TheOneTrueMatt
New member
I thought since I've posted a few "Which mic should I buy" thread that maybe I'd attempt to give something back by writing about my experience auditioning some mics at GC. Of course these are my experiences with my ears and my voice, so ymmv.
First of all, the Guitar Center in Brookfield, WI (just openned) is FANTASTIC. Their sale staff is top notch and the guy who helped me, I think he was head of the keyboard department, did not hesitate to help set me up to audition mics on a busy Saturday afternoon. I almost wish I didn't get a discount through my local Madison music store so I could just buy everything there (I did make a purchase that day, just not a mic).
So I wanted to try out everything they had that was vaguely in my price range, with special interest in the AT4040 and BLUE Baby Bottle. They also had a Groove Tubes FET model (the $299 one, maybe GT33) so I tried that out too in my initial test (heard good things here).
All of these were run through a digital mixer and straight into headphones.
First off, I didn't like the Groove Tubes mic. On the higher stuff I sang (I tried my complete range, including a fairly high metal head voice) sounded kind of harsh, maybe a bit brittle, but basically unpleasant. This is something I was trying to make sure the mic could deal with so I didn't spend a lot more time on that one.
I found the AT4040 to be very neutral, and fairly smooth. It sounded good through my complete range. The only problem I had was that I kept having to check if I was still plugged into it, bringing the fader up or moving closer and testing that I was still getting a signal. Then I realized it wasn't 'cause the mic was quiet, it was because it sounded so neutral that what I was hearing in the headphones (nothing too incredible so probably not very isolating) was blending with what I was hearing through the mic. But it still sounded good to me when I could pick it out, and smooth on the high end stuff.
Finally the Baby Bottle. I've been dying to try this mic out for awhile now and the results were very interesting, though not completely surprising from what I've read. VERY hot sonics, as has been said before. Really smooth and handled the high stuff well, but it had something odd going on in the midrange. I don't know if the midrange was pronounced or just had an odd color to it, but whatever it was, it sounded really good at some times, and other times like it might not fit what I was trying to do vocally. It also gave the vocals a lot of presence, though I can't say for sure that would be the same effect in a mix. For $499 its not one I'd get right now, but eventually I'd like to have one as I imagine on certain songs/vocals that sound would be exactly what I need, plus I've heard its great on instruments/cabs, etc.
I was about ready to go but the guy insisted I try a couple more and brought out the Shure KSM32 and AKG C3000B. He thought the AKG might be "the one you're looking for" but well, I thought it sounded awful. The guy was a great salesman but maybe he doesn't have great taste in mics (or maybe it works for him, I dunno).
The proximity effect seemed to be massively boosted, or maybe it just had way too much bass, seemed like it was all high and low, no midrange and I just couldn't stand to sing through it for very long. I'd passed one of those up a few years ago when I bought my Behringer B2 (yeah, my ears and voice have gotten a lot better which is why I'm shopping for new mics). The Shure KSM32 Didn't do anything special for me, didn't really compliment my voice but I didn't have any particular impressions about it other than that. The guy was still incredibly nice and helpful even when I was saying I was not buying a microphone that day (I did buy a "cheap" Alesis reverb unit to use for vocal monitoring) and even suggested I come back if I want to try more and that he'd be happy to show me what a $3,000 mic sounds like (I imagine he was talking about the Neumann U87 they had there, and boy was I tempted, though I think it might be more practical to try out the TLM103 if I go back).
So that's all. Hope this is amusing or helpful to someone or whatever.
Presently I'm very tempted to get the AT4040, though I'm also still curious about the SP C3. The guy at work suggested I might be able to take the C3 home for a night to try out so I'm thinking about doing that and then either getting the C3 or 4040, though I imagine both would be useful and somewhat complimentary, so its really what sounds best for my current project (and I want a Baby Bottle eventually too).
First of all, the Guitar Center in Brookfield, WI (just openned) is FANTASTIC. Their sale staff is top notch and the guy who helped me, I think he was head of the keyboard department, did not hesitate to help set me up to audition mics on a busy Saturday afternoon. I almost wish I didn't get a discount through my local Madison music store so I could just buy everything there (I did make a purchase that day, just not a mic).
So I wanted to try out everything they had that was vaguely in my price range, with special interest in the AT4040 and BLUE Baby Bottle. They also had a Groove Tubes FET model (the $299 one, maybe GT33) so I tried that out too in my initial test (heard good things here).
All of these were run through a digital mixer and straight into headphones.
First off, I didn't like the Groove Tubes mic. On the higher stuff I sang (I tried my complete range, including a fairly high metal head voice) sounded kind of harsh, maybe a bit brittle, but basically unpleasant. This is something I was trying to make sure the mic could deal with so I didn't spend a lot more time on that one.
I found the AT4040 to be very neutral, and fairly smooth. It sounded good through my complete range. The only problem I had was that I kept having to check if I was still plugged into it, bringing the fader up or moving closer and testing that I was still getting a signal. Then I realized it wasn't 'cause the mic was quiet, it was because it sounded so neutral that what I was hearing in the headphones (nothing too incredible so probably not very isolating) was blending with what I was hearing through the mic. But it still sounded good to me when I could pick it out, and smooth on the high end stuff.
Finally the Baby Bottle. I've been dying to try this mic out for awhile now and the results were very interesting, though not completely surprising from what I've read. VERY hot sonics, as has been said before. Really smooth and handled the high stuff well, but it had something odd going on in the midrange. I don't know if the midrange was pronounced or just had an odd color to it, but whatever it was, it sounded really good at some times, and other times like it might not fit what I was trying to do vocally. It also gave the vocals a lot of presence, though I can't say for sure that would be the same effect in a mix. For $499 its not one I'd get right now, but eventually I'd like to have one as I imagine on certain songs/vocals that sound would be exactly what I need, plus I've heard its great on instruments/cabs, etc.
I was about ready to go but the guy insisted I try a couple more and brought out the Shure KSM32 and AKG C3000B. He thought the AKG might be "the one you're looking for" but well, I thought it sounded awful. The guy was a great salesman but maybe he doesn't have great taste in mics (or maybe it works for him, I dunno).
The proximity effect seemed to be massively boosted, or maybe it just had way too much bass, seemed like it was all high and low, no midrange and I just couldn't stand to sing through it for very long. I'd passed one of those up a few years ago when I bought my Behringer B2 (yeah, my ears and voice have gotten a lot better which is why I'm shopping for new mics). The Shure KSM32 Didn't do anything special for me, didn't really compliment my voice but I didn't have any particular impressions about it other than that. The guy was still incredibly nice and helpful even when I was saying I was not buying a microphone that day (I did buy a "cheap" Alesis reverb unit to use for vocal monitoring) and even suggested I come back if I want to try more and that he'd be happy to show me what a $3,000 mic sounds like (I imagine he was talking about the Neumann U87 they had there, and boy was I tempted, though I think it might be more practical to try out the TLM103 if I go back).
So that's all. Hope this is amusing or helpful to someone or whatever.
Presently I'm very tempted to get the AT4040, though I'm also still curious about the SP C3. The guy at work suggested I might be able to take the C3 home for a night to try out so I'm thinking about doing that and then either getting the C3 or 4040, though I imagine both would be useful and somewhat complimentary, so its really what sounds best for my current project (and I want a Baby Bottle eventually too).
