Yet Another Bargain! By Les The Bargainhunter...

[LSchefman]

OK, fellows, gather 'round. Les the Bargainhunter has stumbled on yet another mic steal.

Today I went to the Guitar Center July 5 Sale, and found a GT (Groove Tubes) 33 medium diaphragm condenser on sale for $99. I'll admit, the last thing I expected to do was buy another mic, especially another bargain mic, but how in heck can ya walk away from a $399 list mic for $99? That's practically the price of a Shure 57!

I couldn't leave without buying it. How bad could it be for that price? This is a Class A, FET mic. It has nice parts.

I got it home, plugged it into my ISA220, and had at it with the Collings. Sounded really, really nice. Actually, it sounded like the guitar sounds. Very unhyped, but very crisp and present. This is a really nice mic! A very pleasant surprise.

And it's really nicely made. It's hefty, has a 3/4 inch diaphragm, front address. Comes with a very nice stand mount, in a little hardshell mic case.

Then, remembering that my son really wanted to get himself a nice condenser to record acoustic guitar with, for when he goes off to college, I thought, "hmmmm, maybe I should give him this really nice bargain mic."

And then I thought, "Heck no, I'm keeping it! But let's call the store and see if they have another one in stock!" They did. I bought it for my kid. I mean, really. $99?

I'm definitely gonna try the pair on overheads before he takes off for school.

I will report back, but I have to tell you guys, there are some amazing mics out there that can be had for very little dough if you keep your eyes open. :D

[LSchefman]

I have to add this postscript:

Most of you know that I own/have owned some of the nicest mics. So I'm pretty picky.

If someone had said to me, "This mic costs the same as a Neumann KM 184 or an AKG 451" I'd have said, "Sounds like it."

So getting it for chump change simply makes my day.

;)

[Robal]

Les:
I had no luck trying to get that deal or anything close to it at GC in Pasadena, CA this weekend. They told me that there standard price is $199 on sale (showed me the latest GC flyer) and the GT forbids them from going much below that unless there's a price match issue with another GT dealer. When they tried to get approval for selling it to me for $130 (plus tax) it was rejected by the GC computer unless I could give them specifics they could verify on a price match that low. The salesperson and his manager complained that this was due to GT recently requiring GC not to sell GT mics way under the list. Perhaps that's B.S. but my impression was these guys did want to sell me the mike at $130. I walked away.

[Bryan T]

I bought one of these about six months ago and have really enjoyed it. I use it mainly for solo acoustic guitar and really like how it performs. When I went in to the store I wasn't even considering Groove Tubes as a possible manufacturer, but the guy working there pulled a few mics out and I really liked the feel/look of the GT-33 - how else can you judge a microphone without using it? They agreed to give me a week to try the mic out and store credit if I didn't care for it. With nothing to lose, I bought it and an AudioTechnica large diaphragm.

I've been using the pair for solo acoustic guitar recording and love the sound of the GT-33. I don't have a lot of experience with mics, but it definitely sounds like it captures the sound of the guitar to me. The Audio Technica seems a lot more colored, especially in the midrange. I find that I use the GT-33 for near micing and the A/T for room micing.

Bryan

[LSchefman]

>>They told me that there standard price is $199 on sale (showed me the latest GC flyer) and the GT forbids them from going much below that unless there's a price match issue with another GT dealer<<

Yes, they're back up at the GC I bought mine at now. It was a one day sale, I'm told.

Well...I'm glad I got the pair anyhow. Sorry you weren't able to, 'cause it's a really good mic.

>>The Audio Technica seems a lot more colored, especially in the midrange. I find that I use the GT-33 for near micing and the A/T for room micing. <<

That sounds about right. I have always found the A-T mics to have a coloration I don't care for. Don't get me wrong, I like a mic with coloration, just not their particular brand of it.