I've been a fan of my Mc012's for quite a while now. They've wound up on many, many records, primarily as overheads.
Lately, I've been thinking on stepping up to a pair of KM184's..... but someone was nice enough to mention Oktavamod to me & the fact that a modded set of Mc012's are in some cases preferable to KM184's, based on user feedback.
Well, you do the math: $178 for a pair of modifications (which I purchased for $120 back in 2001 at GC... the same pair these days will fetch $489, unmodded) versus $1700 for a pair of KM184s. I figured I'd try the mod, as they won't break the bank & I can save up for a u87 instead!
So, off they went, were modded last Monday, underwent a 3 day burn-in period (nice touch) and I got them back today. Very nice, considering I had to ship them to another country!
I've done a couple of tests here: A key test & a drum test. I really wanted to do an A/B comparison to cut through the hype, so I made sure to record some tracks before I shipped the mics off.
The key test is me jangling my keys in front of the mic to test transient response. It starts with mic 1, then a slight pause, then mic 2. These mics were set up in a Glyn-Johns array over my drums, so mic 1 is hearing the keys through my hand, as it's pointing downwards. Mic 2 is hearing the keys straight-on. So, don't worry about them not sounding the same!
And, the second (and much more fun) test: Drums. The mics are in the aforementioned Glyn-Johns array. If you're not familiar with the technique, the kick drum does pull to the side quite a bit. so you've been warned. Obviously, a spot mic on the kick would rectify the problem very quickly, but for this test, it's just raw overheads.
BTW, please excuse my horrible drumming! I am not a drummer, I just love to complain about them! I wanted to cover all elements of the kick. Crashes, hats, snare, ride & toms. You can hear some pretty goddamn significant differences in the pre & post-mod files. Hell, it sounds like I have a completely different ride cymbal! And yes, it's the same snare drum & the same tuning! Actually, the entire kit is the same.
Here's the link:
FILES HERE
And some pics:
Lately, I've been thinking on stepping up to a pair of KM184's..... but someone was nice enough to mention Oktavamod to me & the fact that a modded set of Mc012's are in some cases preferable to KM184's, based on user feedback.
Well, you do the math: $178 for a pair of modifications (which I purchased for $120 back in 2001 at GC... the same pair these days will fetch $489, unmodded) versus $1700 for a pair of KM184s. I figured I'd try the mod, as they won't break the bank & I can save up for a u87 instead!
So, off they went, were modded last Monday, underwent a 3 day burn-in period (nice touch) and I got them back today. Very nice, considering I had to ship them to another country!
I've done a couple of tests here: A key test & a drum test. I really wanted to do an A/B comparison to cut through the hype, so I made sure to record some tracks before I shipped the mics off.
The key test is me jangling my keys in front of the mic to test transient response. It starts with mic 1, then a slight pause, then mic 2. These mics were set up in a Glyn-Johns array over my drums, so mic 1 is hearing the keys through my hand, as it's pointing downwards. Mic 2 is hearing the keys straight-on. So, don't worry about them not sounding the same!
And, the second (and much more fun) test: Drums. The mics are in the aforementioned Glyn-Johns array. If you're not familiar with the technique, the kick drum does pull to the side quite a bit. so you've been warned. Obviously, a spot mic on the kick would rectify the problem very quickly, but for this test, it's just raw overheads.
BTW, please excuse my horrible drumming! I am not a drummer, I just love to complain about them! I wanted to cover all elements of the kick. Crashes, hats, snare, ride & toms. You can hear some pretty goddamn significant differences in the pre & post-mod files. Hell, it sounds like I have a completely different ride cymbal! And yes, it's the same snare drum & the same tuning! Actually, the entire kit is the same.
Here's the link:
FILES HERE
And some pics: