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 | | | | Feb28Written by:Rip Rowan
Wednesday, February 28, 2001 6:00 PM  JoeMeek recently introduced its entry into the budget large-diaphragm condenser microphone frenzy, the JM47. The company has now bundled that microphone together with its budget mic preamp, the VC3Q, into a package called the JM47 Trakpak. The package comes in a reasonably sturdy flight case, complete with spaces for the mic, the preamp, the shockmount, and the wall-wart style power supply.
 Joemeek JM47 Trakpak
It's a nice little package. But, is it equal to the sum of its parts?
JM47 "Meekrophone"
The JM47 is a large-diaphragm cardioid capacitor mic housed in a black machined brass case. The mic features a lightweight gold-sputtered mylar diaphragm and FET electronics. There are no bass rolloff or damping switches available. The mic is simple and straightforward: plug it in and go.
Like many other budget condensers on the market today, the JM47 is engineered and constructed by Beijing 797 Audio to Joemeek's design specifications. This approach helps Joemeek maintain ownership over the design of the microphones yet cut manufacturing costs. Other companies including Marshall Electronics, Nady, and BPM have followed this same approach, with varying degrees of success.
The mic ships with the ubiquitous "binder-clip" style shockmount. This shockmount is a little better than some similar designs we've reviewed on ProRec, and can be trusted to at least hold the mic firmly and isolate it. However, as with other, similar designs, the bands that hold the mic can come loose from the mount and must be properly tensioned or the mic will fall.
After setting up the mic I started performing A/B comparisons with a number of different sound sources, including male vocals, male voice-over, acoustic guitar, and percussion.
The sound of the JM47 is typical of the current crop of low-cost Chinese condensers. The sound is "scooped out" with a robust proximity effect, and a very bright top end. Although less harsh than some other similar microphones, the JM47 isn't going to win any smoothness awards. The mic has a very brilliant sound, brighter than any other mic in my collection.
I found the JM47 a little too bright when used on soloed acoustic guitars, preferring instead a more neutral mic to help get a more natural sound. However, in a mix, the brilliance was very nice and helped the acoustic sit perfectly in the mix, especially for strumming rhythm parts that needed to sizzle. Here, the JM47 added air and sparkle and created an exciting rhythm part.
On bright percussion such as tambourine or maracas, the JM47 was again a little overbearing, with a somewhat rough edge to its sound. Again, a more neutral mic was in order. However, on congas, the scooped-out sound was ideal, offering a nice edge to the slap and a round fundamental tone.
I liked the sound of the JM47 on voiceover tracks. The sizzly high end and big bass interacted well with the compression to create a bigger-than-life sound that took up a lot of space. After compression, the voice was somewhat sibilant, but a little de-essing took care of that problem. Harsh sibilants are somewhat par for the course with voiceover work where you're compressing heavily.
With male vocals, the mic required both a high-cut EQ and substantial de-essing. The brilliant top end of the mic made the vowel sounds nice and wet, but consonants were a little harsh. And the big proximity effect and scooped-out mids required a bass rolloff in order to thin out the vocal and bring it forward in the mix. Otherwise it had the quality of being both too loud and yet insufficiently "present".
After using the mic for voiceover and vocals it became apparent to me that, like many other large-diaphragm mics, there is often a tradeoff between having a glossy high end and having harsh sibilants. Only a few mics have ever achieved that precious combination of wet vowels and smooth consonants. The JM47, like the Rode NT1, has a pretty, sparkly vowel sound, but can be harsh when used on a vocalist who delivers aggressive consonants.
So, did I like it the JM47? It's usable, but not excellent. It's a good value, and better than some of its bottom-feeder competitors at the same price. I can recommend it, but, trust me, you're not going to be seeing engineers toss out their Neumann U47s in favor of JM47s.
The Power of Suggestion
Maybe you think it's unfair to even mention a Neumann in the same paragraph as a JM47. Well, so do I.
However, the folks at Joemeek don't seem to have that problem at all. From the name (JM47 – how obvious is that?) to the manual (which suggests that the JM47 is a bona-fide descendant of the original Neumann designs), Joemeek strongly insinuates that for only a fraction of the money, you get the same quality as a vintage Neumann.
You think I'm making this up? Here's what the JM47 manual claims regarding the design of the original Neumann microphones:
Fortunately for some other manufacturers in the world, the technology of the original company in East Germany became a part of the technology sharing policy of the Communist world, and it was taken up by some specialist manufacturers in the Far East.
