B1 versus V67 handling noise tests

P

Phloodpants

New member
There was some question about the effectiveness of the B1's internal shockmounting, so I've done a few tests.

I only have a V67 to compare it to, which might not actually be the most fair because the V67's bass rolls of sooner than the B1, so it's inherently less prone to noise.

I won't draw any conclusions. Download the files and see for yourself...

B1 (left) vs V67 (right)

B1 (left) vs V67 in shockmount (right)

V67 no shockmount (left) vs V67 in shockmount (right)

The mics are mounted on the same stand with a T adapter. I stomped up to the mics in my socks (hardwood floor) and tapped the mic stand a few times, then stomped in place a bit more.

Now, keep in mind that the B1 is a couple db more sensitive than the V67. (yowza!)

Wish I had a mic with a more similar bass response to the B1. That would be a fairer test but I think this is still useful.
 
I ran the signal to noise ratio through my oscilloscope and everything checks out OK.

:)
 
You just about blew my monitors with this test. The B1 is a mic I will never buy if thats the kind of noise it makes. Due to my lack of funds, I will not bother with the other two "tests"/ I cannot afford another set of monitors right now.
 
Oy! Well I guess I should have included a disclaimer to BE CAREFUL WITH THESE TRACKS. They do have some serious sub-sonic content!:eek:

I wouldn't count out the B1 for that reason though. It is a terrificly versatile mic IMO.

It is claimed to not need a shockmount, but I am starting to think it needs one anyways.

In any case, I don't think it's handling noise is any WORSE than another mic with similar bass response, I'm just not so sure that it's any BETTER.
 
I've got the B3 with the low-cut filter and there is no problem. While I have not banged on the mic I can adjust position with little noise. I like the mic clip and the internal shock better than fooling with the elastic thing. Try a low filter on your preamp,might just do the trick.
Bill
 
UPDATE!

Here's an update on this test. It should be disregarded! Turns out the B1 used in this test (It's mine actually) has a faulty internal shockmount and is being sent in for repair. According to Mr. Hyatt, some of the early production B-series mics have a flaw in the materials used or something. I'll quote him directly as to not speculate any further.

Me
If I place the mic in the stand, or hold it in my hand and gently shake it, it makes all sorts of low end rumble and crackling sounds. If I even touch the XLR cable where it connects to the mic, it will pop and snap. If I slightly wiggle the cable, it will make a kind of low end scratching noise...If I grab the mic clip with two fingers (with the mic in it of course), it will make the low end
rumble/scratch/pop. I've tried it on two different mic preamps (4
channels total), and several different cables with the same results...So my logical conclusion is that something is definitely loose inside the mic.
Click to expand...

Alan
The entire mounting system you have is too soft. We
have a new mod for it, but it requires us to do it. The entire mic needs to come apart and the capsule unsoldered. The new mod we have will take care of all of these issues, so you need to get it to us. The new shipment of mics coming in has this new modification. This will resolve all your issues.
Click to expand...

So, as you can see, this test is not valid at all, and it will be redone when the mic comes back from being modified.
 
All the mics, or were you unlucky?

Hey Looney/Phlood, is this for all or just some of the first B1's?

I haven't had problems with mine, and I ordered it less than a week after it came out... I don't get huge "bonk" sounds unless I move the stand or bump into it etc. and the capsule whacks the inside of the grille. It seems pretty forgiving. The low cut on the pre helps a lot, and I don't really expect that an internal shock mount on an $80 mic would be as good as an elastic thingy ;) .

Now I'm wondering if I should send it off. I'll hafta download your test track and compare it to my unit. (Can't now, I'm at work...) It does have some serious low end. Good for voiceovers IMO. Get too close to it singing and you could topple Jericho by yourself!
 
I'll email Alan and ask him if this is just a few mics here and there, or if this is something more in the design of the internal shockmount that causes this problem. Last time I corresponded with Alan, he said he would be out for the remainder of this week, so I don't expect an answer until he gets back from wherever he's going...next week.

BTW, I took those test files offline, as I didn't want those comparisons being used unfairly. I will do the tests over again when I get the mic back from Alan, and then the playing field will be fair.
 
I got one good & one bad... what to do now??

I have a matched pair of B1's that I got from 8th street a little over a week ago & there is no comparison between the 2 as far as handling noise. One has the horrible handling noise problem shown in the clips posted here. It's absolutely intolerable (worse than having no shockmount at all) & the other is just fine. I had already made arrangements with 8th street to exchange the bad one & I hadn't heard of the modification so now I'm wondering should I actually return it & maybe both mics to Studio Projects to make sure I get the latest updated version correcting this initial design or production flaw in the internal shockmount. The bad one is so bad that just medium stomping on the carpeted floor near the mic stand can set off the internal shockmount noise, so it would be easy to imagine a drummer with a heavy foot easily setting it off if used as an overhead. As I said, the other one seems fine. I can get a little of the noise from it if I really jolt it good but not a problem with any kind of shock or jolt that I would expect to encounter in normal circumstances & it doesn't" exhibit much noise from just handling the cable or the mic where as the bad one sounds like your trying to clean the wax out of your ear with your finger when you just slightly rub , move or tap the cable or mic.
 
