Make 'em Cheaper Still!

The influx of even cheaper mics, with parts made in China and assembled elsewhere, as well as mics made entirely in China, Russia and what had been East Germany, continued to put pressure on the market. The result: lower prices for condenser mics.

Quality control is not cheap, and at some point, that market pressure and competition can result in an inevitable reduction in quality. Besides, the whole issue of Quality itself, when examined in a marketing arena, comes down to the tolerances and expectations of the buyers. Simply put: How cheaply can we make our products before sales will not meet our expectations? How much microphone self-noise, minor distortion, inconsistency of sound and reliability will the market tolerate? Why bother to exceed those expectations?

Over the last two years, the decline in quality control has been personally alarming to me. Mics and preamps sent to me for evaluation with obvious, out-of-the-box problems are at an all time high. They are, I believe, the result of pressure to bring gear to market that meets the trigger price. That's the price a large number of people will immediately plop down, almost no questions asked.

This approach has been successful for several reasons. The ears of a large enough number of basement/project studio owners are not experienced enough to hear the difference. Their collection of equipment, as amazing as it is when looking back only a few years, may not be capable of capturing and reproducing the same quality of sound as that of the high-end studios. They pay less and get less. For them, especially if they can't hear the difference, that's an acceptable bargain. Unfortunately, even if they get one good piece, its performance may be masked by the limitations of other pieces in their chain.

One of the goals we'll try to meet with this site, is to give you the knowledge you need to make better decisions about what gear to get, based on quality, price and versatility. In this section, we'll discuss mics and preamps until we're all blue in the face, and, if you choose, you will be part of that discussion. You can also lurk and learn (LAL). We'll also talk about preferred combinations of mics and preamps, noise issues, why mic modelers are an effect but not a replacement for the real thing and ideas and topic that pop up along the way.

The Bottom Line

He wrote the book. You can download it from their site. Fluency in German required, however.

In the end, my goal is for everyone to come away with more knowledge than they came in with, and hopefully to share some of what they already possess with others. This will not be a static watering hole. In addition to your ongoing comments, we'll be providing fresh and provocative articles every two weeks, just to keep the pot stirred (or turned). I'm already working on an interview with Joerg Wuttke, Technical Director of Schoeps GmbH, manufacturer of some of the most highly revered mics on the planet. Since Schoeps makes no large diaphragm condenser mics, he is well qualified to offer an informed alternative view. I think you'll find that interview very interesting and thought provoking.

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