I can answer your questions about counterfeit mics. If it seems like a deal too good to be true, it probably is but wait a moment - don't naturally assume someone is selling a fake just because it's a good deal. What you should do first is goto Google and type in the name of the mic followed by words like "counterfeit" and "fake". If there's no info about that model of mic being fake, it's probably real. If it's a well known mic by a well known brand, it's in jeopardy of being copied by a Chinese company because they can mass produce a bunch and sell them at a huge profit. MKH-416s, Shure Beta 57 and 58s are amongst the most common fake mics you'll find on eBay right now but there are others. If it's listed as new and much cheaper than other new mics, count on it being a fake. If it's not shipped out of America, there's a very good chance of it being fake especially if it's a good deal. Look at the build quality in the pictures too. If most or all the pictures are stock photos and the real mic isn't shown, I'll bet my CAD E100 that it's a fake (so go ahead and send me whatever you were betting). If it does show real pictures, look at the build quality - cheap looking printing, non-smoothed out corners on the windscreen, asymmetry... Also look up pictures of the real microphone online and compare to the pics they show. Don't be afraid to ask for more pics - a good seller will gladly take and send you additional pictures especially since you can't hear the mic. Compare all angles - coloration of pins on the male XLR connector, branding inside the XLR if there, placement of serial number and model number (including the angles of the printing and order of the model number) and so forth. If anything seems off, don't be afraid to ask questions - where it was bought and when, for how much, why selling, etc. Real sellers will have these answers and gladly share. If the response isn't in proper English or complete sentences - DON'T BUY IT! Hopefully this helps.
Booth Junkie Just recently bought a Shure 55SH - there are MANY knock-offs of that model on the Chinese Internet (it’s the retro Elvis-style microphone from the ‘50s).
I recently bought a Shure Beta 58A on eBay, and the listing only used the stock photo, and it was listed at $100 USD. When it got here, I decided to do research and check to see if I got a fake, and it seems like it's authentic. The label is fine, the XLR pins and the port itself are fine, unscrewing the ball mesh and inspecting the innards didn't reveal any sign of a fake, so I guess I got a good deal. It also doesn't sound bassy like fakes seem to.
Story from my niche of products: There are fake folding knives that are so well made, they basically reproduce the original to exact specs, often just with a slightly lower quality blade-steel and of course you don`t get any warrenty. We had a case where a friend bought a knife that normally costs 700$$ for 90$$, and then he handed it to me and asked me if it was an original or not. The only way I was able to tell was because there was a dot instead of a triangle on one of the symbols in the tiny brand-logo, I had to use a usb-microscope to even see that. Counterfeit makers are getting super tricky.
Great info Mike. I recently purchased a 416 and a 103 but not without exhausting the "due diligence" with regards to Fakes. I eventually purchased thru the FB page VO Gear Exchange. That is a great resource as well for anyone looking to purchase. Keep up the awesome work Mike!!
Mike has the most useful channel for VO talent that I've ever seen. He covers every aspect of the business (except marketing) so well, it's amazing. What a resource! I hope this is landing him some work!
Absolutely love your content and your execution. Times like at 2:42 so many people smack their mouths in between word breaks and it’s difficult to remember NOT to do it due to how bad it sounds, especially with sensitive microphones. Thank you for your attention to details like this. Much love and respect!
My local supplier said to weigh the mic and check against the manufacturer's specs. My SM57 is exactly 284 grams which matches the specs: cdn.shure.com/specification_sheet/upload/81/sm57-specification-sheet-english.pdf.
Im thinking about buying this mxl990 from ebay from a seller called "musicians friend" He sold 88 of them already for 69$ do you think it's safe getting one of these? Its the Blizzard Limited Edition.
any observations on Scarlett 2i2, Audio Technica AT 2020 XLR , and Sennheiser E845S would be appreciated. I bought them all online, without giving thoughts focused in this video. thanks for the info... :)
I’m looking for a new cad e100s but unsure where to buy one from since I don’t see it offered on amazon. Any advice on where to buy one? Or a microphone that is similar.
Also , there are a lot of Counterfeit microphones at pawn shops across the country. Many of these pawn shops don’t know are care weather or not it is a real or fake microphone. They want to get as much money on the sale as possible. It’s so bad, I’ve seen a counterfeit microphone at Guitar Center. Once they realize it was a fake they took it down. The best advice that I can give is only by from a Good retailer and NEW ONLY.
Your video made me have a mini panic attack! I bought a "factory repack refurbished" Sennheiser e906 this week for $92. They go for $189 new. I bought it from Amazon, but it was sold by Alto Music through Amazon. I had to go see a couple of unboxing videos, searched for Alto Music directly on the Sennheiser website, and searched on some forums online. I've been using that mic a lot during the week and I believe it to be real. Everything on the packaging looks real and feels quality. The mic itself looks like the ones I have seen on the stores and it feels good, nothing looks cheaply made, and most importantly, it sounds good. I got scared for a bit there. But I think mine is real, and if its not, I should still be able to return it to amazon in the next few days.
Hello Mike, i just bought a sennheiser mkh 416, and everthing looks good like the original one. But the cap on the top does come out in mine... not easily though, and not like the one in the video (theres something attached that also comes off not just the tip). Does that mean its fake because it comes off ?
