Peluso P12 (Classic AKG C12 stand-in) -- RECOMMENDED

[mhschmieder]

Back in early October, I bought my first-ever high-end microphone, which also happens to be my first tube mic, after a LOT of research.

The Peluso P-12 is modeled after the classic AKG C-12 from the WWII era and was the standard vocal mic for many decades (still is, for some). I bought it for a heavy metal album I am producing (and playing on, since the bassist flubbed it). The singer is the best I have EVER worked with, on on a par with Ozzy Osbourne, so I really wanted to do his voice justice. Very dynamic, pitch-perfect, full of passion, almost operatic, but very natural and organic.

The P-12 is an amazing mic, and well worth the grand-and-a-half (more or less) that it costs. No sibilance whatsoever, or upper-mid harshness. I sold most of my condenser mics these past few weeks, except the ones used during drum tracking! I'm going to try it on acoustic guitar next.

This is the most balanced and natural mic I have ever used. Certainly it is a bit coloured, like any tube mic, but not in a way that radically alters the natural vocal timbre. It is warm, and also avoids low-end boom but is solid in the mid-range and the upper-lows as well as the lower-highs, so really is a perfect vocal mic -- for male vocals, at least (I do not currently know any local female vocalists who are interested in recording; most only want to gig, do their own thing, or moved away in recent years).

At any rate, in the context of classic C-12's and C-12 reissues, this one is a no-brainer cost-wise and can barely be distinguished from good examples of those mics in a shootout.

I plan to pick up a Peluso 2247 SE sometime early next year, to cover singers for whom the P-12 is not an ideal match, and maybe the P67 later on (especially for female vocalists). The 2247 SE is more or less a replica of the mic that ultimate morphed into the famous Neumann U87, but many (including myself) prefer the earlier non-solid-state versions (U47, U49, etc.).

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Once I replace my Mac Pro that died yesterday I'll be looking for a new mic. Thanks for the review.




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[mhschmieder]

Sorry to hear about your MP failure. We've had huge wind storms up in NCal and have had sudden power outages, one of which wreaked havoc with my machine for a day afterwards (it finally restabilized though). I guess you have already made your final diagnosis on yours though. Maybe you can wing some end-of-year deal to lessen the replacement costs.

[Tritonemusic]

Once I replace my Mac Pro that died yesterday I'll be looking for a new mic.

Don't mean to take this off-topic, but are you going for a brand new Mac, or are you planning on beefing up an older model?

[mikehalloran]

Back to topic. A grand and a half for a good C12 clone? That sounds like a really good bargain

The C12 doesn't sound great with everyone, however. There are many female singers whom I wouldn't let anywhere near one but it is a good first choice for so many male voices and the right female, too.

If I had a C12 and a U47, I'd be inclined to try the C12 first on most voices (I write this knowing that my bass voice sounds pretty bad through a U47).

[mhschmieder]

Mike, those are my thoughts exactly, and it's why I bought the P12 first. The 2247 SE is up next, and the P67 might get added if I feel I still have some gaps.

At that point, I'll feel pretty set on mics, except for a higher-end ribbon or two for stuff like sax and trombone (e.g. Coles 4038 or even one of their newer designs). But my discovery of what tube condensers bring to the picture has me moving away from my recent trend towards going ribbon for almost everything, as it solves the problems I've had with condensers over the years (high end harshness, e.g.).

Having said that, I still eventually plan to pick up a matched pair of Beyerdynamic MC930's, and maybe a higher-end omni pair at some point (I'm using the Avenson STO-2 kit at the moment, but so far they've been sufficient as a Spaced Pair as I'm just using them as drum overheads).

I'm holding onto my Neumann TLM102 for now, as that has so far been my favorite acoustic guitar mic for the "where the neck meets the body" position (I'm using a surprisingly good cheap CAD e70 pencil condenser between the bridge and the sound hole, which came as a bundle with the excellent CAD Equitek e100s that I use as one of my guitar and bass amp cabinet mics).

[James Steele]

But my discovery of what tube condensers bring to the picture has me moving away from my recent trend towards going ribbon for almost everything, as it solves the problems I've had with condensers over the years (high end harshness, e.g.).