Today, fine microphones are still manufactured by the original company under the name Gefell, and by the West German company Neumann, but by the accident of politics we also have a number of products which appear to be Chinese copies yet are actually legitimate high quality microphones in their own right.
I don't know about you, but when I read this, my ear hears, "you're getting real Neumann technology, engineering and quality at a Chinese price."
Maybe there is a technological lineage from Georg Neumann to Beijing 797 Audio. Well, so what? I'm not judging this tree by its roots. I'm judging this tree by the fruit it bears, and the products of Beijing 797 Audio don't sound like any of the mics they are intended to imitate.
Folks, the JM47 is a fine budget microphone. I like it. It's no Neumann. Attempts by Joemeek to sell it as something more than what it is are counterproductive and invite ridicule.
If I were you, I'd be offended. After all, how gullible do they think you are?
VC3Q "Pro Channel"
The VC3Q Pro Channel is a budget microphone preamp featuring a Joemeek optical compressor and 3-band EQ. It is quite similar in overall sound to the VC6Q "British Channel" yet lacks a number of the more useful features of the VC6Q.
The preamp section of the VC3Q offers a mic or line input option. However, both inputs are on the back of the unit and there is no input switch: the unit automatically switches to the line input when a cord is plugged into the line input jack. The unit offers phantom power, but that switch is also on the back of the unit. Forget about rackmounting: the fact that you have to interact with the back of the unit limits the VC3Q to desktop use only.
There is no pad, phase switch, or bass rolloff on the VC3Q's preamp. It's pretty much just a gain knob. So, when the VC3Q is matched with the JM47, there is no pad or bass rolloff anywhere in the signal chain. I consider this a glaring oversight.
Like other Joemeek preamps (including the VC6Q) the noise floor of the VC3Q is fairly high – about 12 dB higher than the preamps on my Mackie mixer at equivalent gain – predominately high-frequency hiss. In fact the noise floor is higher than any other preamp in my rig, including the ART Pro Channel with its 4 tube gain stages. On the VC6Q I don't mind the noise floor, since I use that unit predominately for electric guitar amps and other loud sources. However, since the VC3Q is promoted as your "gold channel" I think it's important to note the high noise floor. I would not suggest using the VC3Q for all of your tracks or tracks that will be particularly "naked".
The compressor is the same opto design found in the VC6Q and definitely imparts the "Joemeek sound." Unlike the VC6Q this compressor has a fixed ratio (maybe 4:1). A single LED is used to indicate that compression is taking effect. The LED seems to be tied to the LED used for the optocompressor, so it actually indicates the amount of compression fairly faithfully, perhaps more so than a small meter could.
The "Joemeek sound" is primarily due to the sound of the compressor, which can add a lot of attack and punch to sounds. The Joemeek optocompressor is a great design to help define and strengthen the attack on instruments, particularly guitars and bass, but I'm no big fan of this particular sound on vocals, or other instruments that don't need "attack". I was able to get a fairly appropriate "light compression" for vocals by dialing in a very fast attack and release, and using only the tiniest bit of compression, but could never find a "deep compression" setting that I liked on vocals.
The EQ section is a simple three-band EQ. Unlike the VC6Q, the VC3Q does not offer a swept midrange control. The fixed bands are useful for shaping the sound, but don't offer any more control than you'll find on the typical low-end mixer.
Final Thoughts: What Price Quality?
The TrakPak has good value. But, is the TrakPak really a worthwhile investment?
If you are recording demos with a small deck and an SM58, and you want better sounding vocals, then a TrakPak makes sense. The TrakPak gets you in the door with a decent mic for vocals and some instruments, and a preamp with EQ and compression for less money than you'd expect. If this is you, I would handily recommend the TrakPak.
If you're building or equipping your project or professional studio, the decision is less clear. The JM47 is a decent, usable microphone. And the VC3Q is a decent, usable preamp. This combination is not a "gold channel" though. Long-term, neither piece is going to become the magic item in your gear arsenal.
Perhaps it appears that we're being a little hard on Joemeek. I hope not. As a rule, we like Joemeek products (the VC6Q actually won a ProRec award last year). I would just like Joemeek to be able to focus on their higher-quality products (such as the VC6Q and VC1Q) instead of the TrakPak.
And, that's where you come into play, Constant Reader. It's up to informed buyers to make educated purchases and keep manufacturers aware that quality is a worthwhile investment. If we demand quality, we'll get it. If we demand value, well, that's what we'll get.
A quality microphone is an investment. Consider your investments wisely. And, if you're considering a TrakPak, find out more about it and other Joemeek products at http://www.joemeek.com.
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