Nice demo. Motown began using the KM86 as standard on everything in 1968. prior to this, the primary microphone was the U67 supplemented by the RCA BX44, and the the EV 666.
Thank you! This was so helpful and encouraged me to pick up a KM86. Just like your video showed the top end of the mic is very different from the KM84 despite them using the same capsule.
OMG, Christian, I'm certain you could capture your performance with a pair of SM 58s and the impact would still be there. I think this is a perfect example of taking a near perfect performance and simply putting the icing on the cake with the Neumann mics and your processing. Bravo!
That sounds like a challenge haha! I actually watched an old Björk documentary and she recorded allot of her stuff with the sm58 so that definitely sounds interesting! Thanks for watching ✌️
Great video!!!! I wished for this video a couple of years before. When I was biying vintage neumann mics .But still i enjoyed a lot now! I have both km86 and km84 (three units) and the Km86 is just great for hard strumming (like Neil young on harvests "heart of gold"). It sounds better than 84 on hard hitting players. Usually I go for 84, but the 86 is there for ocasions.
Thank you for this beautiful demonstration! I was surprised to discover your video after failing to find much at all about these microphones during seemingly countless earlier searches. I "inherited" two KM 86 i microphones last year. After having Tom Onofrio (a former Neumann technician) refurbish them, they displaced my microphone inventory in my modest home music studio. My matched set of Rode NT5 microphones and my Shure SM 81 are benchwarmers . As you demonstrated, the KM 86's are truly amazing microphones. Although the three modes are switchable, Tom cautioned me to be very careful with the switch because it is the one item on these microphones that cannot be replaced. So mine stays in the cardiod pattern since I use it primarily for acoustic guitar and some vocals. I may need to send my microphones back to Tom, however, because no matter how hard I try, they can't get my singing my voice to sound as beautiful as yours--guitar yes; voice no. 🤓 Thanks, again!
Congratulations not a bad inheritance! That must have been a great upgrade from what you had before 😁 Yeah the dreaded switches.. they do sound wonderful in Omni so hopefully my switches won't break I also do think it sounds slightly better then the km84! Thanks for watching
@@Christian_svedin Yes! I just did a sound check using a couple of my Taylor acoustics with headphones. "Omni" is distinctly better. I was afraid of picking up other sounds, but if it's just me with my guitar in my studio, sounds more natural with Omni. Thanks again!
@@billa6348 if you're worried, have one set in Omni and the other one in cardiod! Cardiod is obviously nice but Omni is so smooth and even! I can also recommend you exploring mid/side stereo but you can use another mic for fig8 if you want to try that out! Goodl uck
Finally someone made a proper video on KM86. I have a few KM76 and KM84 and there is a difference in the highend between these, KM76 sounding more extended in the airy freqs. In a way I prefer the rounder sound of KM84 a tiny bit more. Here (just listening to youtube audio) I don't hear that difference, so maybe it's the transformerless nature of the KM7x series doing its thing. That sound difference between the patterns on the ac. guitar is pretty interesting, even after more than 10 years of owning KM76 I never used the patterns to get a different tone like this. Thanks for the tip ;). Just be aware of a spike in the highs at 90 degrees (of the polar pattern) when in fig8. Some people were complaining about it when doing location recording in bloomlein. It was never a problem for me though.
Hey! I think my initial reaction was a bit much haha! In cardiod the difference is extremely small. But the winner is ofc the option to have all 3 polar patterns in the km86. I've compared the km74 to KM84 and the difference to my ears was pretty much non. Both sounded good so it seems Neumann was very consistent in the km line from the get-go! Thanks for watching ✌️
If you love your KM84’s, you can also put a true Omni capsule on those and they get really sweet for acoustic instruments, rooms, etc. True Omni capsules have something special beyond the Omni setting on a multi pattern mic. …and it’s an affordable way to get more flexibility out of your 84’s!
I was actually just about to buy an km83 but then these poped up! I'd love to get my hands on a KM84 capsule though to see how it performs. I'm sure it's lovely though! Thanks for watching 🙏
Yeah it is very lovely! I've been thinking of getting an upright piano for some time. I'm just half bad at playing so it's probably a waste but I love the sound of a real piano and I'm sure the km86 would sound great! Thanks for watching ✌️
Good vid I like the 86 mic it sounds rich full and chimey if that’s a word of course I do think u can get this sound for much cheaper by using a good ribbon mic and condenser mic in tandem but if you have the budget the 86 is a great mic 👌🏾
Sure there are great alternatives out there! It is something very pleasing when you find a simple and elegant solution though! I did find my pair for almost an embarrassing low price so you can still find good deals out there! Thanks for watching ✌️
Congrats and thanks for the test. That's the only one videp I know for the KM86. I've been hunting that mic for years but they were always overpriced and in bad shape. They sounds really full.
Yeah I think I've only seen one for sale in Sweden before which is weird since Swe is full of Neumann mics. They're quite expensive but if you find one (or two) for a decent price go for it. They're super versitale 😊
Nice demo.
Motown began using the KM86 as standard on everything in 1968. prior to this, the primary microphone was the U67 supplemented by the RCA BX44, and the the EV 666.
Thank you! This was so helpful and encouraged me to pick up a KM86. Just like your video showed the top end of the mic is very different from the KM84 despite them using the same capsule.
Beautiful voice and song! The mic doesn’t matter.
You are the Man bro! Best comparison vids
Excellent comparison video of these two mics. Thanks for doing this!
