Not expecting a miracle, but what's in the ballpark?

It seems like the best option in that genre of mic would be the MJ K47h. Others?

What about the UM70 are you after?

In a lot of ways, the PR40 has the same character for political speaches ...



-tINY

Microtech Gefell UM 70 S, Grossmembran-Kondensatormikro bei eBay.de: Live Studio-Mikrofone (endet 19.03.11 12:45:52 MEZ)

Bloody cheap as yet.....won't end up as cheap as a Cloudlifter to go with your SM7 though I expect....heh

lol I'm sure it won't stay that cheap. :P

And... different roles! Starting to think about mics for drum overheads, room mics, etc. In blind shootouts I've heard, I've consistently like what this mic does, so I'm wondering what options there are for less dough that are in the ball park.

M71?

i sort of think of my ksm32 in the same family as my gefell mt71s which is a nice thick midrange or rather something nice going on in the midrange. both are utilitarian mics altho i would say the gefell is nicer. no hiend hype but rather very smooth. The ksm can be somewhat "its always going to be good, sometimes very good, and there are times that another mic would blow it away. especially on vocals which is a common thought on the mic I read. I feel its more a instrument mic and on vocals you can probably find better, but in a pinch it will not suck and could be great. I know its very vague description of every mic but that's what i read most about the ksm32. Now the gefell can be very good on vocals. Like anything ppl have different tastes. I can see some ppl not wanting a utilitarian "its okay on everything" but want the "this mic is awesome on certain things" kinda person. Note i do see the ksm32 used as overheads a ton on live tv shows I believe. sometimes its the black version hovering over the kits.heh

I hope I am not way off base here since I honestly do not have a UM47 to compare, but a 'Sound on Sound' reviewer had this to say about the Oktava MK-219:

"Moving up to the capsule, things start to get more interesting. Rumour has it that the large diaphragm capsule used is based on an old Neumann design and, having done direct comparisons with my Microtech UM70 (a rather more elegant ex-Eastern bloc mic also purporting to use a Neumann capsule design), I can say that the two mics sounded so similar that in a blind test with vocals, I couldn't tell one from the other. The capsule uses two independent electrodes and two diaphragms, arranged symmetrically; one is gold plated. Other than this, there are no technical details covering the capsule construction."

Here is a link to the entire article: Oktava MK219

I have three MK-219 microphones that I modded as per Scott Dorsey's recommendations and used kits from Bill Sitler which are based upon the Scott Dorsey article--if you have an interest, do some searching and they articles and mods will pop up. Of course there are three or four places that will do the mods for you if it is not your sort of thing.

I expect a 219 (or an Oktava MK-319) with mods would be considerably cheaper than the UM70 and hopefully would meet your desire for that sort of mic sound from a less expensive source. I am a real believer in the Oktava MK-219/ 319 with the mods. I did a bunch of A/B testing, partly because I was initially a bit skeptical and partially because I wanted to hear for myself what all the hype is about. I posted threads on here about it if you want to check it out. I forget the thread names, but I am sure if you search it will pop up---look for Oktava MK-219 mods or under my user name or the like.

Anyway, I humbly submit the modded MK-219 for your consideration.

What's your budget? I don't find any of my modded Oktava mics to sound anything like my UM70.

Okay, I was just going by the author's account. Sorry to muddy the waters.

As little as possible? If I ran a studio I'd just get the real deal.

$500 per, max.

In the used market, I think you can find several good choices, though they may or may not be similar to the UM70.

The modded Oktavas are great mics, just totally different mid range than the UM70.

If you are interested, I'm looking to sell or trade my UM70 and my Joly modded 319. Though neither are in pairs.

No funds ATM just researching.

What's different about the midrange? Is one more edgy or boxy or grunty? I have to say that Oktavas seem intriguing because they seem to have more muscularity and less brash high end than all the other cheap condensers.

There is no UM70 with a "cheapness". Sorry Ben. A cheap UM70 would in FACT BE a miracle I'm afraid.

A MJ modded 219 is a cool mic, but it is not a UM70.

:(

If they all disappeared tomorrow and you had to use something in their place, on the same kinds of sources and with the same aesthetic objectives, what would you use, while being able to live with the differences?

U87. heh

I figured as much!

Thanks Dr Bill.

I have 2 m71 s with 691 bodies which I absolutely love. If I had to find a mic in that family for cheaper I think it would be a cad e100 original. Won't get you all the clarity but it's not THAT far off for an older now $125 mic.

I was planning on doing a video on my UM70's and included the ADK Munich 7's in there. There are some sonic differences, but the ADK's are well within the ballpark sound wise. It's their own M7 capsule, transformer based, and hald the price of the new transformerless Gefells. If you can't stretch the budget far enough for the Gefells, the AKD's are pretty much the only other option I've found that gets remotely close. They've got the M7 "thing" for sure, and there's plenty of things I liked about them more than the Gefells.