I actually purposely bought a bootleg SM58 for $28 off Ali just for the hell of it. It doesn't have the same weight nor feel as a real one but it certainly sounds just as good. So buying a bootleg doesn't necessarily mean it's going to outright have bad quality. Just look at BM800s that you can find as cheap as $14 that sound comparable to an AT2020. I also wouldn't call the Small Bottle's mic as an actual counterfeit since it's in a completely different design and would most likely come in the mail under that exact branding. Just look out for counterfeits when you're actually looking to get the real thing but ending up with a fake for $30 isn't that big of a lost if they perform just as well.
All mics have chips which those components are soldered on right? Me and a friend ordered a blue microphone and it got stuck when screwing on the shockmount and the chip components were glued on with actual glue. Like no kidding, it was a drop of glue next to the part that connects the db settings of the mic. Then the interior of the mic from the inside had strange purple stains all over it.
Mike what's your opinion on the 4x4 whisper room you have? I heard it's better to have rectangle booths for voice overs such as a 3.5 x 5 and I'm curious about which one to get. Is the 4x4 enough room to have a small desk setup with computer? I noticed you always stand up it looks like and can't really see what kind of desk/computer setup you have
If both is supposed to be design best as possible(without shit ton of calculations) there should be no 2 parallel walls. Also computer should be not in both(fans and electronics hiss). If anything only monitor If keyboard and mouse(thus desk) is not needed it should not be there(reflections). There are some well know rations for acoustic rectangle rooms gabor.me/images/images/room/room-ratios.png If we would go outside boxes with parallel walls. Well it get more complicated. Example of multi room recording studio dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/news_large/s3/imagelibrary/b/build_01.jpg?UHa0uFV0YUV8QcIkGodTevAtzHw1yChn=&itok=XzdKHrLj Acoustic treatment well there is also no single way of doing it. It can be done like in anechoic chambers with triangles(keep in mind there specially calculated and from special materials not just triangles in some pattern But I would think that even random BIG triangles from foam in pattern would work rly well) To made small room that is death. And don't require god know how much of work. I would recommend to made walls un-parallel and put on wall behind mic from foam wedges(triangles) and on other walls just put shit load of foam(or preferably special sound isolation "wool"* that is used for building thermal and sound insulation(like it's shown on/in this channel how to made sound panels). But it will require safety equipment) *Most "wools" that are mainly for thermal insulation. And there are those a bit more expensive specially made with sound in mind as well thermal insulation. And after that human come in and also put microphone inside. Well human is just one big reflection surface albeit irregular thus is diffuser. Also microphones have quite big bodies and when they present this body(like most large diaphragm condensers) It also create reflections that is not good for "death room". So then I personally form mics side would recommend something like Oktava MK-012 preamp or Oktava mini tube with MK-102 large diaphragm capsule (but ofc there is more to MK-012/100 system)
I bought an XLR mic to go with my Xynex 302USB. The microphone was calling itself professional, but when it came to my doorstep and I looked at the box it was not "professional" in fact it was "porressional". Honestly, it didn't take me a day to start laughing about it. The mic was cheaply made, light and had that cheap plastic feeling, sounded poor on my voice since I have a deeper voice (my second and third videos used this microphone) and generally wasn't what I was expecting based on the reviews this microphone got on Amazon. But, I probably will one day try it again since at the time I was recording in my dining room that opened up into the kitchen and living room. But, I feel it won't redeem the microphone's flaws as much as I want it to.
I got a counterfeit Rode once from a dealer on Amazon. It sounded like crap and had all the tell-tale signs of a counterfeit. The store immediately refunded my money and I bought the genuine article from B&H, in person.
This is why I avoid buying used especially if it's sensitive equipment like mics, game controllers, hard drives or really anything that's very expensive where you know people are desperate to find it cheaper elsewhere, The most I'll do is refurbished or open-box if it's from a reputable place. The last thing I bought used was textbook.
I bought one AT2020 on Ali express, and it sounded bad. Then I bought another one from a trustable seller in my country and this one sounded good. The "fake" one has a red wire that connects to the capsule, the good one has black wire. The bag that comes with the mic is also inferior in quality.
Hi Mike. I really enjoy your videos. your technical knowledge keeps me on point 😊 Would love to stay connected as we both are in the VO coaching relm. Doesn't seem like many of us collaborate together. Anyway...back to the booth LOL
I wasn't aware of existence of fakes until last week at all, and accidently bought a Neumann KMS 105 1/4 the price (but 2x expensive than china prices). After a little research, I contacted the seller and requested him to take pictures of the capsule. Even he wasn't know he's selling fakes and said he was selling them like pancakes :D Luckily, he sent my money back immediately, as he has not shipped it yet.
Some mics are just knock offs or look a likes and don't even claim to be brand this or that. Like pdmic 78 or weymic 57 that I knowingly bought for its sound and not for it's appearance as it is close to a transformerless Shure SM57 in sound. Can we call a look a like product counterfit or fake if it does know claim to be of a known brand?
Depends on local legislation, which is constantly evolving. The industrial design might be considered a work of art, and thus protected like a music, novel, movie, painting, etc. Besides, elements of the visual design may be registered with the WIPO/OMPI or national intellectual property organizations. Long story short, when in doubt, I'd ask the brand owner. And if I don't get a reply, I would seriously consider not ever buying from that brand again.
Every now and then reputable sellers will have great deals on mics. I got my 416 when B & H had one of their Christmas sales and I think I paid 599.00.
