Red 5 Tube Mic

[BoogieBear]

Hi there people

Has anyone used or got one of these?

http://www.red5audio.com/acatalog/Valve_Microphones.html

Good, bad, any comments at all.........

I might be tempted try one

Cheers
Anton

[jayzed]

I have no idea about this mic but I would be concerned about getting a valve mic at this price level. Maybe this one is the exception but the more affordable valve mics I've heard tend to overhype the distortion to get that 'undeniable valve sound'.

[IvanSC]

My Red5 LDC has been excellent. Not valve but it has been used in my dstudio regularly over the several years I have owned it. Their stuff fom my experience tends to punh above its weight.
but I did wind up buying a Rode Classic for my one valve mic.
Bear in mind Red5`s try before yuo actually buy it/14 day approval thingy.

[adrian_k]

Yes I was sceptical about the price point for Red5 mics but a mate of mine bought the cheap LDC (not valve) and I think it's great, not fizzy like some cheap (and not so cheap) mics.

I'd say it's worth a try because you can always return it within 14 days. If you do go for it let us know how you get on..

cheers
A

[jayzed]

Let us know how you get on. I'm still sceptical about the valve at that price but if the guys here like the brand it's worth a try.

[BoogieBear]

Thanks for the replies folks

Perhaps I should have mentioned that I own a couple of the Red 5 RV6 condenser models and they sound fine for the price

I was hoping someone might have one and would have a comparison or be able to compare it with other 'lowish budget' tube mics

Thanks again
Anton

[IvanSC]

If you already own Red 5 stuff and are happy with it, what have you got to lose?

Stop wimping out and try one! (you know you want to)

[bedazzled_k]

I've had the RV10 for years now and am very pleased with it. Am looking to buy the RV15 valve mic when I've some spare cash, especially after reading this review from Guitar magazine:

http://www.red5audio.com/guitarrv10andrv15.pdf

They mention replacing the valve for a NOS Mullard, which while invalidating the warranty, really improved the sound apparently.

Anyway, when I get one I'll post my impressions up here.

Finally, I've always found them a great little company to deal with, very helpful and flexible if there are any problems.

[iamphilip]

I bought one of these after I borrowed a Red5 RV6 off a friend for a couple of vocal tracks I was doing and I have to say, for the £50 price tag I was very impressed with it as it didn't seem to have that nasty high boost that budget mics seem to put out.
So back to the RV15- I have been very happy with this mic so far on ac guitar, vocal and shaker. I compared the mic to a AKG solid tube, which I think the RV15 is as good as or even better, and a Se2200a which it blew away. The 2200a had more Silabance and High end boost which was not helping the vocal. (Also compared some OHs Red5 RV6 vs Se2200a, and I preferred the Red5).

I have now bought a Golden Age Pre73 and have had good results with the mic, I would like to change the valve to a mullard but all in all I have got some even results with this and compared even a NTK so for the money I would stick to the Red5. They just seem good value. I look at it as I would prefer the top of the range budget mic to the bottom of the line top brand mic.

[Andi]

I have used my RV10 and RV15 for years on vox and acoustic and electric guitars and as ambient room mics. I don't have a huge range of mics for comparison but I have spent many hours with these mics learning placement the old fashioned way and I still like them. They work well, they are tough (mine have been dropped on occasion and get stuffed in front of big loud cabs), quiet, they respond well to placement and personally I think they sound fine; they do what I expect them to do and I'm not constantly trying to fix sounds that I don't like. For the price I'd say they are excellent. I am currently looking for a cheap ribbon to play with but there really isn't much that I couldn't record with these two. I'd say give it a try.

YMMV

Do be aware that the tube mic does take a little time to warm-up btw.

A.

[Dynamic Mike]

As another satisfied RV6 user, I'd certainly be tempted to try it for the price. At least with Red5 gear you get to auditon it in your own environment, & the worst that can happen is you'll get 2 weeks free mic rental!

[James Perrett]

I have no idea about this mic but I would be concerned about getting a valve mic at this price level. Maybe this one is the exception but the more affordable valve mics I've heard tend to overhype the distortion to get that 'undeniable valve sound'.

I suspect that they've brought the price down to compete with the likes of Thomann and Studiospares who sell Chinese valve mics without the huge markups that other brands have. One thing to watch with cheap mics is the quality control. All these mics are made in China and the basic quality control in China isn't great. The better rebranders will do their own quality control when they take delivery of the mics while others leave it to the customer.

James.

[SimonZ]

I bought some Red5 drum mics for pub gig duties.
Very useable for that sort of thing.
Good service and value for money and quality control.

I suspect that they've brought the price down to compete with the likes of Thomann and Studiospares who sell Chinese valve mics without the huge markups that other brands have.

It must be realy tough for them to compete against those guys.
Exchange rate and stock clearance mean that Thomann now have the T.Bone Retro III and the Superlux CMH8G, both multi pattern valve mics selling for £100.99

That 99p must be the profit margin.

The superlux used to sell near £200 maybe more.

Very hard for the small companies to fight that level of discounting.

[gofodwr]

There was an article in Guitar & Bass magazine a couple of months back about modding these type of mikes (most of them are pretty similar under the bonnet). It involved replacing a transformer and some of the caps in the signal path with better-quality items, as well as experimenting with different valves. The article was based on info readily available on the net apparently, so it's out there if you're the modding type.