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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 16, 2019 21:37:53 GMT -6
A friend just gave me a Shure KSM32. I'm curious if it's especially suited for a particular instrument or type of voice. I already have some good vocal mics, ( Soyuz 0-19 FET, Stam's SA67, Avantone's BV-12 and CV95), so I don't really need another one.
I've been recording some female voice-overs for guided meditations and podcasts lately. I find my LDC's are bit crisp for female voices and pick up too many external sounds. I've been thinking I should get an SM7B for those purposes. (I never loved the RE20). So if I don't find a useful task for the KSM32, maybe I'll sell it and buy an SM7b. I already have a Cloudlifter for it if I did get one.
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Post by ragan on Jul 16, 2019 21:50:22 GMT -6
I tried one based off some of the really positive reviews out there. It's a pretty nice, neutral sounding, workhorse kind of mic. It was just not quite as nice sounding as my budget-friendly 3U stuff (MKID, GZ67). A little harder sounding, more edge. Not that it's an edgy mic, but the 3U stuff is smoother and so for me, in my specific situation, it didn't find a home. A free KSM32 though? I certainly wouldn't kick it out of bed.
I'm inclined to think that if you're getting overly crispy sonics with the SA-67, I doubt the KSM32 is gonna be a step in the right direction. That said, try it!
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 16, 2019 22:01:16 GMT -6
Thanks Ragan. I'm waiting on the new SA67 with the Tim Campbell capsule, that oughta do it for my lead vocals. The Soyuz 0-19 FET is really great as well. It's really not that the mics are extra crispy with my voice, it's female voice overs. It's also that in my untreated room with lots of noise around me like elevators, a mailroom and a gym below me, the LDC's pick up a lot of that. So that's why I've been thinking an SM7b might help for voice-overs and podcasts. I won't have time to even plug the KSM32 in until Thursday, but will report back for sure.
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Post by ragan on Jul 16, 2019 23:29:09 GMT -6
Thanks Ragan. I'm waiting on the new SA67 with the Tim Campbell capsule, that oughta do it for my lead vocals. The Soyuz 0-19 FET is really great as well. It's really not that the mics are extra crispy with my voice, it's female voice overs. It's also that in my untreated room with lots of noise around me like elevators, a mailroom and a gym below me, the LDC's pick up a lot of that. So that's why I've been thinking an SM7b might help for voice-overs and podcasts. I won't have time to even plug the KSM32 in until Thursday, but will report back for sure. I've always liked SM7s. Sold mine awhile back but I'll buy another somewhere down the road. |
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Post by drsax on Jul 17, 2019 0:32:38 GMT -6
The KSM32 is a real solid mic. A workhorse. One of my favorite things about it is that it works on everything and takes EQ and processing very well. It’s not a U67 by any means, but a very useful mic.
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Post by guitfiddler on Jul 17, 2019 6:19:08 GMT -6
Does anyone know how it compares to the KSM44? I have not heard the 32, but know the 44 well.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Jul 17, 2019 6:51:54 GMT -6
Warren Haynes live guitar amps are mic'd with 32's and he's got some of the best tone on the planet.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 17, 2019 8:15:25 GMT -6
Thanks Jesse, I'll have to look into that. I wonder if he uses the KSM32 to record with too. Funny, I won't be able to try out the mic until tomorrow, but my hope was the I like it for recording small guitar amps. I often use a Shure SM58. I'd use a 57, but since I own a 58, it does fine.
I'm planning on getting a Soyuz 0-11 FET soon, mostly for acoustic guitar, but I found that mic is excellent for small guitar amps as well. I'm hoping the KSM 32 can find a place in my collection. Otherwise I'll lose value if I sell it to buy something else. If I do sell it, I'll most likely get an SM7b just for podcast/guided mediation/voice-over recordings because it doesn't pick up as much of the surrounding sounds my main mics do.
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Post by svart on Jul 17, 2019 8:33:06 GMT -6
Worked on some tracks for someone who used a ksm32 for vocals and guitars. Seemed like a decent mic from hearing the tracks. Nothing good or bad stood out to me about it.