Amazon is wiping out your local community retailers slowly but surely, last week my favourite local little music store closed down and with it went a musical social hub, access to repairs and advice and option to try out before purchasing, mix with other musicians who I would not normally have had I’ve had amps repaired many guitars set up over the years, mics bought but they couldn’t compete anymore with online stores such as Amazon with their super low tax rates and prices of gear and people’s general laziness and fewer and fewer people even bothering to learn an instrument. Now I have to drive, park in a multi story and drag an amp across town for any repairs or even to visit a store in a busy arcade, ok for something small just hope my back holds out on that amp. Amazon is the scourge of society it benefits only itself and is a very poor experience indeed and is leading us all to polarised life of isolation, lack of choice, lack of engagement, resentment and partisanship leads eventually to a right wing society. Not good when the past is valued more than the selectively delivered to your door future. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s palms sweat at the thought of an Amazon purchase.
If you buy new mics on ebay - that's a red flag. Shure don't allow their dealers to do this. If you see them on ebay for even 20 £/$ less than the usual retail price on line from real dealers, they are not genuine. Some are actually indistinguishable from the real thing - the SM57 for example - there are some that sound simply awful and others you'd be unsure of in a blind trial. Thomann in germany sell their version with T-Bone as the brand. These are really good, but the same mic is on sale with the Shure branding. If you buy on Amazon - exactly the same caveats apply. If you want genuine - find a real supplier who sell all the product line. If they do 57s and 58s, plus Beta versions only - then that is suspect. The 55 mics rarely are branded as Shure 55s - they have the shape but are rarely branded as Shures for some reason. SM86 and 87 are very risky to buy. I often buy the silly price mics to pull them apart. Up to a couple of years ago - SM86 and 87s were fitted with dynamic capsule, but now a few are out there with electrets in 3 point mountings - not exactly the same, but they are there - BUT - not in hypercardioid/supercardioid, just cardioid. While the SM57 copies are pretty good sound wise, the Beta 57's are very thin sounding. There are exactly the same issues with the Sennheiser 835 mics - lots of perfectly decent dynamics. 845's are rare, and lots of 865 condensers have dynamic capsules. The only real difference with these is the rubber mounts - much harder so handling noise is worse than the genuine mics but tone wise - they're fine.There have been some recent copies of Neumann hand held condensers. These range from very good, to appalling. You cannot tell from the pictures. Inside, the capsule design of the nice sounding ones is a bit different, but the nasty sounding ones have a much simpler PCB and mic capsule. None so far have copied the board - the Neumann has a strange zig-zag design and the cooies do not follow this, although the PCB layout is very close and components follow the Neumann design. To sum up. If you get them for 75% of retail or less, they are copies/counterfeits/forgeries. If you buy from ebay or amazon, the same - almost certainly dubious. Most main dealers stick close to the full retail price - big discounts are rare. Please - if you buy cheap or from ebay or amazon, stop complaining about them not being real. Bargains do not exist on mics. Even Thomann and DV247 who sell huge quantities cannot do much with Shure and Sennheiser pricing.
i suspect that i have bought a used smoked fake beta 58a and while buying it from the second hand shop it seemed too light, i asked the guy if the mic is original he said yes, my gut told me the truth, 2morro ill give it back and buy it from established seller for a bit more € but it will be mine and original
Isn't Massdrop just a "buyer aggregator"? You aren't buying from them, you're buying from some other retailer (or wholesaler) who agreed to give them a deal on a mass purchase. So the question is whether Massdrop makes sure they're buying from authorized resellers.
RedBearAK yeah, I guess I was being kind of troll-ish with that question, since the E100s video mike made promoting massdrop, I've seen some drops that seemed questionable as to where the product was coming from.
from what I've read they tend to make massdrop editions of things which use slightly cheaper materials than the original non-massdrop versions. I don't think that applies to everything sold there though, but that how they discount stuff.
I'm like 60% sure that my RE20 was a counterfeit. This is mainly because it was selling for $325 on eBay and the only other option I could find was over $400. I don't know how to tell by the sound, I mean it sounds decent, but I don't know my voice well enough on dynamic mics.
Sometimes people just want to get stuff sold so they underprice it compared to the rest. It's still more than they would get for going to a used music store / pawn shop, so they'll take it. I've sold a few pieces of gear for $100 under the lowest listing just to get it sold. :)
Counterfeit microphone manufacturers learn from their mistakes as well and make ones that are more realistic. My solution to this problem is to always buy equipment brand new and from an authorized distributor or, when possible, the manufacturer.
I would gladly take a Counterfeit microphone and work with is... with such a ridiculously small budget like mine.. I will be more than happy to have something that works...
I don't have a problem with copies on the market....... Provided they are not sold proclaiming them to be an authentic product. I've gotten a number of Mics from Aliexpress, but I only ordered ones with a house brand, or no name.
La, sadiki... Demand a refund and keep the counterfeit! Tell the seller/Amazon/eBay that returning it would make you an accomplice to an international crime by dissimulating a piece of evidence. So you're legally obliged to keep it available to the police/justice/brand's attorney and may only remit it against an official receipt by the aforementioned authority. Then tell all your friends to go and purchase the same item from that seller to deplete his inventory. And then report the seller/web site to the brand owner. Punish the bad guy, help the good one, and protect the innocent from being ripped off. Just like your favorite superhero would.
