Nekde na webu jsem nasel docela dobre vyjadreni k problemu lampovy versus nelampovy mikrofon. Prijde mi strizlive a pri veci ze bych ho skoro sam podepsal ... tak jsem si rikal, ze by se to tu nekomu mohlo hodit:
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Yo dmb! There are 2 issues here. What do tube mics (or for that matter tube amps) do? and.. what is "warmth", as it applies to sound reproduction? Once upon a time, all condenser mics and all amplifiers used vacuum tubes ("valves" if you are British) in their power section, because it's what they had. The development of solid state technology in the 60's led to condenser mics and amps with no tubes. Great recordings were made with both types of equipment, and that continues to be true.
By and large, tubes create distortion, which increases when the tube is overloaded. The results vary according to the type of tube, the extent to which it is overdriven, and the entire design of the rest of the signal chain. This distortion is called "warmth" when we like it, and "muddy" when it is obvious, and we don't like it. In guitar amps, usually distortion is more obvious, and tube designs have been favored by many guitarists over solid state designs for years.
In microphones and mic preamps, the designs were actually created to produce very little distortion, but there is still some. Sometimes this distortion hides annoying details in sound, like airbrushing a centerfold. Often this is flattering, and we call it "warmth". Sometimes it just sounds like a cheap mic or amp distorting the signal, and it sucks.
There are very few generalizations that will hold true about tube mics vs. solid state mics. A very good tube mic will often produce less distortion than many solid state mics. In the end, whether a mic has a tube in it or not has very little to do with whether it will sound good or not in any given situation.
Sometimes, changing to a very good tube, or just a different one, can change the sound, making it better or worse for what the end user wants. Will a big-time expensive tube mic "warm up" vocals? Not necessarily. A Brauner will most likely make you sound the way you sound. If you are a very good singer, that's a good thing. Will a lower priced tube mic "warm up" vocals? Probably not. In the lower range of tube mics, I like Rode NTK and Studio Projects T3. There are some MXL tube mics that are popular, but I have not used them.
NTK is a perfect example. It works very well for me, along with other mics, but many people hate it. Mics are like shoes. They either fit, or they don't, and cheap shoes that fit are better than expensive ones that don't. Putting a tube in a mic does not make it any more likely that the shoe will fit you. All you can do is buy mics that are respected, and are good for recording *something*, so at least, you can re-sell them if the shoe doesn't fit. And- never miss an opportunity to sing into a mic you haven't tried before, even one that may not be seen as a "vocal" mic. If you want to find the handsome prince, you have to kiss a lot of frogs.-Richie
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Lampac versus nelampac
Lampac versus nelampac
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