what do you mean by bright, warm, colorful.

S

sotorious

New member
I mean i have an idea of what you guys mean.

Bright being a bit higher in the high ends

Warm being a bit more bassy? or something of that nature.

I have no idea about colorful, can you guys please elaborate on those?

and where do you want to use those type of tones the most?
 
none of those words mean anything in music, autumn in Wisconsin, yup.
bright = peak in the highs
warm = someone looking for a word to describe an improvement in sound
colorful = tc electronics finalizer
 
Big Kenny said:
none of those words mean anything in music, autumn in Wisconsin, yup.
bright = peak in the highs
warm = someone looking for a word to describe an improvement in sound
colorful = tc electronics finalizer
Click to expand...

So would warm be the way to go? i hear that a lot from tube mics, and highs i guess from regular condensers.
 
"Warm" has various meanings. The most common involved boosted low-midrange (or a rolled off high end), or harmonic distortion in the same range resulting from transformer saturation. Another possibility is harmonic distortion from an active component, such as a tube or maybe a FET, although such distortion will occur throughout the spectrum.
 
Aesthetics... (whatever that means)... Just the goto word to justify your job as a music educator back when I was in college. Dropped out and joined the Army, whatever...

For me.

Brightness... Too detailed... Hard to listen to... Painful on the ears... Too much high end...

Warm... Easy listening... Ear friendly... Low detail... Lack of High end...

Colored... Doesn't sound like the source... (not a bad thing for some sources, but could be on KNOWN things with EXPECTATIONS)
 
Shadow_7 said:
Aesthetics... (whatever that means)... Just the goto word to justify your job as a music educator back when I was in college. Dropped out and joined the Army, whatever...

For me.

Brightness... Too detailed... Hard to listen to... Painful on the ears... Too much high end...

Warm... Easy listening... Ear friendly... Low detail... Lack of High end...

Colored... Doesn't sound like the source... (not a bad thing for some sources, but could be on KNOWN things with EXPECTATIONS)
Click to expand...


is there any mics in between warm and bright?

Also what would you guys consider an AT4040 those of you who experienced it.
 
sotorious said:
is there any mics in between warm and bright?

Also what would you guys consider an AT4040 those of you who experienced it.
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There are many between warm and bright. I'd even say MOST are in that classification. Some are intentionally overly bright to counter the traits of being behind a fur curtain (blimp + dead rat). So some of it depends on usage.

I had the AT4033a, which the 4040 was meant to replace. The 4033a is Warm and Colored (weird EQ). The 4040 is supposed to be less colored (flatter EQ / not to imply flat). And there's enough detail on that brand and series to be borderline bright, but not in a bad way.
 
if you're starting out and really aren't too sure about loose terminology, i find it makes sense to compare mics to a camera lens/filter, in the sense that the thing you're taking a picture of is the most influential factor, but the lenses and filters will have an effect on how it comes out.

If you take a picture of something, and describe something as bright, it will probably appear quite sharp, detailed and if you go too far, maybe even unpleasant.

if you described one picture as being warm, but another as being muddy, you instinctively think of similar things, but one in a bad way and the other being good.

there's no single description of one mic though, cos it completely depends on the source.
a mic that makes cymbals sound slightly dull in one circumstance, might make vocals sound crisp and clear in another.


if there are a million and one lenses and filters and a complete range of colours that you can emphasise or deemphasis in your photograph,
there are also a million and one microphones, each of which will have their own unique properties.

hope that makes some sense.
 
sotorious said:
I mean i have an idea of what you guys mean.

Bright being a bit higher in the high ends

Warm being a bit more bassy? or something of that nature.

I have no idea about colorful, can you guys please elaborate on those?
Click to expand...

Bright: smoothly boosted in the highs. (See also harsh.)

Harsh: unevenly boosted in the highs (peaky).

Dull or Dark: cut in the highs.

Warm: boosted in the mids.

Muddy: boosted in the lows and mids.

Thick or Fat: boosted in the lows.

Thin: cut in the lows.

Flat: not significantly boosted or cut.

Colored: not flat.

Colorful: describes the language your engineer will use when you suggest a single correct definition for these terms.


sotorious said:
...and where do you want to use those type of tones the most?
Click to expand...

Usually when the source sounds too X, you choose a mic that is ~X (the opposite of X), e.g. for a too-dark source, you choose a bright or thin mic to change its character.
 
Steenamaroo said:
if you're starting out and really aren't too sure about loose terminology, i find it makes sense to compare mics to a camera lens/filter, in the sense that the thing you're taking a picture of is the most influential factor, but the lenses and filters will have an effect on how it comes out.

