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Mics you / I own, what's good?


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I haven't found a single LDC that was omni only, there are many with multiple pickup patterns. Lots of SDC with the ability to swap out capsules and a few that are omni only.

 

There were some early large diaphragm condensers that were omni, but that's because they only knew how to make large mics back then. A small diaphragm makes for a better omni than a large diaphragm because it has less diffraction around the edges.

 

Sounds right to me. Someday I want a pair of SDC with both omni and cardiod capsules.

 

A Blumlein set up with a couple of nice ribbon mics would be fun too.

SDCs with swappable capsules are more and more affordable per level of quality every year. If you don't insist on a pair of vintage Neumann KM 84s, you can find great options for much less and quite serviceable options for cheap.

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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I haven't found a single LDC that was omni only, there are many with multiple pickup patterns. Lots of SDC with the ability to swap out capsules and a few that are omni only.

 

There were some early large diaphragm condensers that were omni, but that's because they only knew how to make large mics back then. A small diaphragm makes for a better omni than a large diaphragm because it has less diffraction around the edges.

 

Sounds right to me. Someday I want a pair of SDC with both omni and cardiod capsules.

 

A Blumlein set up with a couple of nice ribbon mics would be fun too.

SDCs with swappable capsules are more and more affordable per level of quality every year. If you don't insist on a pair of vintage Neumann KM 84s, you can find great options for much less and quite serviceable options for cheap.

 

Per my usual, I will keep an eye open for used great options, that's where the bang for the buck is!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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RØDE makes some great cheapo SDCs, as does LEWITT. My favorites are the Josephson Series Four, which are quite a bit spendier, sound great, and are still way cheaper than a Neumann.

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

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RØDE makes some great cheapo SDCs, as does LEWITT. My favorites are the Josephson Series Four, which are quite a bit spendier, sound great, and are still way cheaper than a Neumann.

 

I keep forgetting about Lewitt. I responded to their recent beta test survey, the mic system with variable sounds. It's pretty nice, I thought the singer was too close (sibilence).

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I thought my mic collection was complete with the thinking that my LDC was omni - oops no it isn't. Well dammit now I have to hunt down an omni mic. The C451 offered an omni capsule but it's not likely I'll find any of those.

 

It is always worth a look. I make searches for oddball stuff on eBay and often end up finding things. If the seller doesn't understand the dynamics of posting a successful auction it could be a "victim" score. Auction ends at 3am on Tuesday morning? It's yours if you play it well.

 

I love having a figure 8 option too. Currently that is a CAD D-82 ribbon mic, it used to be a setting on a large diaphragm condensor. Both are nice to have, that null on the side can be useful.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 1 month later...

Today I had a session with a singer/songwriter/strummer.

We used the second gereration DIY vocal booth - https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3046069/diy-vocal-booth-iso-box#Post3046069 - with 2 mics underneath for acoustic guitar.

 

After testing a few mics I settled on the EV PL95 and Sennheiser MD421 up near the upper edge of the body, and pointed downward. The mics were in a V shape with the heads being the point of the V, positioned pointing just above the soundhole but more towards the neck and bridge due to the V. The Rainsong OM1000 has a bright, even tone and mics well with dynamics.

 

A rich, chimey tone, backed off about 12". No phasing issues with the mics close together, even if the player moves around a bit it doesn't change the sound much. The guitar tracks will need HPF fo make room for the bass and kick, easily done.

 

I had chosen 3 mics to test on her voice. She is very dynamic, from soft to loud. We recorded a verse/chorus each with the Neat King Bee, Heil PR40 and Shure KSM8.

I decided to toss the CAD D82 into the mix, verse/chorus/done. All straight into a Focusrite ISA One mic pre, no compression or EQ. I did use a Cloudlifter CL-1 on the ribbon and ended up just keeping it for the KSM8. It really helps drop the noise floor if you need to get some distance from the vocalist.

 

On playback we both chose the KSM8 with the D82 coming in second. Nothing sounded bad although the Heil has remarkable high frequency response and there was some crisp sibilance. It tends to thin out a bit if you move it back. That is the advantage the KSM8 had - very well controlled proximity effect, a full sound a few inches back, very clear but not "spitty". I did use the Blue pop filter on both the Shure and the Heil. The King Bee has a good snap on filter and the ribbon has a cheap but effective strap-on pop filter. I usually slant the D82 a bit both top to bottom and side to side so there is no direct "P" sound hitting the entire ribbon at once. I kind of wanted to use it but positioning it near the KSM8 in the ISO box would have been difficult so I let that go.