Amazon itself (Sell and ship by Amazon) was cought on counterfeits many times. Maybe, if they are authorized retailer, they won't get fakes to their warehouses.. But I wouldn't buy such things on amazon. Specialized stores only. Better offline.
There's so many fake Shure mics out there, there's no point in trying to get a used one. I bought a used one a long time ago that looked totally legit... listed as factory refurbished, pics looked like the real deal, even had the nice heavy weight when getting it out of the box. ...But it sounded like a $10 piece of crap and had the infamous "caution" sticker on the capsule.
Further to your suggestions ... avoid crazy sites like Ali Express and Wish and ... so on so forth. I've bought a bunch of stuff from Wish, mainly out of curiosity to see if it was all legit and my experience has been mixed. Anything *SIMPLE* like flash umbrella mounts, simple pop filters, lens caps and camera body caps ... no problem. But every single listing for sd cards or flash drives is accompanied by 90% negative reviews. 64GB end's up being re flashed / hacked 1GB for example. so while it tells your computer or camera its 64GB in reality the guts are 1GB or less and once it passes the 1GB of data everything gets corrupted. I bought a powerbank (expecting it to be fraudulent ... was not disappointed in that regards) that was rated 300,000mWh ... it barley charges my Note 4 1.5 times and is built like garbage. I bought some BM-800 mics and was pleasantly surprised that they work perfectly. I actually used one of them (bought 2) to record some voice over (not my voice but an actor) for a documentary I was hired to shoot and record and edit ... and the BM-800 sounds great (for a cheap large condensor) connected to my Tascam DR-40. It is hit and miss and really not worth the risk and wait time for delivery. For literally a few dollars more I could have bought those Excelvan BM-800's form Amazon (Fufilled by amazon), have gotten them within 2 days (Prime) and if there was a problem returning them to amazon would have been easy and free (I've had to do that once before, very painless). I was trying WISH as an experiment and haven't bought anything from there in like 6 months. Will be deleting it from my phone.
Good everlasting relevant video! I found another telltale clue! When you put the microphone on your chin and raise it to your ear, you might hear, "I am Xi Jinpeng and I am the authorised reseller of this mic!".
The Blue mic came after some of those Chinese ones that look similar. There were also some square body mics of similar design. Years ago I was looking for possible donor bodies to build actual decent quality mics. The site I used at the time was tmart.com.
You are literally the best. I would love to get in touch with you. I need your knowledge! Twitter is a good place to chat, if you are up for it. Just PM me there! Keep up the good work. You are one of the very few channels I routinely follow.
Hi Mike, I have been trying to take your advice this year and record something amazing. If you ever get the time Could you please check out some of my voice over videos on my channel and let me know what you think ?
I think I’m going to have to stop watching RUclips no offense to you as a person but not being prepared is a sign of a non-professional if you are a voiceover artist you know that being prepared is extremely valuable not having the mic at hand and using a really sucky demo video or signs to me that you were not prepared I’m not going two down vote you but I just want to let you know that I think your production values could use some work what good is a $500 microphone versus a $50 microphone if you’re content is not worth watching again no offense to you personally I’m sure you’re a really nice guy and work hard at your job but if you’re going to provide contact to RUclips make it good contact.
I can answer your questions about counterfeit mics. If it seems like a deal too good to be true, it probably is but wait a moment - don't naturally assume someone is selling a fake just because it's a good deal. What you should do first is goto Google and type in the name of the mic followed by words like "counterfeit" and "fake". If there's no info about that model of mic being fake, it's probably real. If it's a well known mic by a well known brand, it's in jeopardy of being copied by a Chinese company because they can mass produce a bunch and sell them at a huge profit. MKH-416s, Shure Beta 57 and 58s are amongst the most common fake mics you'll find on eBay right now but there are others. If it's listed as new and much cheaper than other new mics, count on it being a fake. If it's not shipped out of America, there's a very good chance of it being fake especially if it's a good deal. Look at the build quality in the pictures too. If most or all the pictures are stock photos and the real mic isn't shown, I'll bet my CAD E100 that it's a fake (so go ahead and send me whatever you were betting). If it does show real pictures, look at the build quality - cheap looking printing, non-smoothed out corners on the windscreen, asymmetry... Also look up pictures of the real microphone online and compare to the pics they show. Don't be afraid to ask for more pics - a good seller will gladly take and send you additional pictures especially since you can't hear the mic. Compare all angles - coloration of pins on the male XLR connector, branding inside the XLR if there, placement of serial number and model number (including the angles of the printing and order of the model number) and so forth. If anything seems off, don't be afraid to ask questions - where it was bought and when, for how much, why selling, etc. Real sellers will have these answers and gladly share. If the response isn't in proper English or complete sentences - DON'T BUY IT! Hopefully this helps.
Thanks for the info Allen, I've pinned it to the top of the comments.
Booth Junkie Just recently bought a Shure 55SH - there are MANY knock-offs of that model on the Chinese Internet (it’s the retro Elvis-style microphone from the ‘50s).
Booth Junkie That said, I’ve bought a few microphones on the Chinese Internet and they’ve all been originals, authentic models.
I recently bought a Shure Beta 58A on eBay, and the listing only used the stock photo, and it was listed at $100 USD. When it got here, I decided to do research and check to see if I got a fake, and it seems like it's authentic. The label is fine, the XLR pins and the port itself are fine, unscrewing the ball mesh and inspecting the innards didn't reveal any sign of a fake, so I guess I got a good deal. It also doesn't sound bassy like fakes seem to.
