Which mic sounds best on this voice?

G

gehauser

New member
I am about to record a male singer (solo with guitar) with a raw, untrained, but catchy voice. I set up 3 mics on his voice for a simultaneous shootout. As he was warming up, I snagged a clip out of a Wilco cover he was doing.

The 3 vocal mics were, in no particular order: sm7b, at4047, and nt-1a.

Chain:
mics > Sytek (all stock ch.) > Fostex MR16HD
No processing, mics set flat, 6" vocal distance (4" on SM7b)

The mic key is in the key.txt file, in case you don't want to blind test.




http://www.ffts.com/MRH.mictest/key.txt

I would appreciate your opinions on which mic sounds best on this voice.

Thanks!
 
gehauser,
I agree that #1 was clear and bright, however it wasn't my favorite for this voice. To me, #3 sounded smoother on this guy - his phrasing was such that I liked the smoothness #3 gave. #3 sounds like the SM-7b to me.

EDIT: Duh. I didn't read your whole post - there's the mic list right there in the file. Sorry.
 
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I liked the NT-1a (mic2) the best because of the way it flatters his voice, and the nice balance across the frequency range. The NT-1a frequency curve has a 2db bump around 150Hz which I think sounds good on many male voices, but this clip does not bring that out as much. But I've been told with compression the NT-1a can sound harsh (the posted clips are unprocessed). I played around with mild compression on the NT-1a track and I think I heard a little of this but the track was still useable.

I liked the SM7b (mic3) the second best, but it sounded a little fuzzy to me compared to the NT-1a.

I liked the AT4047 (mic1) okay, but it was just a little too bright for my tastes. Although the highs were more pronounced than with the other two mics, they were very smooth.

I like the sound of all 3 mics, so it is always hard for me to choose between them (thus this post). They each impart something unique to the sound, and each sounds good enough on its own that the results from any of them would be useable.

FYI, the singer liked the SM7b best (mic3).

FYI, in another forum (GS), 3 responses favored the AT4047 and 1 favored the NT-1a.

I really appreciate the feedback. Any other votes on these mics?
 
I purposely didn't look at the other comments so as to not get influenced by them.

OK. I definitely don't like mic1. It's got this nasal edge to it that doesn't quite flatter the voice.

I like mic2, it has a fuller sound although it seems to emphasize sibilance somewhat, although it's not objectionable.

Mic3 didn't have the sibilance issue as mic2, however it sounds too dark to me.
 
gehauser said:
I liked the NT-1a (mic2) the best because of the way it flatters his voice, and the nice balance across the frequency range.
...
I like the sound of all 3 mics, so it is always hard for me to choose between them (thus this post). They each impart something unique to the sound, and each sounds good enough on its own that the results from any of them would be useable.
Click to expand...
I know it's reassuring to get the opinions of others, but it seems to me that you pretty much have things well in hand. The first sentence tells me that you have made a choice, and made it for a reasoned and considered reason, and the second paragraph quoted above I think pretty much sums up the situation nicely.

A lot of the answer depends upon what sound or feeling you are purposely going for, if there's anything else to be added to the mix that you need to balance it with, and so forth. I can see each recording and microphone being a valid choice depending upon these other variables.

Some of us will agree with your preference as stated in the first sentence, others will not, If I had to bet, I'd say that with a large enough sample tested double-blind, that it would probably break down to about 33% for each selection. This would seem to mean that 2 out of 3 people disagree with you, but that would be the wrong way to look at it. All it means is that there are three equally valid choices, and everyone will have their own preference depending on their own ear, their own tastes and biases, and which side of the bed they woke up on that morning.

You have enough of an ear to size up the situation appropriately and to make your own reasoned choice (which is all any of us can ask for.) I believe you can trust your judgments.

G.
 
Had to listen closely three times to each. Liked Number 2 best. Close, but not as nice, was Number 3.

Mind you, thought all three were in the same ballpark though.

Thanks for posting this. This is how we learn.
 
IMHO - #2 is the best.

#3 is too muddy in the low end
#1 is ok, but there is some kind of "smooth sounding" thing going on with #2.

I have the NT1A and it definitely doesn't do this on MY voice , so this mic must really like you!
 
#2 sounds a little closer/up-front to me than #1 but I can barely hear a difference.

the sm7 sounds darker but if you had a loud piercing voice, like if he sang louder in the chorus, then the sm7 would be good, right guys?
 
stupidfatnugly said:
... but if you had a loud piercing voice, like if he sang louder in the chorus, then the sm7 would be good, right guys?
Click to expand...

Hey there. Thanks for sharing your opinion on the mics.

I'd say higher-pitched / thinner voices may work better with the SM7. "Loudness" by itself wouldn't necessarily be the factor to consider.
 
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