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briank « Bright, smooth and creamy pencil mics for a great price »
Publié le 22/07/11 à 20:40
(contenu en anglais)
The Josephson C42s are small diaphragm, discreet FET condenser mics with a transformerless Class-A output. You will want to supply the C24s with a full 48v phantom power for best results.
They are equally well suited to live and studio environments and while I have used them in both situations to good effect, the vast majority of my work with them has been in the studio environment. The C42s can handle quite high SPLs and have a healthy but not overly-hot output which, along with their small size, means they are very versatile mics with a broad range of applications.
These mics are available either as singles in a stainless steel finish with a sturdy vinyl zippered pouch, foam windscreen and shock-type clip mount included, or as a matched pair in black finish with a carrying case. I purchased my C42s as a pair of singles, partly because they're well toleranced enough to not "really" need to be matched (my two aren't but they sound just the same), partly because it saved me a hundred bucks, and partly because I prefer the stainless finish to the black finish of the matched versions.
Regardless of your finish preference, you will get a beautifully machined, simple mic body which is surprisingly small. At only around 4 inches long, these are easy to place just about anywhere, particularly in conjunction with a 90-degree angled XLR connector.
The "shock clip" included with these mics fits and grips the mic body well; I have never had any worry about their ability to hold the mic and they do indeed reduce rumble compared to typical hard clips, though not as well as elastic spider mounts. The loose shock design of the clips makes them just a little bit fiddly with placement, only a very minor caveat. A number of alternate clips will work for the C42s as well.
OVERALL OPINION
The sound of the Josephson C42 could best be described as crisp and present on top, with a full, smooth, creamy coloration of the mid and high frequencies, and a tight, well defined low end response. These are not mics for those in search of ultimate transparency, but if you crave a mic that's bright but smooth rather than harsh in any way and with a fleshed out, palpable midrange, these are for you.
I personally love the color of these mics; they can cut a mix well while fattering the source and although there's no mistaking some cream going on in the mids and highs, unlike some decidedly colored sounding mics, these are surprisingly versatile and work in in many apps on many genres. They can take some of the fatigue out of the harder, brightish sound of ProTools rather despite their presence, and are of course real winners with analog tape too. The C42s also play nice with a very broad variety of mic preamps, from inexpensive small mixers to high end, high dollar boutique rack pres--I've plugged them into all of the above with excellent result, though of course more-so with the fancier stuff. One of my favorite preamps with these mics is the A-Designs MP2A 2-channel tube preamp, a combo that gives you all the big, smooth, warm, refined, quality-oozing sheen you can handle!
I get great mileage out of them in all I do which is particularly but not limited to various sub-genres of indie rock, folk, singer/songwriter. They are also well suited for jazz and classical stringed instruments and various types of percussion as well. I have had these on acoustic guitars, drum overheads and percussion, hihats, double bass high mics, fiddles, banjo, and even female vocals which can sometimes be surprisingly good with some careful placement to avoid sibilance and peaky presence.
The overall aesthetic, electronic and sonic quality of the C24s is very high indeed. I have used these mics routinely for more then 6 years and they've never skipped a beat. There's really not much at all to nitpick. The shock clips are just "OK," and that's really about it. Not much else I would change about this mic or package.
In the end, I believe they are wonderful sounding, highly useful mics which represent a superb value. This is NOT something I say about most pieces of equipment, but I really believe that these mics would still be a great value at double the price. They not only meet or exceed such similarly classed mics as Peluso CEMC6, AKG C451, Audio Technica 4041, Shure SM81, etc, but I would put them up against most any small diaphragm condenser at any price, including Neumann/Gefell and others. At $400-450 a pop, they're simply a bargain with a color that is "part of this complete mic collection." Very well done!
They are equally well suited to live and studio environments and while I have used them in both situations to good effect, the vast majority of my work with them has been in the studio environment. The C42s can handle quite high SPLs and have a healthy but not overly-hot output which, along with their small size, means they are very versatile mics with a broad range of applications.
These mics are available either as singles in a stainless steel finish with a sturdy vinyl zippered pouch, foam windscreen and shock-type clip mount included, or as a matched pair in black finish with a carrying case. I purchased my C42s as a pair of singles, partly because they're well toleranced enough to not "really" need to be matched (my two aren't but they sound just the same), partly because it saved me a hundred bucks, and partly because I prefer the stainless finish to the black finish of the matched versions.
Regardless of your finish preference, you will get a beautifully machined, simple mic body which is surprisingly small. At only around 4 inches long, these are easy to place just about anywhere, particularly in conjunction with a 90-degree angled XLR connector.
The "shock clip" included with these mics fits and grips the mic body well; I have never had any worry about their ability to hold the mic and they do indeed reduce rumble compared to typical hard clips, though not as well as elastic spider mounts. The loose shock design of the clips makes them just a little bit fiddly with placement, only a very minor caveat. A number of alternate clips will work for the C42s as well.
OVERALL OPINION
The sound of the Josephson C42 could best be described as crisp and present on top, with a full, smooth, creamy coloration of the mid and high frequencies, and a tight, well defined low end response. These are not mics for those in search of ultimate transparency, but if you crave a mic that's bright but smooth rather than harsh in any way and with a fleshed out, palpable midrange, these are for you.
I personally love the color of these mics; they can cut a mix well while fattering the source and although there's no mistaking some cream going on in the mids and highs, unlike some decidedly colored sounding mics, these are surprisingly versatile and work in in many apps on many genres. They can take some of the fatigue out of the harder, brightish sound of ProTools rather despite their presence, and are of course real winners with analog tape too. The C42s also play nice with a very broad variety of mic preamps, from inexpensive small mixers to high end, high dollar boutique rack pres--I've plugged them into all of the above with excellent result, though of course more-so with the fancier stuff. One of my favorite preamps with these mics is the A-Designs MP2A 2-channel tube preamp, a combo that gives you all the big, smooth, warm, refined, quality-oozing sheen you can handle!
I get great mileage out of them in all I do which is particularly but not limited to various sub-genres of indie rock, folk, singer/songwriter. They are also well suited for jazz and classical stringed instruments and various types of percussion as well. I have had these on acoustic guitars, drum overheads and percussion, hihats, double bass high mics, fiddles, banjo, and even female vocals which can sometimes be surprisingly good with some careful placement to avoid sibilance and peaky presence.
The overall aesthetic, electronic and sonic quality of the C24s is very high indeed. I have used these mics routinely for more then 6 years and they've never skipped a beat. There's really not much at all to nitpick. The shock clips are just "OK," and that's really about it. Not much else I would change about this mic or package.
In the end, I believe they are wonderful sounding, highly useful mics which represent a superb value. This is NOT something I say about most pieces of equipment, but I really believe that these mics would still be a great value at double the price. They not only meet or exceed such similarly classed mics as Peluso CEMC6, AKG C451, Audio Technica 4041, Shure SM81, etc, but I would put them up against most any small diaphragm condenser at any price, including Neumann/Gefell and others. At $400-450 a pop, they're simply a bargain with a color that is "part of this complete mic collection." Very well done!