 

I dropped a TrackS TR5 Precision Comp/Limiter plugin on the vocal after recording, shut off the LImiter and smoothed things out a bit. I think that will sit nicely in the song with no further tweaking.

We are planning on using the same vocal mic setup for several songs.

 

It's taking some time to get to know my mics but it is happening.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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When I was doing video work I bought a pair of AT3031 pencil condensers which turned into one of my favorite work-horse mics. I forgot my AT4053 hyper one day, substituted the AT3031 (on-camera) and never went back. Audio-Technica seems to have skipped this mid-level nowadays, it's either the 2021 or the 4041, but nothing in-between. The AT3031 is a nice multi-purpose mic if you find one used. https://www.audio-technica.com/en-ca/at3031

 

I don't like the way hyper or super-cardioids color sound so I only use them if utterly necessary. For example, I just downgraded my vocal mic from the Sennheiser E945 hyper to the E935 cardioid. Both are good mics, but for me the E935 is more versatile, and my ears like the cardioid sound much better.

 

I'm still on the fence about the Shure Beta 57a, I don't think I'm gonna keep it. It's good at what it does but it's just not wowing me the way I thought it would. I keep reaching for the SM57!!!. I think the problem (again) is that the Beta 57a is a hyper-cardioid - and I prefer cardioid.

 

*** ... if anyone has a recommendation for a dynamic-cardioid upgrade from the SM57, I'm all ears!

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When I was doing video work I bought a pair of AT3031 pencil condensers which turned into one of my favorite work-horse mics. I forgot my AT4053 hyper one day, substituted the AT3031 (on-camera) and never went back. Audio-Technica seems to have skipped this mid-level nowadays, it's either the 2021 or the 4041, but nothing in-between. The AT3031 is a nice multi-purpose mic if you find one used. https://www.audio-technica.com/en-ca/at3031

 

I don't like the way hyper or super-cardioids color sound so I only use them if utterly necessary. For example, I just downgraded my vocal mic from the Sennheiser E945 hyper to the E935 cardioid. Both are good mics, but for me the E935 is more versatile, and my ears like the cardioid sound much better.

 

I'm still on the fence about the Shure Beta 57a, I don't think I'm gonna keep it. It's good at what it does but it's just not wowing me the way I thought it would. I keep reaching for the SM57!!!. I think the problem (again) is that the Beta 57a is a hyper-cardioid - and I prefer cardioid.

 

*** ... if anyone has a recommendation for a dynamic-cardioid upgrade from the SM57, I'm all ears!

 

Great post, thanks for the tip on the AT3031. I do want to add a pair of SDC. I had a pair of Peavey PVM480 SDC but I didn't care for them, hyper-cardioid and just not pretty.

 

First, somehow I have never owned an SM57. I've certainly used them.

There is a reason that they are universally and permanently held in high regard. The bang for the buck is off the charts.

 

One thing worth trying and you need one anyway (everybody needs one!) is a Cloudlifter. A CL-1 won't set you back too much and it will benefit all of your moving coil and ribbon mics.

I have one and it is always plugged in to something. Currently an EV PL95 I am using to mic an acoustic guitar. The EV with the Cloudlifter is like a different mic, so much better.

 

My top recommendation for a dynamic-cardioid mic would be a Shure KSM8. I will never sell mine and I would buy another (or a few).

The cardioid pattern has a very even response, any sound that leaks in sounds natural. The dual diaphragm (one is passive) system creates a much milder form of proximity effect. It does not get boomy if you get close and 4" back won't thin it out as much as it will many other mics, still a full sound. It would be my desert island mic. As I noted, I tried a nice LDC, a large diaphragm dynamic, a ribbon and the KSM8 and the singer and I both preferred the KSM8 to everything else. Then I plugged it into the Cloudlifter so she could back off just a bit (reduce sibilance) and Wow!

 

I also like my old, beat-up (and bought cheap!) Sennheiser MD421. The logo bar across the business end of the mic is actually a built in "pencil trick" and really reduces plosives. Great sounding mic. The clip sort of sucks but not an insurmountable or deal-breaker.

