Copperphone vs. Carbonphone

[Ruiner]

Is there enough of a difference to warrant owning both? The tone box seems cool but what's the real difference between the two mics?

I used them on vocals before but by themselves it was only cool for quick parts in a song or combined with another vocal track. Yesterday i found magic when i used the Copperphone in a chaine with the Thermionic Culture Vulture, Hawk 2250 tape delay and Industrialectric RM-1N. That combination gave me something I've been trying to get for a long time.

Here's the examples of what I was getting with that combination.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG92t3WWXKk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhXENtT9yY[/youtube]

So the real question is.... with that many effects on it.... is there any reason for me to get a carbonphone???

[Chankgeez]

Here is the real answer:

YOU ARE RUINER!

Do you really need a reason?

Buy it! Compare 'em! Flip the one you don't like as much.

[D.o.S.]

I have no idea but that track you posted was pretty rad.

[Ruiner]

I have no idea but that track you posted was pretty rad.

Thanks! That first one, Bastille, is an old instrumental i did about a year ago or so and i've been struggling with putting vocals on it until i tried this copperphone combo last night and now i love the result.

Here is the real answer:

YOU ARE RUINER!

Do you really need a reason?

Buy it! Compare 'em! Flip the one you don't like as much.

Post makes sense.....

But really i don't want to get it and have to deal with all that since the Carbonphone with tonebox is almost $500. I just remember seeing a few people on here that either got one or the other or both. Just seems like the same type of sound so wanted to know if one is handling different frequencies better or providing different tonality or whatever....

[DRodriguez]

Only ever used the copperphone. Similar idea, but different tones. The plus side of the carbonphone is that the tone box is compatible with any other mic,giving you a whole lot of versatility.

Honestly, I'd probably go for those 2 resonator mics they make geared towards instruments first.

[Ruiner]

Only ever used the copperphone. Similar idea, but different tones. The plus side of the carbonphone is that the tone box is compatible with any other mic,giving you a whole lot of versatility.

Honestly, I'd probably go for those 2 resonator mics they make geared towards instruments first.

Yeah i kind of wish they sold the tone box separately. I like to as little post processing as possible and get the sound i want up front and it'd be nice to have standard settings like that....

[manymanyhaha]

I have no comment about the mics but wanted to say I like the second track a lot. What do you use the reel-to-reel for, two track mixdown?

[Ruiner]

I have no comment about the mics but wanted to say I like the second track a lot. What do you use the reel-to-reel for, two track mixdown?

Thanks! No, that's a Hawk HE-2250 5 head stereo tape delay.

[Ugly Nora]

That dude is a member here, so maybe he will chime in. But you should just email him. He is very nice and helpful. When I bought my Carbonphone, he gave me a 2 week money back guarantee to see if I liked it, which is super cool. But also, I was a bit of a special circumstance because I was asking him how it sounds with singing bowls and gongs and stuff, and he had no reference point to give me a true answer. So, I would not expect him to give that offer to everyone.

[Ruiner]

^^ Good to know, thanks!

[MisterMark]

Is there enough of a difference to warrant owning both? The tone box seems cool but what's the real difference between the two mics?

Ruiner,

Both the Copperphone and Carbonphone/Tone Box are considered 'effect mics' but each work on different principles and each has it's own sound and characteristic.

To sum it up, the Copperphone uses a passive moving magnetic coil transducer and delivers a sound that is limited-band width and very similar to that of an old AM radio. It's sound somewhat compressed sounding but never distorted. Ideal for that 'phone effect' or for subtle character/mid range boost when paired with other microphones.

The Carbonphone/Tone Box on the other hand uses a military grade carbon transducer and requires phantom power... the carbon granule transducer will always impart a blustery, fuzzy style of distortion on the signal. Great for when you are looking to add an element of danger to things. And with the Tone Box (which powers the mic) you can further shape the sound with 5 different filter settings.

The best way to compare each of these mics is to check out the sound samples... Especially the 'Male Voice' sample for each mic.

Copperphone samples here:

http://www.placidaudio.com/products/copperphone/

Carbonphone/Tone Box samples here:

http://www.placidaudio.com/products/carbonphone/

Hope that helps and please feel free to email me if you have further questions. I can be reached at mark[at]placidaudio[dot]com.

-Mark

[Ruiner]

Is there enough of a difference to warrant owning both? The tone box seems cool but what's the real difference between the two mics?

Ruiner,

Both the Copperphone and Carbonphone/Tone Box are considered 'effect mics' but each work on different principles and each has it's own sound and characteristic.

To sum it up, the Copperphone uses a passive moving magnetic coil transducer and delivers a sound that is limited-band width and very similar to that of an old AM radio. It's sound somewhat compressed sounding but never distorted. Ideal for that 'phone effect' or for subtle character/mid range boost when paired with other microphones.

The Carbonphone/Tone Box on the other hand uses a military grade carbon transducer and requires phantom power... the carbon granule transducer will always impart a blustery, fuzzy style of distortion on the signal. Great for when you are looking to add an element of danger to things. And with the Tone Box (which powers the mic) you can further shape the sound with 5 different filter settings.

The best way to compare each of these mics is to check out the sound samples... Especially the 'Male Voice' sample for each mic.

Copperphone samples here:

http://www.placidaudio.com/products/copperphone/

Carbonphone/Tone Box samples here:

http://www.placidaudio.com/products/carbonphone/

Hope that helps and please feel free to email me if you have further questions. I can be reached at mark[at]placidaudio[dot]com.

-Mark

Great, thanks for the info!

[Jwar]

Can't all of this be done using Pro Tools?

[Chankgeez]

Can't all of this be done using Pro Tools?

I'm gonna outsource all my actual playing to monkeys.

I've heard that monkeys sound great playing through carbon and/or copperphones though.

[Ruiner]

Can't all of this be done using Pro Tools?

I mean, you can get the AM sound or lo-fi sound using plug-ins but A) it's going to be a digitally processed sound and it MAY not sound like the copperphone or carbonphone as you're taking in all frequencies recorded and .... well i'm not getting into that whole argument but i like recording with the sound i'm going to get and use as little post processing as possible. It really helps the performance to hear how it's going to sound (which i can do with UAD but this cuts down setup time). and B) this one being most important to me... i'm running the copperphone into a thermionic culture vulture into a hawk stereo tape delay into a rm-1n and then recording. That would be a pain to try and get that signal chain without using a regular mic through that chain and then lo-fi(ing) all of it.