I'm interested in getting myself some Karma mics. Postage to the UK will be damn near the same regardless of the number of mics, so I thought it'd make sense to check if anyone else wants in.

Matched pair of omni Silver Bullets (as reviewed in SoS): $35
7-piece set of Silver Bullets: $99
Matched pair of cardioid K10s: $129
Extra clips: $2
(Other stuff on their website too)

I'm currently checking with HMRC about how much import tax and VAT will be, but expect at least 20% VAT on top of these prices. (If you're not yet aware how we're going to get it up the jacksie from the taxman, check this sticky thread.) I'm also checking with Karma about postage costs. And of course if you're not in/near Cambridge and can pick them up from me, then there'll be some postage there too.

If you're interested, sling me a PM. I'm not flush enough that I can sub the entire forum on a massive order (unfortunately!). When I've got some numbers from HMRC and Karma, I'll be after bank transfers for a best-guess amount, and we can square up for the exact cost when they come in.

I bought a pair to experiment with in August 2011 before the SOS review came out

The shipping I paid was Shipping cost: $15.95

Your ceiling is going to be the total amount you can get away without paying for import tax and VAT

Suggest you have a read here -

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.porta l?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType= document#P28_2966


I got charged nothing in terms of import tax or VAT

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Madman_Greg

Yeah, it may be a case of grouping into multiple orders to stay within HMRC rules. Doing some more research, the import tariff is 2.5% (code 8518 10 95 90). Apparently this is waived if it's less than £9, so staying under £360 per order will avoid that. Although what you gain on this, you might lose on combined postage - 2.5% isn't a big deal compared to VAT at 20%.

VAT (according to HMRC) should be charged on anything over £15 - and that includes the postage cost! You might have got lucky on this, but it's not something to rely on.

I'm not 'in' on the bulk-order - but an excellent idea.

Just to say that when I bought my pair of Silver Bullets I DID have to pay duty - can't remember what now, but even on this comparatively low-value purchase I had to pay.

There is (was??) a guy in the UK selling new Karma stuff through EBay, but his prices were basically the same as ordering direct + post + duty IIRC.

Don't wish to hijack at all, but Mike & Greg - how are you finding the mics to work with?

Quote Billum:

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Don't wish to hijack at all, but Mike & Greg - how are you finding the mics to work with?

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I found them quite bright, but not harsh. Some judicious EQ at mix/master easily tamed the brightness.

I lent them to a friend who's a pro musician - acoustic guitar. He raved about them for acoustic recording. He happenes to be a very good friend of Paul White who does most of the mastering for said musician's CD releases. He told Paul who bought some himself... hence the review in SoS!

Anyway, muso friend liked them so much that he bought them from me. I would have kept them, but rarely use omnis and have far too many mics anyway! But I'd definitely buy again if looking for occasional omni use.

HRH.

Quote Billum:

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Don't wish to hijack at all, but Mike & Greg - how are you finding the mics to work with?

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I have emailed the email address in your profile

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Madman_Greg

Hijack away! Future users would like to know too...

FWIW, a miniature omni parked somewhere around the rack toms is my standard "overhead" for live drums - it gets a good natural sound on toms and cymbals, especially on a small jazz kit. On a larger kit I'll use two. I've got a pair of Naiant X-Qs, but they're really very bright indeed and I wouldn't mind an alternative. I also like omnis for recording the room, and the Naiants have too high a self-noise (21dB IIRC) to really do a good job there.

I've found them a bit weird for recording guitar but I've been using an ART valve box for phantom power which might account for it. The top end is not as overpowering up close as I might have expected compared to it's sound at distance. Mids are a bit dirty (possibly the valve box) which takes some getting used to on the guitar but sounds great on the mandola.

I recently posted that I'd used a single SB on a "brushes and hot rods" kit for emergency audio for video multitrack. It was the best sound I've ever got on kit. It was a quiet stage with little monitor or backline but still impressive.

BTW, I paid more on postage and tax than on the mics but still a bargain.

Great idea, Grab, the bulk buy. Just a tad too late for me. For anyone else, get in now. You will find a use for them.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

p.s.

One more consideration:
My SBs are the only small mics I have that I can use with my Reflexion project filter. I do have some quite nice condensers that I'd like to experiment with but can't usefully set up due to size/shape.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Yes, I would be prepared to give them a go.

PM me If you go ahead with it.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Any more for any more? If not, I'll be pushing the button on Monday.

Still loving my Silver Bullets (I did a readers review on them a yer or so back) and now have the ribbon mic too.

Only problem I had with the ribbon was a little acoustic ringing from the body, which I have damped internally, but to be honest it didn't seem to make a huge difference to the recordings I have made with and without.

My experience is that they are nice folks to deal with and the SBs are a real bargain.

Come to think of it so is the ribbon mic.

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Me? But I`m such a loveable old bugger!

Quote shufflebeat:

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I've found them a bit weird for recording guitar but I've been using an ART valve box for phantom power which might account for it. The top end is not as overpowering up close as I might have expected compared to it's sound at distance. Mids are a bit dirty (possibly the valve box) which takes some getting used to on the guitar but sounds great on the mandola.

I recently posted that I'd used a single SB on a "brushes and hot rods" kit for emergency audio for video multitrack. It was the best sound I've ever got on kit. It was a quiet stage with little monitor or backline but still impressive.

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I bought them recently too. Found them near enough unusable for recording acoustic guitar but I reckon that might be my poor technique, as they really picked the sound of my nails picking into the strings more so than the sound the strings resonating even though I had them positioned at the 12 fret or so.

Good to hear they work on other uses though....

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http://soundcloud.com/earwighoney