I think this is what's going on when I started using a Groove Tubes GT-66 I got on craigslist on my guitar cabinet. You get the high end sizzle but "smoothed" out via the tube in the circuit.

[monkey man]

Mark, I see you're still sharing the good stuff, mate. Woohoo! Ripper.

Mate, I've had one of those gold (slightly "airy") AKG C414s on lay buy for 6 months and am almost finished paying for it. I felt I needed an alternative to my only vox mic, a TLM-103 (the old one, bought during the first year of production). I figured it could do double duty for mic'ing my lil' brother's Marshall rig (or his dad's Vox valve combo), and that it would therefore be a smart buy.

Now you come along and throw a spanner in the works. Thanks man.

The question must surely be: Just how much easier will this new-fangled Peluso be to mix vox (less EQ, easier to balance level-wise), and in your humble opinion, how much might it help my softish, dullish, deep voice cut through and shine relative to, say, either 414? I was originally after a standard 414 but opted for the gold version 'cause of the additional non-siblant (apparently) "air". I researched this peluso 'till my brain hurt, so I'd love to be able to defer to you as real-world experience hasn't been my thing in audio for a decade and a half. All my purchases have to be made through research as I can't get around easily etc.

Any thoughts will be pure gold for me, mate. Please feel free to ramble on, although I'm vaguely aware of how ridiculously busy you usually are...

I'm so glad you're still here, Mark; you're pure gold, mate.

[mhschmieder]

Well, the main problem is that the best 414 is no longer available. It's very frustrating; I would have bought a pair otherwise. The current 414's are targeted to different production needs than what I want 414's for. I can't even keep track of all the model variants, but they are significantly different other than basic form factor. This is obvious in shootouts.

The current 414's are good for many things, but the one that was really good for vocals is the one that was canceled a few years back. It might be possible to get good results out of one of the current 414 variants for vocals, but probably with more production work than I want to spend time on. The only thing I have to do with the Peluso P12 tracks is typical HPF stuff.

[monkey man]

Dang, that's what this monkey wants to hear, Mark.

HPF all the way is what I dream about, bro'. I don't wanna mess with anything else, especially those pesky highs since I can't hear much above my (very loud) tinnitus, which I think is around 7-8k. I can detect 10k cranked severely, but I'm confident (gutsy and stupid) enough to leave the high end more-or-less alone when mixing. I figure if I go flat all the way up there, some fancy-assed mastering engineer'll be able to add just the right amount of fairy dust with less phase crap goin' on than would otherwise be the case.

Any other comments on the mic? You've managed to "un-sell" me on the 414 now. I had a feeling that since 414B ULS (Something like that) things went downhill. Bummer. I have been told that the latest gold one does have a nice airiness to it without being sibilant, but I can't help but think these things may lack "character" - that subtle graininess I've found makes tube mics just sit so easily in the mix level-wise, meaning that they're more forgiving when setting levels. I'm basing this on a brief experience with a Rode Classic which I quickly sold due to the 32dB (I think) noise level. I regretted it straight away.

[mhschmieder]

You might find some good shootouts at Sound Pure's website, with really good musicians. I love Warren Dent's site as well (Zen Pro Audio) but am not fond of the vocalists he works with and it makes it a bit harder for me to judge the mics. But that is nevertheless an excellent starting point for starting to become aware of the differences between the AKG C414 models. The Peluso's don't come out so well at Clip-a-lator as they do at Sound Pure and in real world use.

We're expecting to do final production on the vocals today, so if I get any "surprises" regarding the Peluso P12 at final production stage, I'll let people know. Right now the tracks are sounding excellent in the mix with ZERO processing!

[mhschmieder]

About the tinnitus, I wonder if there are any plug-ins that help compensate for the frequency-masking you are experiencing? I have a good friend who had to drop bari sax (his main passion) due to tinnitus -- he can still play tenor (barely) and alto (less painful) but the vibrations of the bari are too much for him.