Phloodpants said:
There was some question about the effectiveness of the B1's internal shockmounting, so I've done a few tests.

I only have a V67 to compare it to, which might not actually be the most fair because the V67's bass rolls of sooner than the B1, so it's inherently less prone to noise.

I won't draw any conclusions. Download the files and see for yourself...

B1 (left) vs V67 (right)

B1 (left) vs V67 in shockmount (right)

V67 no shockmount (left) vs V67 in shockmount (right)

The mics are mounted on the same stand with a T adapter. I stomped up to the mics in my socks (hardwood floor) and tapped the mic stand a few times, then stomped in place a bit more.

Now, keep in mind that the B1 is a couple db more sensitive than the V67. (yowza!)

Wish I had a mic with a more similar bass response to the B1. That would be a fairer test but I think this is still useful.
Click to expand...

Have the B1s gotten fixed? Are they a good deal now?
 
Re: Re: B1 versus V67 handling noise tests

acorec said:
Have the B1s gotten fixed? Are they a good deal now?
Click to expand...

This all happened about a year ago right? So I'm figuring the "new shipment" has definitely gone out by now. But I'd be worried about buying a B1 off eBay or from anyone who's not an official dealer...maybe those sellers got their hands on a bunch of B1s because they were the old, problematic ones! I've never seen a new one under $79 anyway, which is the price you can get one for from an official dealer, like 8thstreet.com. Either way, I'd say it's a heck of a deal! To get a versatile, quality mic like that for $79 is amazing! Still, I LOVE my v67g on vocals, for about the same price ($82).
 
Interesting that this year old thread has come up again. I never did send in the defective B1. I ended up fixing it myself a couple months back. Turned out that the real problem with the mic was that one of the leads going to the diaphram was too short, which was causing it to tug at the diaphram when the internal shock-mount moved. I added some length to the lead, and it's perfectly fine now.

Also, I just picked up a second B1 today (Which came from SP about a month ago), and it does not suffer from the problem I had with the first one. If you really shake it, it will make some noise (from the shock-mount movement), but not anything like what the first one did.

It's probably safe to say that any new B1 you buy is fine!

Although I haven't done it yet, It would be interesting to test how closely my two B1's match...They both have the same colored dot, so according to Alan, they should be a pretty close match.
 
Re: UPDATE!

Does this mean that eveyone who has purchased Studio Projects B1 mirophones before todays date (6-16-03) should send their B1's back to be repaired with this mod? And what about the Studio Projects B3 microphones... do they need to be repaired also?

LooneyTunez said:
Me

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I place the mic in the stand, or hold it in my hand and gently shake it, it makes all sorts of low end rumble and crackling sounds. If I even touch the XLR cable where it connects to the mic, it will pop and snap. If I slightly wiggle the cable, it will make a kind of low end scratching noise...If I grab the mic clip with two fingers (with the mic in it of course), it will make the low end
rumble/scratch/pop. I've tried it on two different mic preamps (4
channels total), and several different cables with the same results...So my logical conclusion is that something is definitely loose inside the mic.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alan

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The entire mounting system you have is too soft. We
have a new mod for it, but it requires us to do it. The entire mic needs to come apart and the capsule unsoldered. The new mod we have will take care of all of these issues, so you need to get it to us. The new shipment of mics coming in has this new modification. This will resolve all your issues.
Click to expand...

Alan,
Why hasn't there been a recall for these mic's posted?
 
Last edited:
Re: Re: UPDATE!

DJL said:
Does this mean that eveyone who has purchased Studio Projects B1 mirophones before todays date (6-16-03) should send their B1's back to be repaired with this mod? And what about the Studio Projects B3 microphones... do they need to be repaired also?
Click to expand...

No no no, look at the date of those posts above...it's 2002. This was almost exactly a year ago that people had this problem. I'm sure the faulty mics are long gone by now.
 
From what remember, Alan told me the problem I experienced only affected a few mics in the first run, and I believe the problem was ONLY in the first run. I'm guessing there have been several runs in the last year...So, I wouldn't take an alarmist attitude about it...if your mic has this problem, it would be blatently obvious.
 
Re: Re: UPDATE!

DJL said:
Alan,
Why hasn't there been a recall for these mic's posted?
Click to expand...
Maybe if you hadnt driven him off this forum we might have an answer.

I see your anti studio projects campaign is still going strong. Even better when you can ask leading questions and know that Alan wont answer.

Anyone interested can search for DJL's previous posts and decide for yourself whether DJL has a vendetta against Alan and studio projects
 
Re: Re: Re: UPDATE!

tomleblanc said:
No no no, look at the date of those posts above...it's 2002. This was almost exactly a year ago that people had this problem. I'm sure the faulty mics are long gone by now.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, thanks... but I wonder why Alan didn't post a recall and what the date cut-off day was?

jdier was just saying in this thread https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=89893 they are having problems with their Studio Projects B1's... but I don't know how long ago they were bought yet.

My studio is in use right now so I can't sake my SP B1's and B3's untill tomorrow.

Also, I want to thank you very much for the heads-up... this is very important infor and should have been posted.
 
Justin, I see your on the bbs now... can you please shed some light about this for us? I've got to haul ass over to the John Hiatt show... I'll check back here later. Thank you.
 
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