Story from my niche of products: There are fake folding knives that are so well made, they basically reproduce the original to exact specs, often just with a slightly lower quality blade-steel and of course you don`t get any warrenty. We had a case where a friend bought a knife that normally costs 700$$ for 90$$, and then he handed it to me and asked me if it was an original or not. The only way I was able to tell was because there was a dot instead of a triangle on one of the symbols in the tiny brand-logo, I had to use a usb-microscope to even see that. Counterfeit makers are getting super tricky.
Great info Mike. I recently purchased a 416 and a 103 but not without exhausting the "due diligence" with regards to Fakes. I eventually purchased thru the FB page VO Gear Exchange. That is a great resource as well for anyone looking to purchase. Keep up the awesome work Mike!!
Mike has the most useful channel for VO talent that I've ever seen. He covers every aspect of the business (except marketing) so well, it's amazing. What a resource! I hope this is landing him some work!
The beard has so much colours, it's mesmerizing
Absolutely love your content and your execution. Times like at 2:42 so many people smack their mouths in between word breaks and it’s difficult to remember NOT to do it due to how bad it sounds, especially with sensitive microphones. Thank you for your attention to details like this. Much love and respect!
LOL btw, I’ve been binge watching your videos 😂
My local supplier said to weigh the mic and check against the manufacturer's specs. My SM57 is exactly 284 grams which matches the specs: cdn.shure.com/specification_sheet/upload/81/sm57-specification-sheet-english.pdf.
Now in Amazon if I found the saler is the same company like CAD for example that's means from the original company?
Just in case I could sell you one with a store name of "CAD Authorized Reseller" and that would be acceptable to Amazon. The name means nothing.
Im thinking about buying this mxl990 from ebay from a seller called "musicians friend" He sold 88 of them already for 69$ do you think it's safe getting one of these? Its the Blizzard Limited Edition.
I can’ t unsee Zack Galifianakis... love your channel btw
any observations on Scarlett 2i2, Audio Technica AT 2020 XLR , and Sennheiser E845S would be appreciated. I bought them all online, without giving thoughts focused in this video.
thanks for the info... :)
I’m looking for a new cad e100s but unsure where to buy one from since I don’t see it offered on amazon. Any advice on where to buy one? Or a microphone that is similar.
The e100s has been discontinued. You have to look around and see if you can get a used one or a new old stock from a retailer.
Also , there are a lot of Counterfeit microphones at pawn shops across the country. Many of these pawn shops don’t know are care weather or not it is a real or fake microphone. They want to get as much money on the sale as possible. It’s so bad, I’ve seen a counterfeit microphone at Guitar Center. Once they realize it was a fake they took it down. The best advice that I can give is only by from a Good retailer and NEW ONLY.
Your video made me have a mini panic attack! I bought a "factory repack refurbished" Sennheiser e906 this week for $92. They go for $189 new. I bought it from Amazon, but it was sold by Alto Music through Amazon.
I had to go see a couple of unboxing videos, searched for Alto Music directly on the Sennheiser website, and searched on some forums online. I've been using that mic a lot during the week and I believe it to be real. Everything on the packaging looks real and feels quality. The mic itself looks like the ones I have seen on the stores and it feels good, nothing looks cheaply made, and most importantly, it sounds good. I got scared for a bit there. But I think mine is real, and if its not, I should still be able to return it to amazon in the next few days.
I almost bought Sennheiser 416 on eBay but decided not take the risk....
Bought fake Sennheiser e945. Could have spent $50 more effectively. Does work, but took another $80 worth of gear for it to work.
yo, im looking to get the ecm 87 microphone, where can i get one from a trusted source??
Hello Mike, i just bought a sennheiser mkh 416, and everthing looks good like the original one. But the cap on the top does come out in mine... not easily though, and not like the one in the video (theres something attached that also comes off not just the tip). Does that mean its fake because it comes off ?
I actually purposely bought a bootleg SM58 for $28 off Ali just for the hell of it. It doesn't have the same weight nor feel as a real one but it certainly sounds just as good. So buying a bootleg doesn't necessarily mean it's going to outright have bad quality. Just look at BM800s that you can find as cheap as $14 that sound comparable to an AT2020. I also wouldn't call the Small Bottle's mic as an actual counterfeit since it's in a completely different design and would most likely come in the mail under that exact branding. Just look out for counterfeits when you're actually looking to get the real thing but ending up with a fake for $30 isn't that big of a lost if they perform just as well.
All mics have chips which those components are soldered on right? Me and a friend ordered a blue microphone and it got stuck when screwing on the shockmount and the chip components were glued on with actual glue. Like no kidding, it was a drop of glue next to the part that connects the db settings of the mic. Then the interior of the mic from the inside had strange purple stains all over it.
Do you likes switchcraft XLRs over Neutrik type? I prefer the Neutrik because they are more field serviceable ...
Mike what's your opinion on the 4x4 whisper room you have? I heard it's better to have rectangle booths for voice overs such as a 3.5 x 5 and I'm curious about which one to get. Is the 4x4 enough room to have a small desk setup with computer? I noticed you always stand up it looks like and can't really see what kind of desk/computer setup you have
If both is supposed to be design best as possible(without shit ton of calculations) there should be no 2 parallel walls.
