I just got my M930 today and I couldn't believe how small it was. From everything I've read on these mics, they sound much bigger than they appear. My question is, how do they sound on male vocals. I am going to be working on a project with a singer who can go from a very melodic pop-rock to heavy rock overdrive.

My current choices are the M930, K2, KSM 32 and SPC1. Any Insight would be much appreciated. Thanks for alll of the posts on the M930, it has certainly influenced my purchase of this mic, I look forward to reaping all of it's benefits.

you just got it right, well, why dont you try it and see??heh that question is rather vague because every voice is different..

My suggestion would be to trawl through Gearslutz and other forums checking how other people have found the mic on male vocals. It will give you a much more definitive answer than simply plugging it in and trying it for yourself heh

Just for clarification: I am primarity discussing uses for the MTG UM900 here in response to NSN's above quoted question.

1.) Vocals.

It can be just the ticket, especially if the singer does not have a complex harmonic character to his voice. This mic and a nice 'crunchy pre/comp chain can really bring some excitement and a sense of urgency to the proceedings.

For sibilant and 'groundglass' sounding guys, this mic is often 'too much'.

2.) Mono room drums.

Waist height, Card, about 10-12ft. away and pointing back at the kit(occasionally from behind a Gobo to keep the hi schmotz down). Usually smashed to hell and back with a BA-6a.... like 15dB common. Deadly in conjunction with the 930 pair directly above it in ORTF pointed AWAY from the drumkit, also killed with TG-1 in limit/#1 recovery. Jam a 295 on the ride and hats respectively, a pair of 300's on the overheads and it's a regular MTG Mexican Hat party. HOHOHO.

3.) It's also great on a slew of acoustic instruments. Especially stringed ones. Cello is the first that come to mind. Why(?) I am recording Cello in my line of music is beyond me... but yes.... I've probably recorded 3 or 4 Cellos this year. Looks like it's making a big comeback in heavy music. HOHOHO Part #2.

Best regards,

SM.

Very cool Slipperman.. thank you..

Actually I was thinking about picking one up for drum room. I have been using a pair of ribbons and while I like a little dark on my room mics I have been noticing that my room overall is rolled off a bit and my drum tracks have just been too dark on my last few mixes.

I am thinking of going to a mono drum room and using the 900 alone, sounds like that would be a good pick from what folks around here are saying?

Thanks man.

My vote would be "NO" for vocals. A bit too thin and neutral sounding. Good clarity but lacks the "it" factor. Sounded a bit too boxy...

Tried it on acoustic gtr and although it was ok, I wasn't blown away either. Sounded a bit pinched, not airy enough...

Not a bad mic, but definitely not something to rave about either. Or maybe I just had a bad mic placing day...heh

Eh...it works on some voices, not on others. I wouldnt rule it out as a vocal mic flat out..it is a very good vocal mic, depending.

I have had good results on acoustic sources, but I agree on vocals it is nothing to rave about. For one thing, it is not a forward sounding mic and the top end is not extended, so it lacks the airiness of your better vocal mics.

Hook em' all up (two at a time in a stereo pre / set it up so the level is even / same comp too) press record and let the vocalist listen back and help you decide. If you are not in a good vocal room the m930 will let you know about it though - so be warned...

For two weeks I've been recording two ladys from a harlem based gospel / RnB group. I'm recording some at their location and some here in my home. I've hired one of them before to do vocals, backing work and also play the cello. I'm doing three songs with a possibility of a forth if these come out really good. Both voices are elegant and GIGANTIC and they are those fairly rare vocalists that I really don't mind hearing at any moment in time.

When we were choosing mics for the main part on the 3rd and final track I put a U87ai(bought this year) in with the m930 both going to a great river mp-2nv (rented it - my first time using it - um.. WOW.. want it! heh ). I chose the m930 she chose the m930. It wasn't close for either of us... we both said "that one" about as fast as we could. Both were "there" and "focused" thoughout the spectrum but "the sound" just made us both say "that one!".

Some people might be psycologically turned off by its size but she wasn't because SHE picked it. She wanted to continue recording the sound that we got there. On a previous recording we had picked the U87 over a at4060 and a SE Gemini (which i liked best) but my partner had the m930 with her at a different location that day - were were using an ADL 600 but I have a feeling we still would have taken the m930 over all of them.

On the previous track there is short male vocal which we also chose the m930 for. But With a short spoken word segment (male) which sounded awesome with the m930 we ended up scraping for a U87 because of sibilance and a weird build up in the upper midrange. I never noticed tracking it and since time is money I just ran with the Neumann.