 

That's all I know now, hopefully other MPN forumites will share some of their favorites.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I don't like the way hyper or super-cardioids color sound so I only use them if utterly necessary. For example, I just downgraded my vocal mic from the Sennheiser E945 hyper to the E935 cardioid. Both are good mics, but for me the E935 is more versatile, and my ears like the cardioid sound much better.

 

And most of the time, omnis sound even better but sometimes you need a little control over sound that comes in from other directions than head-on.

 

The reason why we have hyper- or super-cardioid mics is to solve a problem. While rejection off axis can be a little better than with a standard cardioid, the important part of the hyper directional pattern is where the deep nulls are. While a cardioid has its least sensitivity is at 180 degrees off axis, hyper- and super-cardioids have two nulls (each has its own depth and angle) somewhere between 90 and 180 degrees. This is useful for stage mics, where you want to position the mic so that the null is pointed to the floor monitors.

 

Good performers who move around on stage a lot learn where those nulls are, and by adjusting the angle of a handheld mic while performing, can pretty much squat right down over a monitor without feedback. On the other hand, folk singers can be five feet away from a monitor and still have feedback regardless of the mic's directional pattern.

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Hey

 

I found this site quite helpful to find the right microphone for me: https://www.diehifiberater.de/studio-mikrofon-test/ (use google translate) I am just a hobby-musician, but I didn't want to buy cheap stuff.

 

Great link, thanks for posting! All informational links are very welcome. Please feel free to share some of your favorite mics with us as well.

 

I agree on avoiding cheap stuff but sometimes one can get good stuff cheap which is a different matter. When the Neat King Bee was available new for $99, I was a bit skeptical. Then I read reviews, including one from Tape Op when the mic was introduced. Craig Anderton also noted that it was a good mic.

 

I bought one, no regrets. It is a great sounding microphone and I will keep it.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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[i bought one, no regrets. It is a great sounding microphone and I will keep it.

 

I bought 2. And a Beecaster. All for less than $300.00 US dollars including S/H. Gotta get while the getting is good. :cool:

 

Nice! Yeah, they've gone up quite a bit. Still probably worth it. Haven't checked to see where Worker Bess are, those are supposed to be very good mics too.

 

I bought a Beecaster and it somehow didn't sound very good. Kinda quiet and weak.

So I asked for a refund, with plans to return it. The place I bought it from refunded the money and said to just go ahead and keep it. They didn't want to pay shipping I guess, not much margin.

 

So I still have it. I later realized that my Sound Preferences weren't cranked up. Now it works like it should but I am not sure I need it for anything.

Seemed like a good idea at the time... so it goes.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Sold the Audix OM-2. It was pretty OK but I don't need it. Not a great mic by any standards, difficult to use at lower volumes.

The Shure KSM8 has become my go-to for live work and the current first choice of a singer I'm tracking.

The even cardioid pattern and "milder" proximity effect make it really easy to use at any volume I'll ever need and that same sweet spot works well when recorded.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Trying different pairs of mics set AB for recording acoustic guitar.

I don't have a matched set of anything yet or even just two mics that are the same model.

 

Using pairs makes a faster process in a way. If one doesn't sound "right" it's easy to notice it. On the other hand it only means that mic doesn't work in that position, which isn't much information.

 

First up was AKG D224E and EVPL95. I've used the AKG to close mic the soundhole and it works well on it's own, not much proximity effect. It sounded good paired too. The EV had a bit of midrange bark in AB, I'm thinking close micing the 12th fret would probably sound good - would bring out the lows and highs more.

 

Next I put up the CAD Equitek E-100 (2) and CAD M9, a pair of medium condensers. The Equitek is fine. The M9 also had the midrange bark, probably needs to be closer. I swapped it for the King Bee. A pair of King Bees would be pretty awesome, the combination with the Equitek is good too.

 

That's it for now, I'll try others soon. I've used the CAD D-82 and Heil PR40 together but I miced behind the bridge with the ribbon and the 12th fret with the Heil. If you move even a little bit it really changes both the tone and the stereo field "shifts" in an unattractive way. If I had a much quieter room I could turn the mics up and back them away a bit. That does affect proximity too, an important aspect with some mics and especially those two.

AB mic position seems more tolerant of minor guitar position shifts (which are probably inevitable).