Also computer should be not in both(fans and electronics hiss). If anything only monitor If keyboard and mouse(thus desk) is not needed it should not be there(reflections).
There are some well know rations for acoustic rectangle rooms
gabor.me/images/images/room/room-ratios.png
If we would go outside boxes with parallel walls. Well it get more complicated.
Example of multi room recording studio
dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/news_large/s3/imagelibrary/b/build_01.jpg?UHa0uFV0YUV8QcIkGodTevAtzHw1yChn=&itok=XzdKHrLj
Acoustic treatment well there is also no single way of doing it. It can be done like in anechoic chambers with triangles(keep in mind there specially calculated and from special materials not just triangles in some pattern But I would think that even random BIG triangles from foam in pattern would work rly well)
To made small room that is death. And don't require god know how much of work. I would recommend to made walls un-parallel and put on wall behind mic from foam wedges(triangles) and on other walls just put shit load of foam(or preferably special sound isolation "wool"* that is used for building thermal and sound insulation(like it's shown on/in this channel how to made sound panels). But it will require safety equipment)
*Most "wools" that are mainly for thermal insulation. And there are those a bit more expensive specially made with sound in mind as well thermal insulation.
And after that human come in and also put microphone inside. Well human is just one big reflection surface albeit irregular thus is diffuser. Also microphones have quite big bodies and when they present this body(like most large diaphragm condensers) It also create reflections that is not good for "death room".
So then I personally form mics side would recommend something like
Oktava MK-012 preamp or Oktava mini tube with MK-102 large diaphragm capsule (but ofc there is more to MK-012/100 system)
None of that is helpful. But thanks for trying. It's apparent you're very passionate about audio.
One of the biggest I have noticed is are the XLR pins gold or silver.
FunnyGuyTimmy Yes, but are the gold pins the fake or the silver pins the fake ?
I bought an XLR mic to go with my Xynex 302USB. The microphone was calling itself professional, but when it came to my doorstep and I looked at the box it was not "professional" in fact it was "porressional". Honestly, it didn't take me a day to start laughing about it.
The mic was cheaply made, light and had that cheap plastic feeling, sounded poor on my voice since I have a deeper voice (my second and third videos used this microphone) and generally wasn't what I was expecting based on the reviews this microphone got on Amazon. But, I probably will one day try it again since at the time I was recording in my dining room that opened up into the kitchen and living room. But, I feel it won't redeem the microphone's flaws as much as I want it to.
You got 10k subscribers, congrats!
What a coincidence, i reached 10k almost the same day!
I got a counterfeit Rode once from a dealer on Amazon. It sounded like crap and had all the tell-tale signs of a counterfeit.
The store immediately refunded my money and I bought the genuine article from B&H, in person.
This is why I avoid buying used especially if it's sensitive equipment like mics, game controllers, hard drives or really anything that's very expensive where you know people are desperate to find it cheaper elsewhere, The most I'll do is refurbished or open-box if it's from a reputable place. The last thing I bought used was textbook.
I bought one AT2020 on Ali express, and it sounded bad. Then I bought another one from a trustable seller in my country and this one sounded good. The "fake" one has a red wire that connects to the capsule, the good one has black wire. The bag that comes with the mic is also inferior in quality.
How many of you RAN to your 416 to see if the cap came off? (Hand Raised)
Hi Mike. I really enjoy your videos. your technical knowledge keeps me on point 😊 Would love to stay connected as we both are in the VO coaching relm. Doesn't seem like many of us collaborate together. Anyway...back to the booth LOL
I wasn't aware of existence of fakes until last week at all, and accidently bought a Neumann KMS 105 1/4 the price (but 2x expensive than china prices). After a little research, I contacted the seller and requested him to take pictures of the capsule. Even he wasn't know he's selling fakes and said he was selling them like pancakes :D Luckily, he sent my money back immediately, as he has not shipped it yet.
Rode has a great "Where To Buy" link on there website. Also they validate your mic serial number if you take the 10 year warranty.
Some mics are just knock offs or look a likes and don't even claim to be brand this or that.
Like pdmic 78 or weymic 57 that I knowingly bought for its sound and not for it's appearance as it is close to a transformerless Shure SM57 in sound.
Can we call a look a like product counterfit or fake if it does know claim to be of a known brand?
Depends on local legislation, which is constantly evolving. The industrial design might be considered a work of art, and thus protected like a music, novel, movie, painting, etc. Besides, elements of the visual design may be registered with the WIPO/OMPI or national intellectual property organizations.
Long story short, when in doubt, I'd ask the brand owner. And if I don't get a reply, I would seriously consider not ever buying from that brand again.
I'm looking at a cad e1002 is the 2 a good mic BTW its 700 aud
Every now and then reputable sellers will have great deals on mics. I got my 416 when B & H had one of their Christmas sales and I think I paid 599.00.
Amazon is wiping out your local community retailers slowly but surely, last week my favourite local little music store closed down and with it went a musical social hub, access to repairs and advice and option to try out before purchasing, mix with other musicians who I would not normally have had I’ve had amps repaired many guitars set up over the years, mics bought but they couldn’t compete anymore with online stores such as Amazon with their super low tax rates and prices of gear and people’s general laziness and fewer and fewer people even bothering to learn an instrument.
