Often thought about buying the Superlux S502, how do you like it? Have you done an A/B comparison with any others?

Shaky quality control (my experience): buy 2, expect to be able to make 1 working edition from all the parts therein !

Oh dear! So in reality they cost double the price they are?

Would it be better then to buy one that is secondhand and "proven to be working"?

A pair of Line Audio CM-4 ($250) and a ORTF bar ($20 for a K&M) will get you there...

For the price the S502 are incredible good. Some here at Gearslutz, who own the original Schoeps, own the Superlux and use them and were impressed.
If you search, you find some recordings of the S502 compared to the Schoeps.
I just record my own bands and some guitarists when doing videos. I'm just a musician and recording is something I like to do since I play in bands, but I'm in no way a professionell. I couldn't justify the 3.000,- for the Schoeps MSTC64.

I own some good mics from Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser and Neumann, but not for stereo recordings of gigs and band rehearsals, The Superlux and the MixPre replaced a Zoom H6 (also quite impressive for the money) and I like the results.

@ norfolksoundman9 Roland, I would like to try this setup, and I wonder if you could give some details on how you achieved it. It looks like you found a special XLR cable adapter for this purpose? Where would one find that?

My other question is how you fit both cables through the small hole of the blimp. I'm using the Rode Blimp, by the way, and the hole is snug around single cable that came with it.

Thanks!

Hi Singaiya,

No special adapter: I adapted an adapter made of Neutrik parts, and give the details in my blog https://drbadphil.com/omni-mic-pair-in-a-single-blimp

You will need to drill a couple of holes, which is pretty simple.

In terms of the two cables fitting, if you (temporarily) remove the rubbery grommet thing then there will be space (unless you go for massive cables): on the Rode Blimp Mk1 this grommet falls out all the time, so I always have a few spares.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers,

Roland

That's excellent; thanks for that info and the link! I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

Cheers

No problem: good luck!

Cheers,

Roland

Cinela

Quick question, sorry if it's a bit off-topic:

Since MixPre-3 probably won't be available for quite some time, what would you suggest as an alternative?

Do you have any thoughts on Zoom F3, or having just two inputs in general? For instance, do you sometimes use two stereo mics in combination with some third mic, such as a shotgun mic, when recording ambiences?

Thanks!

Personally I'd go with a MixPre 6 if you can afford it, since 4 inputs will give you more flexibility if you ever need it. A used Sound Devices 702 could be another option to consider. The 7-series recorders are very good machines.

There's a good rundown of recorders, mics, and other gear for field recording of ambient sound here: https://www.creativefieldrecording.c...-buyers-guide/

I will agree with bradh... I was brought in to do two solo piano recordings for a local Steinway artist about 5 years ago (I'd recorded her live two or three times with orchestra, but that's another story...) and, as her beloved Steinway D (named "Elliott") lives in her home (with an unusually wide and long living room), and as she wanted to be able to record at will (over what became two years of tracking) we decided upon the MixPre6 as a machine she could easily learn for starts, stops, etc, at will. About 18 months in, she asked if I could begin the edit phase. We had, over a week or so, auditioned a half dozen pairs (DPA, Sennheiser, Neumann, Gefell, Sony, and Line Audio) with immediate feedback, as well as "living" with the results. She was torn over two pairs... MKH8040 and Gefell M296. She couldn't choose between them. so... she ordered a pair of each, and I installed them in the "A/B" positions we'd decided upon early on to capture "Elliott's" voice. Then she got serious about recording her repertoire of Grieg and Mussorgsky solo piano. As one card would fill up, she would change it out and insert another.

As part of my "deal" I loaned her my secondary nearfields, a pair of minty HHB Circle 5s, powered by a 85w/ch receiver amplifier. I collated the takes, in order, on her MacBook Pro (running Logic ProX, the same as I used) and she began putting her sets in order. Once she was happy with the takes and the ordering of them, we began a long series of editing sessions... once those were finished, we went back in for volume edits and polishing. While not a "major label" release in any way, we both were pleased that we had lovely performances of her piano in her room, just as she (and her conductor husband) wanted them to sound. And I thought they sounded dam'fine!

The Gefells (which she chose over the MKH8040 and several "blend" mixes) were the "winner", and, having sat in that room, listening, for hours early on, I had to agree. Gefell M296 were the right choice... as was a recorder with onboard mic-amps that not only didn't mess with the sound... but had the precision for hearing nuances that most folks wouldn't hear, or recognize.

Bottom line... I'd love to have a MixPre6 in my kit... and if I have opportunity for a project where that recording format is necessary, I'd buy another one in a New York Second.

The photo was a "final shootout" between Gefell M296, MKH8040, and DPA4061. I was recording to a borrowed MixPre6, one pair at a time, for her to audition for the "final" choice.

Out of curiosity - how did the DPA4061 fare in that final shootout compared to the others?
::
Mads

I could have been happy with either the 4061 (without grid caps) or the M296... but she and her husband both liked the Gefells. They said (and I agreed) the 8040s were a bit too "clinical"... and I gotta say, sitting in the sweet spot between the HHBs (which were centered as to the position of the piano in the room)... I was satisfied that the reproduction out of the speakers was incredibly close to the sound in the room of her playing. They were in agreement... and both she and her husband had invested hundreds of hours auditioning files during the edit process.

For a gi-normous piano projecting into a long-ish, narrow-ish (approximately 20x60ft / 7x20m) shoebox, we did all right. The closest corner behind the bench was deadened with curtains and packing blankets, as was the backside of the lid.

As to the Gefell choice, they said several times that of all three pairs (Gefells, MKH8040 and 4061) the Gefells "just had something". She has had THAT piano in THAT room for decades... and she knew exactly what she was looking for. It was a simple gig in that respect.

In my view, the mics array was likely 3-6' closer than I would have preferred in a larger room, and the position was decided to mitigate some of the "short" near reflections. It's not a "warm" sound... but it was a "powerful" sound.

She and her husband were (and still are) thrilled... and that made me happy.

Thanks for your response. I have often been surprised on how capable 4061 without grids (or 4060 as I have) are (I also have 4006). In the stiff competition comparing it to the M296, the Gefell really should have "something" extra to offer - but I understand that 4061 did surprisingly well.
::
Mads

Dig'n my SE Electronics SE8's for acoustic stuff The top end is smooth and their quiet also