Fake Rode NT2-a ?

[micolas]

Asking for my own education. How does that apply to a lollipop style mic with a M7 capsule?

It works. Of course you won't get the tone of the U47, but it sounds good (but different, with its own character)
I tested k47, k67 in Studio Projects CS1, which has a lollipop type headbasket, transparent, without disturbing resonances, you can get a nice sound, but this microphone has a low-pass switch with 5 positions, so you can adjust the high frequencies. Same for bass. Hi-pass with 5 positions. Very versatile, clean, 10dB noise. Too bad it's no longer available. I will also test a ck12 style capsule.

 

[MicMaven]

I bought fake SM58 ... and fake Beta58a ... some even sound reasonable

Well, shoot, fellers, I make my own fake Beta 57a microphones! Of course, I would never pass them off as authentic products. I built these solely as evidence supporting the proposition one does not need an expensive microphone for ham radio. Most operators cannot discern an appreciable difference between these and the real deal, essentially proving my point.

In fact, just today I received a new handle and assembled one of the microphones pictured below. I buy authentic SHURE handles on eBay from a vendor in Arizona for $15, grills for $3 from a vendor in Lithuania, and capsules for $7-$8 each. They look and sound quite good for my purposes.

[Sidebar - I would would send photos and ask the RODE company to authenticate the NT2 you purchased, even if it sounds really good. Surely it knows more about what to look for than I do! ]

Ahem ... How do my copies look? Happy trails to y'all. James

 

[SubSpec]

Well, shoot, fellers, I make my own fake Beta 57a microphones! Of course, I would never pass them off as authentic products. I built these solely as evidence supporting the proposition one does not need an expensive microphone for ham radio. Most operators cannot discern an appreciable difference between these and the real deal, essentially proving my point.

In fact, just today I received a new handle and assembled one of the microphones pictured below. I buy authentic SHURE handles on eBay from a vendor in Arizona for $15, grills for $3 from a vendor in Lithuania, and capsules for $7-$8 each. They look and sound quite good for my purposes.

[Sidebar - I would would send photos and ask the RODE company to authenticate the NT2 you purchased, even if it sounds really good. Surely it knows more about what to look for than I do! ]

Ahem ... How do my copies look? Happy trails to y'all. James

Recently picked up a Beta 57A for $40 on the bay. Spent way too much time researching and trying to validate it's genuine-ness, which was frankly inconclusive. Then I placed it beside it's little brother (SM57) on snare top and tested it. Real or not it's my new snare mic, a definite improvement to my taste. If it's counterfeit they did an excellent job and I can't argue with the results.

 

[jeremynothman]

I tested the k47 in the U87 headbasket but it produces some harsh, abrasive midrange frequencies.
m7 is like k47, but closer to k47 flat. They are from the same family. To be highlighted, and to get the characteristic tone, you need a large headbasket, specific shape, with a very precise internal arrangement.

This could of course be, but I thought it was quite the opposite, that the U87 style headbasket was designed to reduce reflections and resonances. Indeed the M71/UM70 headbasket is designed around a similar shape, and the (very rare) Neumann U497 was literally a K47 in a U67 body.
Are you sure it wasn't a question of what height you had it in the headbasket, or that you rather WANT the resonance that a U47 style headbasket produces?

 

[micolas]

This could of course be, but I thought it was quite the opposite, that the U87 style headbasket was designed to reduce reflections and resonances. Indeed the M71/UM70 headbasket is designed around a similar shape, and the (very rare) Neumann U497 was literally a K47 in a U67 body.
Are you sure it wasn't a question of what height you had it in the headbasket, or that you rather WANT the resonance that a U47 style headbasket produces?

First of all, it is about the size of the headbasket, the internal volume. By analogy, the same speaker mounted in enclosures of different sizes will have different resonance frequencies.
Then form the headbasket, with parallel or inclined, flat or curved faces, etc.,
the shape, the density of the grills, meshes, the number of layers,
the position of the capsule inside the headbasket, height and inclination (NT1-a has an inclined capsule),
the dimensions and materials of the mounting support, more rigid or elastic materials,all interior materials, glossy or matte
Etc etc
I like to do sometimes absurd experiments, which often defy electronic theory, physics, acoustics, etc
I didn't aim to achieve a specific sound, I just experimented and reported my observations, maybe it helps someone.
For a long time I stopped looking to make historically correct clones, to achieve a certain sound.
I just do what I like, how I like.
Often you find what you need in a completely different place than what you are looking for.

 

[jeremynothman]

Hey, your experiments sound really interesting, and I understand the notion of the head basket volume.

I just realised that you wrote about a K47 in a U87 headbasket. I might be wrong, but it would seem strange to me that neumann would offer up a mic in exactly that config it it sounds bad.

Have you heard an M7 in a UM70/M71 style head? In a U67 body ala U497? In a lollipop?

Do they sound bad to you? For sure, they all sound different to each other, and not like a U47.

I’ve seen people write that they feel an M7 can sound “choked” in a u87 style basket compared to an M49 one. What is your take on that?

Apologies that this is all off topic, but I find it fascinating!