
Nady TCM1050 Tube Mic with Flight Case and Shockmount
With case, shock mount, and windscreen.
Overall User Ratings (based on 39 ratings)
by a customer from hotmail.com
"Buy 4 to get 1 (not guaranteed)."
After this I realize what price means. I guess, buying from Neumann, I had no story to make my friends laugh. Overall, I saved money and recorded a lot happy folks.
Sound
Warm on vocals (group or single). Any guitar (Gibson, Strat, Accoustic (Nylon, Steel) sounds live and full. In general, I am very satisfied with the quality. I had experience with Rode NT-1, NT-2, Shure Beta-57,58. This can substitute all of those. All of the singers, males, females seemed very excited with the mic.
Features
The multipattern availability is a big plus.
Quality
When I tell this story to my friends they laugh tearfully...
Bought 2 mics initially, thinking of stereo.
One of the two appeared to be defective. Whistling. Sent back for an exchange. Received a new one, defective, low sensitivity (about -9 dB lower than the one I keep, tech. sup. insisted that it was normal). Sent back for an exchange. Received a new one. Defective. Could not be attached to the shockmount, because the thread/nut problem. The mic was functional though.
Returned to end up the story. In total I held 4 mics in my hands and came up with one usable.
Value
Ok when works.
Manufacturer Support
There is only one tech guy, whose default answer is "return it for an exchange". I live 15 miles from Nady and he could not guarantee a successful exchange of the defective mic. "You can bring it in, and I can exchange it, but I cannot check the one I'm giving you. You take it and check..." he said. Really tough guy, insisted that difference of 9 dB between 2 mics capturing same sound is normal.
The Wow Factor
Do I want it? Lucky to have one working.
Musical Style:
variable
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Submitted August 22, 2004 by a customer from aol.com
"I Bought It"
When it breaks, besides one can never have too many mics
Sound
I rebuilt the mic and power supply.
Quality
The tube is soldered in place and that is really stupid in my opinion and anyone who knows tube electronics can tell this mic was designed by solidstate engineers
Value
Great value
Manufacturer Support
No
The Wow Factor
The intention make it beautiful was there, but craftsmanship needs to be tightened up quite a bit
Musical Style:
All
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Submitted March 11, 2005 by a customer from nonagonstudios.com
"I modified mine and love it."
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I got this because of the value - a large diaphragm, tube condenser, case, shockmount, power supply with 9 selectable polar patterns for a low price. After replacing the Chinese tube for a cryo NOS one, the package is really great.
Sound
Out of the box, the mic sounds full-bodied with lots of tuby warmth. I swapped out the stock tube for a NOS tube because the added warmth wasn't always what I needed. I installed a cryogenic JAN 6072A GE tube. After this easy mod, it is now more accurate, detailed, extended and lower noise floor. Because the frequency response is so flat now, I find I need to add upper end EQ to make instruments and voices shine more, which is fine by me. I use the mic on everything with excellent results. The reviewer who said that the stock tube is soldered in is mistaken. It comes out with some careful coaxing. Anyway, the sound of the stock tube was too warm for my taste, but very usable and nice.
Features
This mic comes with a lot of very useful accessories, including a padded metal flight case. Inside the case are a power supply with nine switchable polar patterns, ranging from figure eight to cardioid to omni. A foam windscreen is included. There is a nice, attractive shock mount. Comes with a LONG 7-pin cable between the power supply and the mic, and a power cable. No pad on the mic, but it handles loud volumes very well. Excellent feature set for the money. The switchable patterns allow you to use it for so many different tasks.
Quality
I've used it quite often for over a year now. Even though this is made in China, I've had no problems whatsoever with the mic and power supply. The mic has brass components and feels very solid and weighty. I expect it to last a long time. The only problem I had was on the flight case...when it arrived, one of the latches was locked -- and the key was inside the case. I actually had to break the latch to get in. This was not a good first impression. I was able to repair it. Also, the wingnut on the shockmount can be difficult to turn when overtightened. Not a biggie. My guess is it's probably more of a crapshoot with the cheap labor than with expensive mics, but if you get a good one, you'll be happy. I'm happy.
Value
Good value. Cheap. I got mine for $199 at the end of 2003; they cost $299 now, but I believe they're still a good value.
Manufacturer Support
Never dealt with them.
The Wow Factor
The mic says NADY on it...who aren't exactly known for making high end recording condensers, but I still think it's a pretty sexy package overall. It looks expensive and there's the nice black power supply box. The spider style shockmount is a copy of a Neumann design, very attractive.
Musical Background:
musician, recordist
Musical Style:
Rock, jazz
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