 

Will post more as I go.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Not sure if its been mentioned elsewhere but Senheiser MD 421-IIs are on sale for $199.

 

I saw that! Awesome mic too. That's a steal, thanks for posting!!!!

 

Recently, post going out of business music store sale and pre garage sale I had the opportunity to purchase an MD-421 (beat up a bit but fully functional), 2 AKG D224E mics (one broken and one good) and a NIB Extreme Isolation EX-25 set of headphones for $125. I sold the broken AKG for $70 or so, now I'm in for $55.

 

The Sennheiser is good for all sorts of things. It gets relegated to tom tom duty but it's good on electric guitar cabs, vocals and probably just about everything.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Not sure if its been mentioned elsewhere but Senheiser MD 421-IIs are on sale for $199.

 

I saw that! Awesome mic too. That's a steal, thanks for posting!!!!

 

Recently, post going out of business music store sale and pre garage sale I had the opportunity to purchase an MD-421 (beat up a bit but fully functional) . . . .The Sennheiser is good for all sorts of things. It gets relegated to tom tom duty but it's good on electric guitar cabs, vocals and probably just about everything.

 

The golden-eared mic gurus will tell you that the 421 and 421-II have a different characteristic sound. There are some internal changes to the sound chamber, the body, a bit shorter than the original, is now made of a complicated-named plastic rather than easily-dented metal, the bass rolloff is different (I think it has one extra position). Sennheiser's goal was to give the mic a more modern sound (whatever that means) and make it more economical to build - as evidenced by the low, low discount price. One thing that I don't think they fixed is the stand mount. As you no doubt have discovered, it's pretty easy to unlatch the mic from the mount when adjusting it. Hopefully you'll catch it before it hits the floor.

 

I used to have three original MD-421s, but one disappeared off the stand (including the mount) a few years back at an Irish music festival stage where I was working. These are mics that I don't use as a pair, but when I need more than about three mics for a session, there always seems to be a good place for an MD-421.

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Trying different pairs of mics set AB for recording acoustic guitar.

I don't have a matched set of anything yet or even just two mics that are the same model.

 

Using pairs makes a faster process in a way. If one doesn't sound "right" it's easy to notice it. On the other hand it only means that mic doesn't work in that position, which isn't much information.

 

First up was AKG D224E and EVPL95. . . . . etc.

 

That could be an interesting experiment. When it comes to acoustic guitar, I almost always use just one mic, most often a KM-84, placing it where what comes out sounds like the guitar. About the only times I use two mics are:

 

1. To mic the guitar in the room rather than close up. Then I can take advantage of the stereo field. But for an acoustic guitar in a band context, or even a singer-guitarist, the room usually just gets in the way.

 

2. If the guitar just doesn't sound very good, and I'm trying to make it sound better than it really is. I'll usually start with one mic over the fingerboard where the neck meets the body - a common starting position, then beef up the low end with a mic near the sound hole, or get more woody-presence with a mic near the bridge.

 

It would be interesting if, once you found a position for two mics that you liked, swap the mics to see how much difference the sound of the mic makes, or if the two-mic sound you're creating has more to do with phase and sensitivity than which mic goes where. Or maybe not.

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The golden-eared mic gurus will tell you that the 421 and 421-II have a different characteristic sound. There are some internal changes to the sound chamber, the body, a bit shorter than the original, is now made of a complicated-named plastic rather than easily-dented metal, the bass rolloff is different (I think it has one extra position). Sennheiser's goal was to give the mic a more modern sound (whatever that means) and make it more economical to build - as evidenced by the low, low discount price. One thing that I don't think they fixed is the stand mount. As you no doubt have discovered, it's pretty easy to unlatch the mic from the mount when adjusting it. Hopefully you'll catch it before it hits the floor.

 

I used to have three original MD-421s, but one disappeared off the stand (including the mount) a few years back at an Irish music festival stage where I was working. These are mics that I don't use as a pair, but when I need more than about three mics for a session, there always seems to be a good place for an MD-421.

 

Yep, I've read many a thread on the differences and the much-hated stand mount. Mine is an "older newer" one, well beaten by a savage drummer or two. That's who killed one of the D224 mics from the looks of it, it had stick dents all over, probably a snare top mic. I've always thought that one of the main reasons an SM57 is used on the snare is because replacement cost is low and they are not at all delicate.