OMG, Christian, I'm certain you could capture your performance with a pair of SM 58s and the impact would still be there. I think this is a perfect example of taking a near perfect performance and simply putting the icing on the cake with the Neumann mics and your processing. Bravo!
That sounds like a challenge haha! I actually watched an old Björk documentary and she recorded allot of her stuff with the sm58 so that definitely sounds interesting! Thanks for watching ✌️
Great room.
The KM 86 worked extremely well on your vocals. It might be my fav on your voice and I’ve watched all your Neumann videos.
voice is simply amazing 😍
Sounds excellent.
Great video!!!!
I wished for this video a couple of years before. When I was biying vintage neumann mics .But still i enjoyed a lot now!
I have both km86 and km84 (three units) and the Km86 is just great for hard strumming (like Neil young on harvests "heart of gold").
It sounds better than 84 on hard hitting players.
Usually I go for 84, but the 86 is there for ocasions.
Looked up this mic as it's used on acoustic guitar and overheads on Neil Young's records. Didn't think Figure 8 on guitar could sound so good!
Great job dude!
Thanks man 🙏
Thank you for this beautiful demonstration! I was surprised to discover your video after failing to find much at all about these microphones during seemingly countless earlier searches. I "inherited" two KM 86 i microphones last year. After having Tom Onofrio (a former Neumann technician) refurbish them, they displaced my microphone inventory in my modest home music studio. My matched set of Rode NT5 microphones and my Shure SM 81 are benchwarmers . As you demonstrated, the KM 86's are truly amazing microphones. Although the three modes are switchable, Tom cautioned me to be very careful with the switch because it is the one item on these microphones that cannot be replaced. So mine stays in the cardiod pattern since I use it primarily for acoustic guitar and some vocals. I may need to send my microphones back to Tom, however, because no matter how hard I try, they can't get my singing my voice to sound as beautiful as yours--guitar yes; voice no. 🤓 Thanks, again!
Congratulations not a bad inheritance! That must have been a great upgrade from what you had before 😁 Yeah the dreaded switches.. they do sound wonderful in Omni so hopefully my switches won't break I also do think it sounds slightly better then the km84! Thanks for watching
@@Christian_svedin Yes! I just did a sound check using a couple of my Taylor acoustics with headphones. "Omni" is distinctly better. I was afraid of picking up other sounds, but if it's just me with my guitar in my studio, sounds more natural with Omni. Thanks again!
@@billa6348 if you're worried, have one set in Omni and the other one in cardiod! Cardiod is obviously nice but Omni is so smooth and even! I can also recommend you exploring mid/side stereo but you can use another mic for fig8 if you want to try that out! Goodl uck
Finally someone made a proper video on KM86. I have a few KM76 and KM84 and there is a difference in the highend between these, KM76 sounding more extended in the airy freqs. In a way I prefer the rounder sound of KM84 a tiny bit more. Here (just listening to youtube audio) I don't hear that difference, so maybe it's the transformerless nature of the KM7x series doing its thing.
That sound difference between the patterns on the ac. guitar is pretty interesting, even after more than 10 years of owning KM76 I never used the patterns to get a different tone like this. Thanks for the tip ;).
Just be aware of a spike in the highs at 90 degrees (of the polar pattern) when in fig8. Some people were complaining about it when doing location recording in bloomlein. It was never a problem for me though.
Hey! I think my initial reaction was a bit much haha! In cardiod the difference is extremely small. But the winner is ofc the option to have all 3 polar patterns in the km86. I've compared the km74 to KM84 and the difference to my ears was pretty much non. Both sounded good so it seems Neumann was very consistent in the km line from the get-go! Thanks for watching ✌️
Great Voice Bro
If you love your KM84’s, you can also put a true Omni capsule on those and they get really sweet for acoustic instruments, rooms, etc. True Omni capsules have something special beyond the Omni setting on a multi pattern mic. …and it’s an affordable way to get more flexibility out of your 84’s!
I was actually just about to buy an km83 but then these poped up! I'd love to get my hands on a KM84 capsule though to see how it performs. I'm sure it's lovely though! Thanks for watching 🙏
km86 is my desert island mic, hopefully will own one they sound so good on so many sources, it's a great piano mic too if you get the chance.
Yeah it is very lovely! I've been thinking of getting an upright piano for some time. I'm just half bad at playing so it's probably a waste but I love the sound of a real piano and I'm sure the km86 would sound great! Thanks for watching ✌️
Nice
Nice video, like always :D
Thanks allot 😊
Good vid I like the 86 mic it sounds rich full and chimey if that’s a word of course I do think u can get this sound for much cheaper by using a good ribbon mic and condenser mic in tandem but if you have the budget the 86 is a great mic 👌🏾
Sure there are great alternatives out there! It is something very pleasing when you find a simple and elegant solution though! I did find my pair for almost an embarrassing low price so you can still find good deals out there! Thanks for watching ✌️
Congrats and thanks for the test. That's the only one videp I know for the KM86. I've been hunting that mic for years but they were always overpriced and in bad shape. They sounds really full.
Yeah I think I've only seen one for sale in Sweden before which is weird since Swe is full of Neumann mics. They're quite expensive but if you find one (or two) for a decent price go for it. They're super versitale 😊
@@Christian_svedin By the way, I currently live in Japan and just score a Sony C-38B. Have you already tried Sony mic ?
@@hekhopop cool, they're quite rare in Sweden so I haven't had the chance.. yet! 😁✌️
Hey Sephia...