I like AKG , but if you dont have a decent pre with them , its not what you might think. it should come with this preamp/handleSB300here is a link to the data sheet http://www.akg.com/mediendatenbank2/psfile...55c224ac90f.pdfFor a lot less money try thesehttp://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/.../SP-AT2021-PAIR Edited April 29, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boojum Posted April 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 GF -The expense of the CK91's started going up pretty quickly as I added the stuff to complete the kit. I was over US$1,000 pretty quickly and while I am sure the gear is sweet and all that I just do not want to spend that much money. I like the idea of learning on inexpensive gear. If I ever get the skill set, then I can go out and buy the high-end stuff. Until then I will putt along one the best I can get for little or no money. I liked the U853 because it works fine with just a BB at the sound levels I am going to record. If it does not, I will get the phantom power/pre-amp for it. But I can start with a pair of SP-CMC-4U's for US$200 and build GM's battery box and have a go at it.Generally, how has your experience been with AT and how do they sound? The 2021 looks nice but I need phantom power and that cranks up the cost. With SP's phantom power it is cheap enough, but needs line current. I want to be free from the need for line current. Fast, light and small is what I am looking for in a quality pair of mics. Sheesh, all I want is the impossible. So what's the problem??? ;o)Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 (edited) GF -The expense of the CK91's started going up pretty quickly as I added the stuff to complete the kit. I was over US$1,000 pretty quickly and while I am sure the gear is sweet and all that I just do not want to spend that much money. I like the idea of learning on inexpensive gear. If I ever get the skill set, then I can go out and buy the high-end stuff. Until then I will putt along one the best I can get for little or no money. I liked the U853 because it works fine with just a BB at the sound levels I am going to record. If it does not, I will get the phantom power/pre-amp for it. But I can start with a pair of SP-CMC-4U's for US$200 and build GM's battery box and have a go at it.Generally, how has your experience been with AT and how do they sound? The 2021 looks nice but I need phantom power and that cranks up the cost. With SP's phantom power it is cheap enough, but needs line current. I want to be free from the need for line current. Fast, light and small is what I am looking for in a quality pair of mics. Sheesh, all I want is the impossible. So what's the problem??? ;o)Cheers The price of the 2021 cant be beat , they are stripped down versions of a much nicer mic , ( Low cut , Polarity , 10db switch removed) The 3032 's are a litlle more money , but the Phantom comes down to 11 volts (11-52 rated) which means a battery powered phantom will work fine, http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mi...e27e/index.htmlI have heard these mics in critical situations and they are very flexible , Low cut ,10 db , etc included ( The upscale version of the 2021) There are quite a few field recordist that are equiped soley with a pair of these and Phantom box or Flash based recorders with XLR inputs . there are plenty of DIY phantom boxes available I can help you put one together PM me about it I find the info. My three favs are Beyer Dynamic Studio mics , Audio Technica Studio , And Sennheisers , The AKG 's always leave me feeling a bit gouged for what they do , they are nice , but I can get as good a sound for a lot less. Senneiser ...You get what you pay for .Beyer is the same I have done a few CD's with just the Beyers and good pre's and was very happy .(But I was using quite nice Beyers . ) For the budget versions of Beyer the M201tg and 200 , are Dynamic not condenser so they dont need Phantom but the could use the Preamp or a portable mixer to get the best out of them , ( I havent tried them direct to MD so I dont know how they would react , but I imagine with the Sony mic pre in the MD it would be pretty nice .)http://www.beyerdynamic.com/cms/Studio_mic...uctdatabase_pi1[showUid][showUID]=12&tx_sbproductdatabase_pi1[showUid][backPID]=42&cHash=56968b4ffbIf your going to spend 1000 dollars get this (Beyer MCE82) Edited April 30, 2007 by Guitarfxr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boojum Posted April 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 The price of the 2021 cant be beat , they are stripped down versions of a much nicer mic , ( Low cut , Polarity , 10db switch removed) The 3032 's are a litlle more money , but the Phantom comes down to 11 volts (11-52 rated) which means a battery powered phantom will work fine, http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mi...e27e/index.htmlI have heard these mics in critical situations and they are very flexible , Low cut ,10 db , etc included ( The upscale version of the 2021) There are quite a few field recordist that are equiped soley with a pair of these and Phantom box or Flash based recorders with XLR inputs . there are plenty of DIY phantom boxes available I can help you put one together PM me about it I find the info. My three favs are Beyer Dynamic Studio mics , Audio Technica Studio , And Sennheisers , The AKG 's always leave me feeling a bit gouged for what they do , they are nice , but I can get as good a sound for a lot less. Senneiser ...You get what you pay for .Beyer is the same I have done a few CD's with just the Beyers and good pre's and was very happy .(But I was using quite nice Beyers . ) For the budget versions of Beyer the M201tg and 200 , are Dynamic not condenser so they dont need Phantom but the could use the Preamp or a portable mixer to get the best out of them , ( I havent tried them direct to MD so I dont know how they would react , but I imagine with the Sony mic pre in the MD it would be pretty nice .)http://www.beyerdynamic.com/cms/Studio_mic...uctdatabase_pi1[showUid][showUID]=12&tx_sbproductdatabase_pi1[showUid][backPID]=42&cHash=56968b4ffbIf your going to spend 1000 dollars get this (Beyer MCE82)GF -The AT3031's are about US$300 a pair. A DIY phantom box would be good. I can wire and solder. And I can look at a photo and/or schematic and get it done. So, if you know of a source of plans that would be cool. If the 3031's are that much better I would just get them and use them as my cardioids and be done with it. I cannot see myself getting ino the AKG's for around US$1,000 and feeling happy about it. That and I do not have that kind of money to spend.OK, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 GF -The AT3031's are about US$300 a pair. A DIY phantom box would be good. I can wire and solder. And I can look at a photo and/or schematic and get it done. So, if you know of a source of plans that would be cool. If the 3031's are that much better I would just get them and use them as my cardioids and be done with it. I cannot see myself getting ino the AKG's for around US$1,000 and feeling happy about it. That and I do not have that kind of money to spend.OK, cheers You Mean 3032 right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boojum Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 GF - No, I mean AT3031, cardioids. I have omni's and would like to have a good pair of cardioids now. I am also looking at a pair of used CK91's with the SE330B bodies for ~US$400. At that price they would be a good deal, providing they work. ;o)Tape at 11:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 GF - No, I mean AT3031, cardioids. I have omni's and would like to have a good pair of cardioids now. I am also looking at a pair of used CK91's with the SE330B bodies for ~US$400. At that price they would be a good deal, providing they work. ;o)Tape at 11:00 AHH gotcha , wanting the directional thing eh ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.