Small diaphragm condenser mic that is bargainous and awesome....

[Owen]

..... any ideas?

 

To sit in with a large diaphragm condenser for detail work on acoustic guitar or Double Bass.

 

TIA

[Beedster]

Can't you do that with your rather lovely modelling mic......?

 

Or is that the large diaphragm you're referring to mate?

[Owen]

That is the large diaphragm. That will do the meat and potatoes, I am just looking for the redcurrant jelly as well.

 

It is lovely though

[Beedster]

I've got a nice pair of ribbons......

[Owen]

Read the brief Chris

[Wombat]

I’ve got an Aston Element which is a ‘hybrid’ (whatever that means) but it covers a multitude of situations for a bargain price.

[Dad3353]

I'm fully satisfied with our Superlux HI10 mic (£30 or so from Thomann...), used as part of our drum mic set-up (for hi-hat, mostly...), but also for picking out detail from acoustic guitars. There are doubtless better ones for top-end studios or rich purists, but we find them to be excellent, despite their low cost. Worth a look..?

 

Superlux HI10, Thomann...

 

[Owen]

41 minutes ago, Wombat said:

I’ve got an Aston Element which is a ‘hybrid’ (whatever that means) but it covers a multitude of situations for a bargain price.

£59 at Andertons. I got quite excited when I saw it at £113 on eBay, but decided to check further. Tough not to take a punt at that price.

 

https://www.andertons.co.uk/aston-element-cardioid-microphone/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20740064305&gclid=CjwKCAjwiezABhBZEiwAEbTPGA5ZdGR_IB7_lA-I3f84O9ALZEjD1oIgz7EJODuJE2A9j_L4pZaVoBoCs2wQAvD_BwE

[Wombat]

Aye,

the blurb from Aston about the focus groups of various musos that got to pick the ‘voice’ of the mic swayed me. I paid much more when it 1st came out. They are a steal at sixty quid!

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, Wombat said:

I’ve got an Aston Element ...

 

That's a small diaphragm..? 

[Owen]

10 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

 

That's a small diaphragm..? 

Not in any way, shape or form

[Beedster]

12 hours ago, Owen said:

Read the brief Chris

 

Fair point although I was referring to the need to record detail not the specifics of the mic 👍

[chyc]

I own two Aston Elements, and they're absolutely amazing. Wouldn't say they'd replace a small condenser mic though.

 

If you're after bargainous, the Behringer B-5s are reasonably priced and offer multiple pickup patterns via interchangeable capsules. I own a pair of those as well. To be perfectly honest, if you put a gun to my head and forced me to make a choice between them I'd pick the Elements as their noise floor is incredibly low and the vocal sound is superb, but horses for courses and all that: the different pickup patterns on the B-5s can come in real handy.

 

 

[Woodwind]

On 07/05/2025 at 20:23, Owen said:

..... any ideas?

 

To sit in with a large diaphragm condenser for detail work on acoustic guitar or Double Bass.

 

TIA

 

 

Bit late to this,

 

I love my Line Audio OM1s which I use as a stereo pair, or use singularly combined with a ribbon for close mic'ing.

 

Their CM4 is meant to be great as well and I very nearly bought one on eBay recently for live use where I would want a cardioid pattern rather than my omnis.

 

Line audio are made in Sweden in small batches and are at bargain prices.

https://www.lineaudio.se/

 

Since leaving the EU it's tricky to get them directly, but there is a UK distributer - I haven't used them as I bought direct years ago.

 

https://pinknoise-systems.co.uk/collections/line-audio---microphones?srsltid=AfmBOoqlo1VbCHSPNyRVw8t286EIRm_r-2ZJiQBzCkJPjHCxW_Fog9k2#

Edited Sunday at 22:34 by Woodwind

[Owen]

Thanks. They look like proper kit. In the spirit of info, here are some further user reviews and a sound test against a DPA.

 

https://gearspace.com/board/low-end-theory/1394800-just-bought-line-audio-cm4.html

 

 

[Ramirez]

10 hours ago, Woodwind said:

 

 

Bit late to this,

 

I love my Line Audio OM1s which I use as a stereo pair, or use singularly combined with a ribbon for close mic'ing.

 

Their CM4 is meant to be great as well and I very nearly bought one on eBay recently for live use where I would want a cardioid pattern rather than my omnis.

 

Line audio are made in Sweden in small batches and are at bargain prices.

https://www.lineaudio.se/

 

Since leaving the EU it's tricky to get them directly, but there is a UK distributer - I haven't used them as I bought direct years ago.

 

https://pinknoise-systems.co.uk/collections/line-audio---microphones?srsltid=AfmBOoqlo1VbCHSPNyRVw8t286EIRm_r-2ZJiQBzCkJPjHCxW_Fog9k2#

 

The Line Audios are indeed very good mics, and hold their own against much more more expensive mics. Be careful if trying the CM4 live though- in truth it’s slightly wider/more open than a true cardioid, and is approaching a hypocardioid pattern. I think the CM4 are closer to true cardioid than the CM3 they replaced though.

 

There’s much more to small-diaphragm mics than ‘adding detail’.  A true single diaphragm omni like the Line Audio OM1 will go down to lower frequencies than any other type of microphone, and does not suffer from any proximity effect.

 

An omni pattern created by summing two back to back cardioid capsules like you get in a switchable-pattern large diaphragm mic doesn’t quite offer the same low frequency benefits, but can still sound great.

 

To be honest I find large diaphragm mics to be of limited use apart from vocals- their main benefits are:

 

*lower self-noise (which is rarely a problem with SDCs when close mic’ing anyway)
 

*reduced proximity effect compared to small-diaphragm cardioids (this is due to the use of two diaphragms). This is why they work so well and have become a standard for close-up vocals.

 

*They are less accurate than a small-diaphragm (larger diaphragm covers a larger area- the opposite of ‘pin-point accuracy!), but by the same token they have more character, so they often just sound ‘nice’

 

 

Personally I prefer to take the time to find the right position for a single mic rather than use two or three- and if you have a nice room, the ideal position might be a bit further out than you expect! Also keep an ear out for any phase issues if you do use multiple mics.

[80Hz]

What makes the Line Audio stuff good and bargalicious is that (from what I've read) the builder is careful to test and only use components that meet his tolerances. So there is a level of care going on in manufacture more associated with high priced gear. My experience with the Line Audio mics (OM1s) are that they are voiced quite neutrally. IMO this is good as they avoid the brittle/hyped high end that is a common feature of cheap mics, but it may translate as less apparent "detail".

 

Oh and Pinknoise are all good to order from, they're more oriented towards production sound than music that's all.

[Owen]

Bargalicious.

 

My new favourite word. Apart from cake and trifle, obv. 

[thodrik]

Lewitt LCT 040. 

£140 for a matched pair brand new, less second hand. If you only need one then you could probably find one for £50-£60. 

I have a pair I bought used and I'm really impressed. I have a matched pair of AKG C414 XLII large diaphragm condensers and as part of a larger drum mic set up the Lewitts hold there own and don't sound 'cheap'. The best thing of all though, they are tiny so can pretty much be positioned anywhere and despite the size and price they are good full range mics which capture plenty of bass.