They did complain that it quit working after a few months though.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Jul 17, 2019 9:29:24 GMT -6
Warren Haynes live guitar amps are mic'd with 32's and he's got some of the best tone on the planet. I tracked Warren’s album Ashes and Dust - he would sound like him with a squire and a champ hahha. But yeah the 32 is pretty good and totally useful. Martin, he left mic choices to me - guitar amps were 121’s and 57’s. My memory is failing me for what the mic pres were but I can check my notes if anybody is interested. Live basic takes were his guitar into a splitter, then into a super reverb, mercury Carr, and Gibson Falcon. Each amp’s mics were summed, lightly compressed with an 1176, and came up to the board where the balance changed for each song. Solos were either through his Diaz or through a custom Homestead amp. Same mic combo on those amps, again can’t remember preamps. His acoustic guitar was through an 84 by the 12th fret and a c37 by the lower bout. Both went through VP-28’s. Vocal was M49 into a V72 into a Hairball 1176 Black kit. He sang live for the most part and didn’t really do too many vocal fixes. |
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Post by lpedrum on Jul 17, 2019 9:37:00 GMT -6
Workhorse Mic = won’t ruin your music, great when you’ve run out of your favorite mics, zero character allows it to work on everything, capable emergency backup when your good mic fails, a veiled insult to actual hardworking horses, super cool if your friend gives you one for free!
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Post by Vincent R. on Jul 17, 2019 11:28:40 GMT -6
My friend Giulio really likes them for horns.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 17, 2019 11:33:12 GMT -6
Free? Sort of, kind of. I did do my friend a six hour engineering favor... so the KSM32 was earned, but I'd have done it for free anyway. My friend just didn't need it anymore, so she kindly offered it to me, knowing I like having different mics.
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the responses. Jeremy, posts like yours are what so amazing about Real Gear, someone mentions an artist, and an hour late the engineer who worked with that artist offers insights!
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Post by kevinnyc on Jul 17, 2019 17:19:28 GMT -6
One man’s decent all arounder is another’s holy grail overhead mic 😂
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 17, 2019 21:42:16 GMT -6
Thanks Kevin. I can dig what he's saying, but I'd sure rather have a pair of U67's!
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Post by EmRR on Jul 17, 2019 21:44:58 GMT -6
Never owned one but also never had a prob with any I ever used, for any task.
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Post by Omicron9 on Jul 18, 2019 8:14:16 GMT -6
Does anyone know how it compares to the KSM44? I have not heard the 32, but know the 44 well. I have owned/used both for years. My applications are all acoustic instruments; no vocals or amps. Here's my take on it, for whatever it's worth.
44: Brighter top end than the 32, lower self-noise. More detailed perhaps, but never harsh or brittle. Great all-around multi-pattern mic. In cardioid, it's very very close to a Gefell M-930. 1" LDC. Side note: the M-930 is one of my very favorite, if not favorite, cardioid LDC. So to get something that close to it is both amazing and very useful (to me).
32 (I have a pair): More even across the frequency range, except with a lovely/rich/open extended low bass response. Like in the 20 - 200 Hz. range IIRC. But not boomy at all. Top end is less bright than the 44 and more what I'd term "accurate." 1/2" MDC. The 32 works so well on so many things.
Never had a problem with these or any Shure mics.
Both are, in my opinion, wonderful pieces. But nothing alike really. Get both!
-09
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Post by Vincent R. on Jul 18, 2019 9:05:21 GMT -6
Ah, the KSM 44. My first mic! I wish I hadn't had to let it go. I recorded this with it:
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 18, 2019 10:35:56 GMT -6
Interesting, great track Vincent! I'm hearing a lack of that cheap mic sizzle and edge on both the KSM32 and the 44. They're very smooth and clear. I can see where they would be useful.
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Post by Chad on Jul 18, 2019 11:23:46 GMT -6
Hi, Martin!
Years ago (early 2000's), my good friend loaned me a pair of KSM 32s while he was on the road with a band. I had them for several months, and I loved their sound. Neumann-U87-esque was my first thought when I plugged one in for the first time on a vocal track. At that time, I only had an AT4050, and the cardioid pattern of the KSM32s were MUCH tighter which made the room disappear in comparison to the AT.