Overall I've used this mic on the last 6 out of 20 or so vocal recordings I've done in the past few weeks. I'm not able to purchase a gefell in a higher price range ATM but I'm REALLY happy with how it has performed for me on voice. Considering I bought it more for percussion / foley and sound design work. It picks up A LOT. It's polar pattern is something to experience and it is a fantastic ambiance mic. It's a very cool mic to experiment with placement because it picks up so much and has so many different characters and tones, at least for me, I consider it a creative tool.

Maybe it's not the best vocal mic but it's SOMETIMES the best vocal mic that I can afford. At least the best vocal mic I've had the opportunity to listen to. It wasn't the first time, in here at least, that somebody has picked it over the U87ai - whatever that choice is worth. MMV of course - SO DO YOUR OWN TEST and discuss what you did in this thread. I'd love to hear about how you used this microphone.

here's a gefell mic and a gs member in action


http://youtube.com/watch?v=fQyNjN_yK...me%20%20lauper

Cindy is forgettable, but the mic is great!

which GS member?

It is William Whittman, I think, who is playing bass and producing Cyndi these days.

Of course that's the $4,500 UM900 she's using there and it sounds great, but the fact that it obscures the artist's face points indirectly to another plus for the back on-topic M930 which is that it's one of the smallest LDC's around meaning you can place it more unobtrusively in a live setting than most other LDC's.

How about the m930 as main ORTF stereo pair for acoustic ensemble sources, ie. classical music?

The answer to this question is a little bit theoretical.

Generally speaking most engineers would use small diaphragm condenser mics for stereo applications and this is what I'd recommend as well. All large diaphragm condenser mics have a stronger coloration of sound which comes off axis. This is not important when the sound source is very close and coming on axis, but it becomes most important when you want to record accoustic instruments from some distance.

So if you already have two M930 and want to use them occasionally for an ORTF setup, just go for it. That'll definately work (I only recently sold a pair of M930's which I used for ORTF a couple of times). But if your main interest is recording classical music and you ask yourself the question what mic you should buy, I wouldn't recommend a pair of M930s. In that case I'd go for omnis, small diaphragm (pressure transducer). You can use omnis in small A-B setups, which gives a very "natural" sound, if the room sounds good and the distance A-B is chosen carefully. If the room sounds somewhat too "noisy", ORTF with two small diaphragm mics would be my second choice. Keep in mind that there are some mics which have interchangeable heads (omni, cardioid...). These would be a good recommendation for recording classical music in a variety of rooms.

Has anyone ever compared the M930s to the 300s on grand piano?

I know SDC have nice tone on piano -but I tend to miss the sense of size and depth the LDCs bring to 7 foot grands - on the other hand the upper mids can get a bit harsh - a very technically inclined engineer once told me LDC mics tend to have that harder top recording acoustic instruemtns - he explained and justified this opinion well but I can't recall...

i really liked the m930 on vocals, i wish i still had it... and was amazing on acoustic too, i loved it through the great river

the gefell m1030 is out..tailored more for vocal duties

Will See one soon!!!

Only see one?

When are those actually reaching market? I've found information on this mic only on RecordingHacks, and it wasn't much.

Impressive form factor, though:



(But did they need to keep such a long stem?)

MG is sending Mercenary one on Evaluation.

The M1030 has the same single membrane capsule like the M930.

And also the same circuit like the M930.

Because of the larger grid/head basket and a special adjusted capsule design, it has very neutral sound. In comparison to the M930 it sounds more present in the mid range. Also, it has a green LED as working indicator.

Swell. If you could find the time for a mini-shootout between the M930 and the M1030 (spoken voice for me, please heh), it'd be great.

I like my M930 but based on the specs, would the 1030 be an even better

choice for spoken word?

Also, do we have a SRP ($$$) on it? I am assuming that it is also transformerless

I'll find out the price; we'll be getting it up on the site in the coming weeks.

It is the same exact amplifier electronics and capsule design, but they tune the capsule differently, becasue of the sonic result of the larger head grill.

I imagine it certainly will be more present in the upper mid's, perhaps give a more gradual presence rise, with slightly more "airy-ness". The Gold Sputtered Mylar Cap has a full/rich/bold thing going on, with a very sweet and flattering height in dynamic and frequency pickup [very linear/but balanced] and I would imagine the larger more open basket and different grill type might make this peek out more, opposed to the flatter, more even nuetrality of the M930's small foot print design.

Probably just splitting hairs for what we VOs do. If I remember correctly, VO is more about the lower mids than the upper mids anyway....not that I need another mic to consider, anyway....

I'll keep you guys posted.

So wait, which one is more neutral?

From MG this morning

can't wait! the m930, um70 SE, and this thing need a VO shootout STAT!!!

Happy to oblige if Gefell care to send me the latter two mics to shoot-out against my trusty M930!