| I've decided to give vintage
mics their own category because who the hell knows how much they cost
these days? In the past, I've owned as many as nine KM 84s, and one as
recently as February, but I never paid more than $1000. Most of the
time I paid between $700 and $950 depending on the shape it was in, but
now I see people asking $1200 or more on eBay for KM 84s. Beats me if
they're getting that price, though. Also, this category will include mics no longer made, so if you can't get it new -- such as the AT4031 -- it'll be listed here. Classical guitarist Bright came through with a truckload of vintage Schoeps -- the CMT 30 FNU M934b and the CMT 30 FNU M934c (dual omni/cardioid), the CMT 30 FNU MK241 (hypercardioid) and the CMT 341 (also hypercardioid). Bright said he paid between $500 and $700 for the mics, including repairs. Bright also contributed the KM 83, KM 85 and KM 86 mics. The first two mics run in the $1000 range, and the last one about $1500. Hudson from 5 a.m. Studios came up with the Neumann KM 88, another multipattern mic in the $1500 range, and Ferguson came up with the B&K 4011 ($1650 on eBay). I also managed to hear a Neumann/Gefell M70 and M94, an AKG C 451 EB ($300) and a rare Schoeps Strasser-branded CM64 in full cardioid mode ($600). My favorite? The Sony C-535p provided by engineer Eric Nelson. It's got a compressed sound to it with just the right amount of high end. I also thought the Neumann KM 83, the omni, sounded nice, a tad sweeter than a KM 84. But the most underrated vintage mics of all have to be the Schoeps. You can get them for half the price or less of vintage Neumanns and Schoeps is still willing to maintain these mics for a reasonable fee. Yes, you have to ship them to Germany for repairs, and you'll probably have to buy them from there as well. Like Schoeps, Gefell is also willing to work on their vintage mics, so the M70 and M94 in combination with the MV692 is a great deal at about $500 per combo. I personally bought a vintage CM64 (not to be confused with the CMC64 modern mic), one of the rare full cardioid models. I sold it after the shoot-out, but when I go back to listen to the sound files of it I wonder why I did. |