I also had a pleasure of using that pair as a mid-side on acoustic guitar. REALLY liked the sound. Like many have said already, they're great workhorse mics.
Chad
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Post by brenta on Jul 18, 2019 13:28:12 GMT -6
Warren Haynes live guitar amps are mic'd with 32's and he's got some of the best tone on the planet. I tracked Warren’s album Ashes and Dust - he would sound like him with a squire and a champ hahha. But yeah the 32 is pretty good and totally useful. Martin, he left mic choices to me - guitar amps were 121’s and 57’s. My memory is failing me for what the mic pres were but I can check my notes if anybody is interested. Live basic takes were his guitar into a splitter, then into a super reverb, mercury Carr, and Gibson Falcon. Each amp’s mics were summed, lightly compressed with an 1176, and came up to the board where the balance changed for each song. Solos were either through his Diaz or through a custom Homestead amp. Same mic combo on those amps, again can’t remember preamps. His acoustic guitar was through an 84 by the 12th fret and a c37 by the lower bout. Both went through VP-28’s. Vocal was M49 into a V72 into a Hairball 1176 Black kit. He sang live for the most part and didn’t really do too many vocal fixes. That's awesome, thanks for the info. Warren Haynes is one of my favorite guitar players and I like Railroad Earth too. What did you use on overheads and fiddle? |
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Post by jeremygillespie on Jul 18, 2019 16:19:52 GMT -6
Fiddle was a Coles 4038 above and a Schoeps CMC6 with an Omni capsule sort of pointing along the neck of the fiddle. He was in an iso booth along with an amp that he was plugged into along with some effects. Don’t remember what amp it was but it was really quiet and I had it blanketed off.
Warren was in the live room with Andy (gtr, banjo, dobro, etc) and John (mandolin, piano). Mando was mic’ed up with another CMC6 with Cardioid cap, and he also had a stereo rig that I took a di out from - I don’t think it got used much.
Andy had a Km56 on him. He was an amazing musician with fantastic ears, and would pretty much put his headphones on and pace the mic on whatever he was playing and it always sounded fantastic.
Drums were my ‘54 Slingerland Radiokings - 22, 13, 16. Snare was my Wurlitzer branded snare from the 40’s. Think the snare Levon Helm played a lot - same thing. OH’s were rca77’s until something went a little nutty with one side and I had to switch out to 87’s.
I’ll dig up my input list if I can find it.
It’s funny to listen to the record now as it definitely doesn’t sound like it did when I tracked it. Jim Scott (who is a hero of mine) was mixing as we were finishing the tracking process song by song, and he sort of put a different vibe on it. Not a good thing or bad thing, just not how I expected it to sound (and man I hate that spring reverb that’s on everything... HAH!)
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jul 18, 2019 17:31:04 GMT -6
Just gave the KSM 32 a try. It's clear and handles peaks nicely. I prefer more character in my mics, but I couldn't fault the KSM32 at all. I can see how it might do really well on overheads or acoustic instruments, as it paints a clear and realistic picture of what's in front of it. I tried it on a vocal, I'll try acoustic guitar tomorrow. It reminded me a little of the Roswell Delphos. It's a quality mic, definitely not a Chinese capsule sizzle sound. Since I've been in need of an SM7b for doing podcast/voice overs in my apartment, I may see about selling it or trading it.
If anyone here would like a KSM32 in trade for an SM7b, let me know..
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Post by Guitar on Jul 20, 2019 12:22:14 GMT -6
A drummer friend of mine uses a KSM32 as his mono overhead, has been using it for years on many albums and EPs.
It's his "good mic" so I'm sure he uses it on everything. Probably vocals.
His music style is punk rock, generally speaking.
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Post by Mister Chase on Jul 20, 2019 21:36:56 GMT -6
I used to have 4 of them. I really liked them. Great utility mics. They are pretty boxy sounding, though. Through something real hi fi like a John Hardy preamp it really opens up nicely. The A Designs P1 was pretty good with them too.
They were easily bested by other mics, but since I didn't have all the money in the world and every mic I wanted, they were great for stuff that was lower on the totem pole.
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