[monkey man]

I stopped worrying about the tinnitus 10 years ago, Mark; it's been there for 32 years and I honestly never give it a second thought. I'm more than happy to leave the highs and super-highs alone for the reasons I stated earlier. Too much music these days contains, to my ears at least, phasey, spitty, grainy, distorted and hyped highs. I figure if I leave 'em alone, even without pro mastering, that my product will be better off that way. I don't try to keep up with the Jones'; let them chase the hype, I reckon.

You might find some good shootouts at Sound Pure's website, with really good musicians. I love Warren Dent's site as well (Zen Pro Audio) but am not fond of the vocalists he works with and it makes it a bit harder for me to judge the mics. But that is nevertheless an excellent starting point for starting to become aware of the differences between the AKG C414 models. The Peluso's don't come out so well at Clip-a-lator as they do at Sound Pure and in real world use.

I appreciate that, Mark. I've been reluctant to take a listen to any of these shootout efforts, perhaps naively, for too many reasons to state here. I've seen them being referred to at BeerGutz. Out of respect for you though, I might have a dabble. The thing is though, my voice won't be there, let alone in my music. I'm not overly fussy (believe it or not) as it's not practical given my travel limitations; if I buy something and it impresses me on my voice, I'll likely be happy. The TLM is clean and not hypey, but there's just not any magic, wow-factor or that certain quality that makes it stand out or forgiving to mix. As soon as I experience these qualities, I'll be a happy camper and park there...

Right now the tracks are sounding excellent in the mix with ZERO processing!

Oh man! Awesome!

[mhschmieder]

MM, you will be happy to hear that the vocal tracks passed through to the final mastering stage almost unscathed! Also, this being a classic 40's microphone, it doesn't have the artificial Harshness Enhancer that most modern transistor-based condenser mics exhibit to one degree or another. Yet, unlike many other classic mics, neither does it lose detail in the high end.

For the main lead vocal track, since the Peluso P12 already does a great job of avoiding bass buildup or proximity effect, I got away with a 0.7Q High Pass Filter all the way down to 25 Hz, thus getting rid of unwanted stuff that might soak up bandwidth but which we might not realize is there. In other words, no chance of biasing the important vowel range of a deep male voice with a usual HPF around 80 Hz or thereabouts. I added a wide-bandwidth super-mild boost in the presence range, and I was done.

For the backing vocals, harmonies, and effect vocals, I used PSP's NobleQ, which is a Pultec EQ emulation (and possibly my favorite of all of those that I own). I placed its HPF at 60 Hz with a shelf at the same frequency, combining a "3" boost with a "2" attenuation. This did the trick of giving more body to the vowel sounds while removing any unwanted lows. I went midway at "5" for a broad "7" width boost at 4 kHz (for the consonants) and applied a "6" boost to a shelf at 10 kHz, using Clear Mode vs. Valve Mode. Those numbers are out of 10; can't remember if they're dB or ratios of a defined boost range. I use my ears to mix more than my eyes. The Effect Vocal EQ was slightly different from the two backing vocals, but not worth mentioning.

The resulting EQ'd tracks (no compression or limiting was used, or any other processing -- this singer knew how to work the mic), took so well to Eventide's UltraReverb in Plate Reverb Mode that I was done with the vocals in under half an hour!

To be quite frank, I was astounded. Up until now, vocals have always been my hardest mixing job. Most of my work on this project involved preproduction tasks, and of course coming up with near-ideal recording strategies so that we didn't have to "fix it in the mix" (my usual sorry state of affairs as I am rarely as much in control as I was this time).

[mhschmieder]

As a separate note, I should mention that I also used the fairly new sE Electronics SPACE Reflexion Filter, which is a major step up from their previous model (the one that inspired so many imitators). I was skeptical of earlier models, until reading about this new one, and can endorse it without hesitation.

The room we used it in had acoustical sheets (sort of mattresses) in several layers on the walls (we did this ourselves), and is about 12 x 15 feet or thereabouts (probably a bit bigger). We placed the singer about ⅔ of the way towards the front wall. He was a one-take miracle, then improvised amazing harmonies and effects vocals on-the-spot. His voice is deep but not boomy, lots of dynamics but he knew how to use the mic. The music is sort of classic rock/metal influenced, with his singing drawing from r&b and rock sources. Sort of like Ozzy.