thecr4ne wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 10:57 pm

kmc wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 6:57 am What does the top end sound like on their tube mics? Always seems tin-y and unusable on any large diaphragm condenser mic under about $800.

They sound like that, typical high end peak. They're not amazing great mics out of the box, but a good foundation for modding. The circuit is the same as the apex 460, tons of info on modding those out there. Capsule swap to K47 style can reign in the high end peak.

I got one of the Monoprice LTM500s a couple months ago when they were $115. Modified it this past weekend with a RK-47 capsule from microphone-parts.com. Also removed the differential filter caps on the transformer secondary and upgraded the main tube output decoupling cap to a 1uF 400V polystyrene that I had in my stash already. Swapped the cheap 12AX7 to a vintage Raytheon (Siemens) 12AT7. Lower gain than stock, but that's OK. Way smoother overall, less scooped in the mids. For about $300 all in, it's a pretty usable mic now.

Since I live in scenic Canada, I had a pair of the el cheapo monoprice ribbons shipped to a pal in NJ. My band passed through there last week and I grabbed them, and finally had a chance to try them out today dinking around on drums in my practice space.

Suffice to say, the reviews are correct, they do the 'dark/slow/thuddy' coles thing nicely! I set up a blumlein pair 3' in front of the kit, 3' off the ground and got a nice, generally balanced, natural sounding picture of the whole kit. With a little kick and snare added underneath it's a nice sound from 4 mics.

I got these at the $47 mega sale price, but honestly they'd still feel like a bargain at the full $99.

I tested out my new ribbon mics at my work studio. Two of the walls are treated very dead with one whole side theater style velvet curtain and the other side sound panels. The two other walls are reflective but like 30 yards apart. Placed the mics in the middle of the studio. Thought the mics sounded great.

Trying them at home in a bedroom studio and they were not as thick/dark as the work studio. That's why I'm thinking some sound deadening material could help. Mainly a corner area where one side I'd cover a closet with metals door. The perpendicular side is a standard window. I had thought of 54 x 80 sized curtains for each side. I want to be able to push them out of the way of closet and window when not recording.

Anyone hang curtains or materials for this purposes that can be moved easily out of the way? Do curtains work?

I found these - https://www.saaria.com/sound-deadening- ... tains.html
Probably very much like the ones in my work studio. They don't look like they can push out the way easy like typical style curtains though.

I finally tested the latest pair I got and one is DOA, go figure. The other is fine and my previously purchased LR100's were all fine. Hoping Monoprice will send a replacement and let me keep the dud to tinker with.

Glad to hear others found these useful.

I have only used them on toms right now and am happy so far.

Nothing to do w/ the mic but ribbons generally-speaking: I can't quite get the cymbals positioned entirely in the null point so it does pick up quite a bit more cymbal than I want.

The need for phantom power threw me off & they have a much, much hotter output as a result. Built-in "cloudlifter" or something. Even with the built-in pad toggled for toms, I really need another pair of inline pads as even w/ the pres all the way down, they still get really close to clipping out.

The negative reviews on these are terrible/hilarious - no surprise about QC issues, but when you're selling mics at this price point, you're going to get a lot of dumb dipshits posting reviews too and...wow.

Even the case and shockmount are fine. IDK, a pleasant surprise - way more bang for the buck than you get out of cheap LDCs. Also they're still $68 on Monoprice now and that's still a bargain.

Garth wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 7:27 pm The need for phantom power threw me off & they have a much, much hotter output as a result. Built-in "cloudlifter" or something. Even with the built-in pad toggled for toms, I really need another pair of inline pads as even w/ the pres all the way down, they still get really close to clipping out.

This is my experience so far. I tried it out as an OH on the drums and it was way too hot, and kept having to lower the level. I am thinking this will be a good front of kit mic. very pleased for the price.

I got one of those Monoprice Ribbon mics. I didn’t do a double blind test or anything, but I did compare it to an active AEA N22 mic on the same electric guitar amp about a foot away.

It was no contest and went exactly like you’d expect, but the Monoprice mic had its own character and still sounded good in context. Mixed together it was ok but two ribbons are probably not necessary on fingerstyle guitar through a tweed amp. I ended up replacing it with a dynamic

The AEA sounds beautiful and performs and sounds like an $800 mic better, but the Monoprice thing does really really well for less than a hundred. I like it much better than the totally different AKG C1000s. As long as it doesn’t break!

Those monoprice ribbons are $48 again
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=625908

thecr4ne wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:07 am Those monoprice ribbons are $48 again
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=625908

These are kinda worth it. I used them on guitar amps the other day and they sounded pretty OK. Worth $50 each for sure. cant speak for how long they will last, but so far so good. Brighter than my other cheapo MXL ribbons, not as much prox effect though so not as cool in front of a Kick or on toms.

I used them on drum overheads in a Glyn Johns setup recently. They worked pretty well to help tame the cymbals a bit. Would probably work better in a larger room. I got a little bit of phase weirdness in the one that was closer to the ceiling due to the figure 8 pattern.