Mic Shootout... not very scientific...

B

bruiser1964

Member
Ok so i've got the day off to paint the house but it's raining so, thought i'd have a play with mics instead...

The image is from the reverse as the light was in my way.

I recorded all 4 at once and pasted them to one track, see which one you think came out best and I'll post the right answer up next week.

01efbdcff22464ba3203b505e4bf502b4d055ed8b0.jpg

View attachment test setup_1.mp3

in no order at all are AKG Solidtube, Neuman U87, SE TITAN, AKG C414. no processing just bare naked mics.

Bonus point if you guess the song :)
 
They all seem to have (what I'm guessing is) a fairly strong room tone component, that if true, wish weren't there to zero in easier on the mic differences. The mids/tops don't seem very 'focused- solid. (Partly the trait of small-short reflections again?
#3 obviously has a much stronger low mid.
 
I think no1 is the U87, no2 AKG 414, no3 Titan and no4 Solidtube. My least favourite is no3, favourite is by far no1.
 
Using ear buds rather than headphones, 1 and 2 seemed to have more presence, while 3 and 4 were missing some high end. If I were to have to sell one on ebay, it would be 3.

And I think the AKG is so close to the Neumann, the latter could not be worth 3X as much. Don't know which one is AKG and which is Neumann, but I would bet neither is #3.
 
Thanks all for your input, spot on as always! as I said I'll let you know at the end of the week.

Thanks Mixit, I did originally try this in the room I normally record in but felt the sound was boxy an muddled, I moved out to our lounge (luckily it was during the day so I had space) its a much bigger room with lots of soft funishings and different floor surfaces (oak and slate) i used a reflexion filter which might not have helped and as I said previously no processing at all.

I have been looking at making some bass traps and some panels for the walls, but they need to look good as its a space I share with the wife!

Cheers!
 
bruiser1964 said:
...I have been looking at making some bass traps and some panels for the walls, but they need to look good as its a space I share with the wife!

Cheers!
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Hey I gotcha there. Luckily my wife and I's stuff are both 'Tolex 'cases'n 'boxes ;>)
 
Because the AKG is probably my best mic for voiceover, and if it loses badly to the Neumann U87, I'll have the latter menacing me in the back of my mind. The difference in mic gain could be coloring my perception, but normalizing the four mics would not make them really...normal.

Greg_L said:
Why? Is it because yall don't wanna be wrong, or do you just want your favorite mics to "win"?
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JefferySmith said:
Because it is probably my best mic for voiceover, and if it loses badly to the Neumann U87, I'll have the latter menacing me in the back of my mind. The difference in mic gain could be coloring my perception, but normalizing the four mics would not make them really...normal.
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Okay but this test doesn't really indicate that any mic is better or worse than any other. It's just mics set up in what looks like a typical living room, maybe? And it's totally subjective anyway. Your favorite mic might be dead last in this guy's living room, but so what? Are you gonna track in there? It's your favorite mic because of how you use it, not how someone else uses it. The truth is any one of us can take any one of those mics and make it sound shitty.
 
To be honest, my guitars are way better than I am a guitarist, and my microphones are way better than my voice. Two of my <$400 microphones would probably be on a par with a Neumann U87 under my recording conditions (a house built before the civil war with tall ceilings) and after converting to MP3.

Greg_L said:
Okay but this test doesn't really indicate that any mic is better or worse than any other. It's just mics set up in what looks like a typical living room, maybe? And it's totally subjective anyway. Your favorite mic might be dead last in this guy's living room, but so what? Are you gonna track in there? It's your favorite mic because of how you use it, not how someone else uses it. The truth is any one of us can take any one of those mics and make it sound shitty.
Click to expand...
 
JefferySmith said:
To be honest, my guitars are way better than I am a guitarist, and my microphones are way better than my voice. Two of my <$400 microphones would probably be on a par with a Neumann U87 under my recording conditions (a house built before the civil war with tall ceilings) and after converting to MP3.
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That's the spirit.

Also, I bet those recording conditions would be great for drums and guitars. Keep things in perspective.
 
JefferySmith said:
To be honest, my guitars are way better than I am a guitarist, and my microphones are way better than my voice. Two of my <$400 microphones would probably be on a par with a Neumann U87 under my recording conditions (a house built before the civil war with tall ceilings) and after converting to MP3.
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have you actually used a U87 though? if not you really should.
 
Thanks as always for all your input....

The lineup was AKG C414, Neumann U87, AKG Solidtube and SE Titan.

I've had the 414 for ages and its been my main mic for everything, I couldnt pass up a cheap deal on the U87 but so far I'm not blown away, I thought the Solidtube was better sounding I have to say but here it sounds muddy, I do have another valve to try... The Titan came out well? I got it as a not working off the bay but its never shown any sign of a fault.

I have today taken delivery of a pack of Rokwool RW3 and am planning spending the next sets of days off making bass traps so maybe Ill repeat the excersise when thats done, I dont think the reflection filter is a magic bullet :)

Cheers
 
bruiser1964 said:
Thanks as always for all your input....

The lineup was AKG C414, Neumann U87, AKG Solidtube and SE Titan.

I've had the 414 for ages and its been my main mic for everything, I couldnt pass up a cheap deal on the U87 but so far I'm not blown away, I thought the Solidtube was better sounding I have to say but here it sounds muddy, I do have another valve to try... The Titan came out well? I got it as a not working off the bay but its never shown any sign of a fault.

I have today taken delivery of a pack of Rokwool RW3 and am planning spending the next sets of days off making bass traps so maybe Ill repeat the excersise when thats done, I dont think the reflection filter is a magic bullet :)

Cheers
Click to expand...

thanks for revealing that, it has made me realise how good the c414 sounds, might have to get one as my next microphone, are you using a modern C414? which model is it? blind testing is very useful ;D great test.
 
Yes it's the XLII, Ive had it about 5 years and use it on just about everything it was set in cardioid, bass cut at 40hz, in hindsight I might have gone for another one instead of the U87 :) now I'll need to get another one of each :)

As I said it might be interesting to repeat when I've got some room treatment :)

Cheers
 
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