If you take a picture of something, and describe something as bright, it will probably appear quite sharp, detailed and if you go too far, maybe even unpleasant.

if you described one picture as being warm, but another as being muddy, you instinctively think of similar things, but one in a bad way and the other being good.

there's no single description of one mic though, cos it completely depends on the source.
a mic that makes cymbals sound slightly dull in one circumstance, might make vocals sound crisp and clear in another.


if there are a million and one lenses and filters and a complete range of colours that you can emphasise or deemphasis in your photograph,
there are also a million and one microphones, each of which will have their own unique properties.

hope that makes some sense.
Click to expand...

Yea that did make sense. but most of them can really be fixed with eq, with the exception of the colorful one maybe.
 
dgatwood said:
Bright: smoothly boosted in the highs. (See also harsh.)

Harsh: unevenly boosted in the highs (peaky).

Dull or Dark: cut in the highs.

Warm: boosted in the mids.

Muddy: boosted in the lows and mids.

Thick or Fat: boosted in the lows.

Thin: cut in the lows.

Flat: not significantly boosted or cut.

Colored: not flat.

Colorful: describes the language your engineer will use when you suggest a single correct definition for these terms.




Usually when the source sounds too X, you choose a mic that is ~X (the opposite of X), e.g. for a too-dark source, you choose a bright or thin mic to change its character.
Click to expand...

Nice break down as well. Also flat isnt always a bad thing correct?


let me see if im getting this down...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_5-n6U-APQ - this mic being a bit birght compared ot this one


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puDxmJObLkE&feature=related - as this one is being a bit warmer.
 
What don't you like about how they sound exactly?

Not sure what kind of money you want to drop...but check out the ADK mics...some really nice stuff there especially if you look at their higher end line. :cool:

I have a few of their mics (TT/CE, Hamburg, Vienna, TL)...the TT/CE is my top of the line mic for vocals. I'm sure it's great on other stuff too, but I've kept it purely for vocal use up to now as I have other mics for other duties.

I just went and had one of their new ADK Custom Shop TT 12-Au capsules dropped into it...and it took the mic to an even higher level. Super smooth highs and very wide, rich tone...very 3-D.
 
miroslav said:
What don't you like about how they sound exactly?

Not sure what kind of money you want to drop...but check out the ADK mics...some really nice stuff there especially if you look at their higher end line. :cool:

I have a few of their mics (TT/CE, Hamburg, Vienna, TL)...the TT/CE is my top of the line mic for vocals. I'm sure it's great on other stuff too, but I've kept it purely for vocal use up to now as I have other mics for other duties.

I just went and had one of their new ADK Custom Shop TT 12-Au capsules dropped into it...and it took the mic to an even higher level. Super smooth highs and very wide, rich tone...very 3-D.
Click to expand...

it just seems it makes my tone flat, not really me. Im not sure to explain it, as i want a very good vocal mic, cause that is what i am mainly working on. ill look into the ADK mics.

Also when would you use something like a multipattern? would you use it on vocals, or when multiple people are singing at once? I am wondering if i should look for a mic wiht multi pattern for future stuff. Can someone tell me what its mainly used as?
 
Steenamaroo said:
if you're starting out and really aren't too sure about loose terminology, i find it makes sense to compare mics to a camera lens/filter, in the sense that the thing you're taking a picture of is the most influential factor, but the lenses and filters will have an effect on how it comes out.

If you take a picture of something, and describe something as bright, it will probably appear quite sharp, detailed and if you go too far, maybe even unpleasant.

if you described one picture as being warm, but another as being muddy, you instinctively think of similar things, but one in a bad way and the other being good.

there's no single description of one mic though, cos it completely depends on the source.
a mic that makes cymbals sound slightly dull in one circumstance, might make vocals sound crisp and clear in another.


if there are a million and one lenses and filters and a complete range of colours that you can emphasise or deemphasis in your photograph,
there are also a million and one microphones, each of which will have their own unique properties.

hope that makes some sense.
Click to expand...

Well that does it Paul ..... I'm going out and purchase a Polaroid wind screen for my microphones. :D






:cool:
 
sotorious said:
Also when would you use something like a multipattern? would you use it on vocals, or when multiple people are singing at once? I am wondering if i should look for a mic wiht multi pattern for future stuff. Can someone tell me what its mainly used as?
Click to expand...

If you're remote recording and don't know what you're walking into. Room + Source + Proximity. Having the option to tailor the mic to the circumstance (polar pattern) is almost mandatory. Or just bring a lot of mics and know what to choose.
 
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