Now I have to drive, park in a multi story and drag an amp across town for any repairs or even to visit a store in a busy arcade, ok for something small just hope my back holds out on that amp.
Amazon is the scourge of society it benefits only itself and is a very poor experience indeed and is leading us all to polarised life of isolation, lack of choice, lack of engagement, resentment and partisanship leads eventually to a right wing society. Not good when the past is valued more than the selectively delivered to your door future. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s palms sweat at the thought of an Amazon purchase.
If you buy new mics on ebay - that's a red flag. Shure don't allow their dealers to do this. If you see them on ebay for even 20 £/$ less than the usual retail price on line from real dealers, they are not genuine. Some are actually indistinguishable from the real thing - the SM57 for example - there are some that sound simply awful and others you'd be unsure of in a blind trial. Thomann in germany sell their version with T-Bone as the brand. These are really good, but the same mic is on sale with the Shure branding. If you buy on Amazon - exactly the same caveats apply. If you want genuine - find a real supplier who sell all the product line. If they do 57s and 58s, plus Beta versions only - then that is suspect. The 55 mics rarely are branded as Shure 55s - they have the shape but are rarely branded as Shures for some reason. SM86 and 87 are very risky to buy. I often buy the silly price mics to pull them apart. Up to a couple of years ago - SM86 and 87s were fitted with dynamic capsule, but now a few are out there with electrets in 3 point mountings - not exactly the same, but they are there - BUT - not in hypercardioid/supercardioid, just cardioid. While the SM57 copies are pretty good sound wise, the Beta 57's are very thin sounding. There are exactly the same issues with the Sennheiser 835 mics - lots of perfectly decent dynamics. 845's are rare, and lots of 865 condensers have dynamic capsules. The only real difference with these is the rubber mounts - much harder so handling noise is worse than the genuine mics but tone wise - they're fine.There have been some recent copies of Neumann hand held condensers. These range from very good, to appalling. You cannot tell from the pictures. Inside, the capsule design of the nice sounding ones is a bit different, but the nasty sounding ones have a much simpler PCB and mic capsule. None so far have copied the board - the Neumann has a strange zig-zag design and the cooies do not follow this, although the PCB layout is very close and components follow the Neumann design. To sum up. If you get them for 75% of retail or less, they are copies/counterfeits/forgeries. If you buy from ebay or amazon, the same - almost certainly dubious. Most main dealers stick close to the full retail price - big discounts are rare. Please - if you buy cheap or from ebay or amazon, stop complaining about them not being real. Bargains do not exist on mics. Even Thomann and DV247 who sell huge quantities cannot do much with Shure and Sennheiser pricing.
i suspect that i have bought a used smoked fake beta 58a and while buying it from the second hand shop it seemed too light, i asked the guy if the mic is original he said yes, my gut told me the truth, 2morro ill give it back and buy it from established seller for a bit more € but it will be mine and original
there is a counterfeit of the blue bluebird wich is called the neewer nw-500 but it's a good mic for the price i've paid mine (18 euros/dollars)
neumann tlm 103?
So is massdrop an authorized retailer?
Robert Straley that's what I was thinking after I watched this. Still waiting on my great deal CAD to arrive...
Isn't Massdrop just a "buyer aggregator"? You aren't buying from them, you're buying from some other retailer (or wholesaler) who agreed to give them a deal on a mass purchase. So the question is whether Massdrop makes sure they're buying from authorized resellers.
RedBearAK yeah, I guess I was being kind of troll-ish with that question, since the E100s video mike made promoting massdrop, I've seen some drops that seemed questionable as to where the product was coming from.
Robert Straley yes. yes absolutely. massdrop buys directly from the manufacturer
from what I've read they tend to make massdrop editions of things which use slightly cheaper materials than the original non-massdrop versions. I don't think that applies to everything sold there though, but that how they discount stuff.
@booth Junkie, awesome videos and I appreciate all of them. could we talk about software if you havent already? Maybe freeware?
I'm like 60% sure that my RE20 was a counterfeit. This is mainly because it was selling for $325 on eBay and the only other option I could find was over $400. I don't know how to tell by the sound, I mean it sounds decent, but I don't know my voice well enough on dynamic mics.
Sometimes people just want to get stuff sold so they underprice it compared to the rest. It's still more than they would get for going to a used music store / pawn shop, so they'll take it. I've sold a few pieces of gear for $100 under the lowest listing just to get it sold. :)
Counterfeit microphone manufacturers learn from their mistakes as well and make ones that are more realistic. My solution to this problem is to always buy equipment brand new and from an authorized distributor or, when possible, the manufacturer.
Thanks for all your hard work and great content! As an aspiring podcaster you have inspired me greatly
I would gladly take a Counterfeit microphone and work with is... with such a ridiculously small budget like mine.. I will be more than happy to have something that works...
This will help to those that buy a new mic, but buying secondhand is a different story.
i like his voice of disappointment when he says its "sailing- on a boat- from china."
I don't have a problem with copies on the market....... Provided they are not sold proclaiming them to be an authentic product. I've gotten a number of Mics from Aliexpress, but I only ordered ones with a house brand, or no name.
Just came across a company selling EV RE-20's for $63.50 (798 in stock). Riiiight.
I love the mic what you're using and that was over 20 years old? So good quality....
Pukki Studio cad e100
That is the reason why i buy at eBay and use PayPal for payments. If it is a fake, report it and file a dispute. You get your cash back for a 100%.
