CGR July 2002 e-Newsletter

Christian Guitar Resources
Monthly e-Newsletter - July 2002

This month:

CGR News
CCM Headlines
Devotional
Gear Review
Useful Links
The Bottom Line

This month, Jc is here with the latest news from the CGR website.

Right now, Mickey is adding a lot of new tabs to the site. For the first time, he's actually caught up an all the requests that have been made. So be sure and check out the Tablature Section of the Site. Lots of great songs that have been requested can be found there.

Also, Mickey has completely redesigned the CD Review section. He's adding more CDs and artists. Here's what Mickey had to say about the new section, "The more CDs that we have in there, the more that people will review them, and the more useful that section will be." Be sure to check out the CD Reviews and see what other people are saying about different artists and their releases. Then post your thoughts as well.

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<>< CCM Headlines (From CCM News)

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<>< Devotional (by Garrett)

When all of us were kids we had a box of 16 crayons and we thought we had it all. Then we saw a 24 box of crayons, so we got that and thought we had it all. After we bought that one we saw a 50 box of them and got them and thought we had it all because we had 50 crayons. As we have grown older we have stayed like that but in a more mature way, when we have a large number of money, or an awesome car, or a big house, and so on... and we think we have it all. But truthfully we don't have it all, the only person and way to have it all is to believe and except Jesus Christ into your heart.

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<>< Gear Review (by D0c_99)

The Neumann KMS105

For those of you who have never heard of Neumann mics, chances are that you've seen them on TV sometime or another.

Georg Neumann (pronounced noi-man) is synonymous with professional recording, he was the pioneer and inventor of the condensor microphone. As you might have already guessed, the company is pretty good at what they do best. Anyway, enough history, let's cut to the chase.

The KMS105 is the clearest, most feedback-resistant live vocal handheld mic I have ever used...and I've used (and continue to use) many different types of mics. The KMS105 is Neumann's first affordable (if you have $500/US to shell out) mic that most people can afford. Although it is the least expensive mic from Neumann, it is far from being inferior to anything on the face of this earth as far as live vocal handheld mics are concerned.

So what makes it different from other well known mics like the Shure SM58, SM57 and Beta87? Although I've never had the guts to drop this thing, I have read a review where the person who reviewed (on Mix Magazine) intentionally tipped a mic stand so that the mic would hit a hard floor and not only did he do it once but several times. Afterwards, he tested the quality of the mic and found little to no change in the quality. Well you probably get the idea of how rugged it is considering it's a condensor mic.

So how does it sound, since a super rugged mic is no good if it doesn't sound decent?

First off...let me say that the KMS105 doesn't make your voice prettier. If you have a thin, weak sounding voice, this is NOT the mic you'd want to use. In that situation, a dynamic mic with good presence like the SM58 or SM57 would be a better choice. However, If you have a very full, luscious voice, this baby will be like heaven to your ears.

It brings out every detail in the voice and reproduces them like you've never dreamed possible. So far I've been using it pretty much every Sunday and recorded with it for a multimedia show we had recently for Good Friday. The pop filter on this thing works like a charm. Pretty much all hand held vocal mics these days uses a foam filter to reduce the big pops (more like BOOMS!) from plosives that occur when you say words with Ps and Bs in the beginning.

The KMS105 on the other hand opts for another approach. It has 4 layers of wire meshes in different gauges to reduce pops and it does it as good, if not better than most vocal mics. So what's wrong with foam you ask? Well, foam tends to have an effect on the very high frequencies of sound (mostly 15+Khz) and it is this high frequency that gives a voice it's natural breathy character that most people only hear on well recorded CDs. That being said, with the KMS105 you can now get untainted sound from a very rugged, feedback resistant handheld vocal mic.

For those of you who are into mics, the frequency response is pretty much flat the exception of a gentle curve from 200Hz down in free field. But when you sing up-close, with the proximity effect taking place, the frequency response becomes flat all the way down to 50Hz. On the higher spectrum, there is a slight boost in the 8-15khz range which gives the mic a very airy character.

As far as the directional pattern is concerned, it's very easy to know when you're 'on mic' because the pattern is a very tight (being the directional pattern doesn't change much as the frequencies change) supercardioid. In plain English, as long as you point the other end slightly away from a monitor speaker, you'll be able to crank it up to a very high level without feedback.

As far as the stats are concerned, you can go as high as 150 dB without distortion (pretty useful if you want to record a jet or something). Also the mic is a true condensor (not electric) it requires a full kick of 48V of phantom power from your mixer.

The mic itself comes with a very well padded foam mic holder which, when you pop the mic in, the sides wrap around and close with a big velcro strip. This mic holder also holds, the mic clip and a thread adapter for the thinner European mic stand threads. And all this when you buy it, is tucked nicely into a small cardboard tube.

Who uses it? I've seen/heard it used live at a Chantal Kreviazuk concert she sang "Leave'n on a Jet Plane." On TV, I've seen it used by Pope John Paul II from CNN in the Easter service at The Vatican not too long ago and when Billy Graham was speaking at the national prayer service shortly after Sept 11 on CNN. On magazines, I've seen it in Decision Magazine where Billy Graham was using it in one of his recent events and if you look carefully at Michael W. Smith's most recent worship album, at the back of the CD is the distinctive silhouette of the KMS105.

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<>< Useful Links (By Various CGR Members)

Salvation - Are you saved? (http://www.saved.com)
Bible Gateway - Need a quick verse or just want to read? (http://www.biblegateway.com)
Benefactor - For daily devotionals. (http://benefactor.idz.net)
Gospelcom.net - The internet for Christians (http://www.gospelcom.net)

Great Theological Sources:
http://www.chalcedon.edu/
http://www.razormouth.com/
http://www.crta.org/
http://www.antithesis.com/

Great Book Sources:
http://www.christianbook.com/
http://www.prpbooks.com/
http://www.cmfnow.com/
http://rosshousebooks.org/
http://www.discerningreader.com/

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<>< The Bottom Line

If you would like to help with the newsletter please go to the "Site Announcements" forum and post in the thread titled "CGR Newsletter Staff."

Our thanks to everyone who contributed to the newsletter!

Newsletter Staff:
Acoustic87 (editor)
Andy the Geek
Iamcrosseyed
Jamin4him
Jc
plaid_child
ShadowsBane
Swim2112

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