 

I just leave the Sennie in M, of the 5 variations that is the honest one. I can always pull or add frequencies later. The un-noticed "secret feature" of the 421 mics is the bar across the front of the screen. That is a built in "pencil trick" for diffusing plosives and it does a good job of that. I had an Uher mic long ago, all plastic and it had the same feature.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I just got a Shure SM7B and a Cloudlifter CL-1 and boom arm (yeah, I know, bandwagon much?), and am in love.

 

This is for basic voice over work as well as zoom conferences. Before COVID we had a USB mic in the office that worked fine enough for our needs, and since I've been working from home I've been using my AT4050. I'm in a relatively noisy environment, and getting my gain set appropriately while still being able to keep the mic out of frame for meetings, and maybe not also getting loud desk creaks and keyboard clicks was just impossible.

 

I'm loving this setup. Great clear sound at 1.5 feet away at casual spoken word levels without too much background noise. And the Cloudlifter makes a huge difference.

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I just got a Shure SM7B and a Cloudlifter CL-1 and boom arm (yeah, I know, bandwagon much?), and am in love.

 

This is for basic voice over work as well as zoom conferences. Before COVID we had a USB mic in the office that worked fine enough for our needs, and since I've been working from home I've been using my AT4050. I'm in a relatively noisy environment, and getting my gain set appropriately while still being able to keep the mic out of frame for meetings, and maybe not also getting loud desk creaks and keyboard clicks was just impossible.

 

I'm loving this setup. Great clear sound at 1.5 feet away at casual spoken word levels without too much background noise. And the Cloudlifter makes a huge difference.

 

Nice!! I had an SM7b before Cloudllifters existed and didn't care for it much. Sold it a long time ago.

Then I got a Cloudlifter and realized I probably should have kept it. So it goes. Great combination!

 

If I am recording with dynamic or ribbon mics, the Cloudlifter is hooked up somewhere in there. Great tool.

Thanks for sharing!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Today I've been tracking acoustic guitar with the Neat King Bee and the Heil PR40.

The best combination so far. The Heil (dynamic mic) is closer to the bridge/soundhole area, sounds smooth, clear and "big". The King Bee is 12th fret-ish.

Both of them are back about 12" and both have enough output to provide good volume without noise at that distance.

 

I might leave them there for a while, it's a good spot for them.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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You guys got me curious about that King Bee. I thought I might pick one up myself, but it seems that it's sold out, at least of any of their official listed dealers that I'd buy from.

 

Oh, well. I don't need any more microphones anyway, at least not until I get some more paying customers. (;

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You guys got me curious about that King Bee. I thought I might pick one up myself, but it seems that it's sold out, at least of any of their official listed dealers that I'd buy from.

 

Oh, well. I don't need any more microphones anyway, at least not until I get some more paying customers. (;

 

I got mine when they were $99, I should have bought 2. Only downsides I can think of are A. Ugly. and B. Heavy - heavy enough to sag the shock mount if you don't keep the mic straight up or straight upside down.

It is a great sounding mic, no pad, no HPF, no patterns except cardioid. Keeps the signal path simple. Truly large diaphragm and a transformer to increase output make it easy to get volume even when it's back a ways.

The snap-on pop filter is nice too, I just leave it on. A clear "big" sound with lots of low frequency extension but not bloated or boomy sounding unless the source is those things.

 

Andy Hong of Tape Op gave it a very good review when it was $399. He reviewed the Worker Bee mic in the same article and liked it too.

https://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/117/king-bee-worker-bee-condenser-mics/

 

Sweetwater still had Worker Bee mics for $89 just a couple of days ago. I am considering selling my CAD M9 and E100 (2) and buying a pair of them.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I got mine when they were $99, I should have bought 2. Only downsides I can think of are A. Ugly. and B. Heavy

 

NEAT describes it as "Beautifully styled modern design", not "Ugly". :laugh:

 

Lol! If they had just left it completely black I wouldn't have much to say. The bright yellow is a bit much. If you remove the bands it is white underneath, probably because black dimmed the splendor and magnificence of the blazing piss yellow colors. White kinda ugly too. I just ignore it, there are worse problems...

 

It does sound great. What do you use yours for?

I've tried vocals, acoustic guitars, room mic (in a crappy sounding room) and I'm guessing it would be fantastic on a bass or keyboard amp.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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