You got me all nervous here Mike. Got me on amazon real quick lol.
eBay is a big issue as well. Never know what you are getting. Some things are just worth purchasing new from an authorized store you trust.
simple : if mic is fake return it to amazon and get your refund!
La, sadiki... Demand a refund and keep the counterfeit! Tell the seller/Amazon/eBay that returning it would make you an accomplice to an international crime by dissimulating a piece of evidence. So you're legally obliged to keep it available to the police/justice/brand's attorney and may only remit it against an official receipt by the aforementioned authority.
Then tell all your friends to go and purchase the same item from that seller to deplete his inventory.
And then report the seller/web site to the brand owner. Punish the bad guy, help the good one, and protect the innocent from being ripped off. Just like your favorite superhero would.
Amazon itself (Sell and ship by Amazon) was cought on counterfeits many times. Maybe, if they are authorized retailer, they won't get fakes to their warehouses.. But I wouldn't buy such things on amazon. Specialized stores only. Better offline.
There's so many fake Shure mics out there, there's no point in trying to get a used one. I bought a used one a long time ago that looked totally legit... listed as factory refurbished, pics looked like the real deal, even had the nice heavy weight when getting it out of the box. ...But it sounded like a $10 piece of crap and had the infamous "caution" sticker on the capsule.
Beware old George. Beware the creature from beyond... Wait! False series xD
Further to your suggestions ... avoid crazy sites like Ali Express and Wish and ... so on so forth.
I've bought a bunch of stuff from Wish, mainly out of curiosity to see if it was all legit and my experience has been mixed.
Anything *SIMPLE* like flash umbrella mounts, simple pop filters, lens caps and camera body caps ... no problem. But every single listing for sd cards or flash drives is accompanied by 90% negative reviews. 64GB end's up being re flashed / hacked 1GB for example. so while it tells your computer or camera its 64GB in reality the guts are 1GB or less and once it passes the 1GB of data everything gets corrupted.
I bought a powerbank (expecting it to be fraudulent ... was not disappointed in that regards) that was rated 300,000mWh ... it barley charges my Note 4 1.5 times and is built like garbage.
I bought some BM-800 mics and was pleasantly surprised that they work perfectly. I actually used one of them (bought 2) to record some voice over (not my voice but an actor) for a documentary I was hired to shoot and record and edit ... and the BM-800 sounds great (for a cheap large condensor) connected to my Tascam DR-40.
It is hit and miss and really not worth the risk and wait time for delivery. For literally a few dollars more I could have bought those Excelvan BM-800's form Amazon (Fufilled by amazon), have gotten them within 2 days (Prime) and if there was a problem returning them to amazon would have been easy and free (I've had to do that once before, very painless).
I was trying WISH as an experiment and haven't bought anything from there in like 6 months. Will be deleting it from my phone.
Now you have me worried, I bought a 2nd hand Nova after the last video. Oh well, worse case is I'm out $30.
I've bought 416 from B&H for $500 and it seems real!
Wow Mike! Thank You for this... I didn’t think about this, but now I will be very careful!
If you warranty a sale and not the product, i dont want your product.
Good everlasting relevant video! I found another telltale clue! When you put the microphone on your chin and raise it to your ear, you might hear, "I am Xi Jinpeng and I am the authorised reseller of this mic!".
My advice pay a little more and buy from a reputable store, most eBay mics are fake.
Mmm myes, recording of wheat.
and knock off headphones everywhere they got knock off beats by dre at the flea market i seen a bunch for 20 bucks
Thank you. Very helpful.
- Robert
I've probably just bought 3 counterfeit mics
Very useful to be aware of
Thanks for the info. I didn't know about this when I bought my first Rode microphone. Luckily, I got the real deal.
I always feel safe buying from Sweetwater Music. They only sell the authentic products.
I'll only buy from Sweetwater because of this type of stuff.
What? WHAT?
Thanks for the Heads-Up !
You're turning me into a real Mic Hound . . . Mike. 😎 _(See what I did there!)_
Always buy from Sweetwater
The Blue mic came after some of those Chinese ones that look similar. There were also some square body mics of similar design. Years ago I was looking for possible donor bodies to build actual decent quality mics. The site I used at the time was tmart.com.
You are literally the best.
I would love to get in touch with you. I need your knowledge!
Twitter is a good place to chat, if you are up for it. Just PM me there!
Keep up the good work. You are one of the very few channels I routinely follow.
Solution: only buy from reputable 3rd party sellers.
Thanks! this is very helpful😊
Nah just buying a 1st gen for 200 aud
Hi Mike, I have been trying to take your advice this year and record something amazing. If you ever get the time Could you please check out some of my voice over videos on my channel and let me know what you think ?
500 dollars is pretty good for a used mic I'd say
Good video 👍🏻
I think I’m going to have to stop watching RUclips no offense to you as a person but not being prepared is a sign of a non-professional if you are a voiceover artist you know that being prepared is extremely valuable not having the mic at hand and using a really sucky demo video or signs to me that you were not prepared I’m not going two down vote you but I just want to let you know that I think your production values could use some work what good is a $500 microphone versus a $50 microphone if you’re content is not worth watching again no offense to you personally I’m sure you’re a really nice guy and work hard at your job but if you’re going to provide contact to RUclips make it good contact.