All these mics sound the same...

[Lo-Fi Mike]

actually, yeah

Wow, I bet he feels like a dumbass now.

actually, yeah

i didn't download em, i just opened them up.
after i posted i went back and downloaded em and listen to them closer, and realized they sounded the same (and lined up to close).
i was gonna post back before anyone else listened and found out they were the same.
But my plan was to whistle and walk away casually.
thanks for the spotlight prestomation.

---mike---

 

[IronFlippy]

There we go. The SE1 sounds like it's clipping, although I think that's actually the mic reading the transients wrong. Other than that it doesn't sound too bad.

The C2 is "shrilly" and lacks low end, but that could very well be because of its placement. It picked up more string buzz which means it might be more accurate, but not necessarily better. It has a very unmusical sound (the hell does that even mean?).

The CAD was a lot more clear. It's very musical and fits this recording rather well, but it sounds like it's not an accurate representation (ie has some bumps and cuts in its frequency range).

None of these mics would be unusable in a recording. However, the CAD would require the least amount of processing after the fact (well, in a setting where it's the only thing going on). I have a feeling the SE1 might work better in a mix with a bunch of other instruments.

It's not unnatural to not be able to tell the difference. It takes a LOT of listening, comparing, and fooling around (with the sounds) until you can hear subtle differences like these. Of course, decent monitors and a workable listening environment help. Don't give up, hearing sound accurately is a very doable thing for pretty much everyone. Keep practicing listening!

On a side note, all three together sound rather nice, if you keep the CAD center, pan the SE1 hard right, the C2 hard left, and turn down the level on those about 6db.

 

[lo beam]

The CAD was a lot more clear. It's very musical and fits this recording rather well, but it sounds like it's not an accurate representation (ie has some bumps and cuts in its frequency range).

My guitar is a custom made Gibson J200-ish thing, but slightly smaller bodied. I also never change my strings if I can help it, so the sound is pretty dark and thick. The cheapo CAD seems to have sexed this up to a lovely airy sounding vibrancy whereas the other two probly captured it more 'accurately'.

Just goes to show that there's always some job that all these insanely priced budget mics do bloody well.