Why is chinese a dirty word?

[lexdrummer]

Here's another clip. 7.5megs. Acorec has convinced me that my recordings will never sound as good as all that great stuff major labels are putting out these days. I hear that new Hillary Duff single used some Sweeeeet ass micpres. Yet, I must move on.

www.dullum.net/Gclip.wav

You can bash away at it, but please tell me what is so sub par about it. If you're going to post, please contribute something useful, not blanket statements about how homerecording.org's board suffers because Acorec was born with a small penis. I mean, try and avoid blanket statements about how if it's not expensive, it just can't possibly be good. Or how you've "tried all the chinese mics and none of them make Acorec's penis bigger."

And if you don't like the terms of the post:

A) Don't post.

-or-

B) Make your own stupid post, I did!

I had to edit this because I mistook Chessrock for Acorec, and the names had to be changed to protect Chessrock's penis.

P.S. Acorec will now be referred to by me as Acorndick

SI you are the charm. that piece is yet another stimulator. excellent. And might I add for the cheap seats. Clean, distinct, musical, listenable and quite entertaining to boot.

 

[chessrock]

You can bash away at it, but please tell me what is so sub par about it. If you're going to post, please contribute something useful, not blanket statements about how homerecording.org's board suffers because Acorec was born with a small penis.

I don't think it's particularly small. It's just doesn't take up much mass.

And I don't find anything horribly wrong with your clip. It sounds fine.

If you really want to get anal, I suppose the hand claps kinda' show off less-than-ideal room accoustics. I'm also not certain the microphone / guitar combo is ideal. Your accoustic is somewhat midrangy and strident in the high-mids. I would have countered that with a mellower-sounding mic; like a ribbon, or perhaps a darker condenser.

This is actually a perfect example of where Chinese mics can be a mis-match on some sources. I don't know what kind of mic was used on that, but either way, the example still stands. If it was a Chinese condenser, then it was a mis-match, in my opinion. If it wasn't a Chinese condenser, then it would have been worse had it been one. If that makes any sense. You see, I just don't really know of any Chinese condensers, at this point, that are soft or mellow sounding enough ... or even neutral enough to be truly versatile workhorses. They tend to work just on certain things, which isn't bad, I suppose. Example: I have an MXL-990 that I use all the time when I layer "airy" sounding backing vocals, because it does the airy thing prett well for 60 bucks. It's a pony that happens to excel at that particular trick.

Back to your clip; The voices sound good. I wouldn't pan them out as far, but it's not totally annoying. Not nearly as annoying as the "panning police" who like to frequent the MP3 clinic and complain about how everything is panned.

Back to the guitar; I hate the way accoustic guitars sound when compressed. In my opinion, there isn't a compressor made that's transparent enough to pull it off the right way. I'd use a combination multiband compressor and limiter or just leave it uncompressed, but again, that's just a personal beef

P.S. Acorec will now be referred to by me as Acorndick

It's about damn time!

 

[acorec]

well put Acorndick

I don't go that way, sorry. I want to know what your boyfriend thinks about your chinese mic. How does it fit, is the case long enough etc....

 

[Mo-Kay]

I'll just repeat myself over and over on this board:

I own a b1 and record raps and vocals on it... I like it a lot, a lot better than the rode nt1 I used before.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Sonic Idiot]

Chessrock, thank you for listening and commenting. You nailed it on the head. But for me, the sound you identify is very purposeful. It is just a tad strong in the mids--it's a smaller bodied Taylor, and it's the ax I picked out of many. It's the heart of my guitar sound--what sounds to me as slightly "aggressive" fingerstyle. It's a recorded sound I very much prefer for my playing and one I hadn't had much luck achieving until the SP B1.

As for the clapping, yeah. Not much I can do about that...I did try using samples, but they sounded too phoney. In fact, I recorded this CD under a parameter: I think my gear is fine, but my room is what it is. But if you're sitting in the room listening, it sounds fine. Therefore: Use the character of the room, don't fight it. What's stopping the sound of my room from being a preset on a verb unit?

And now you have completed the usual cycle here at HR.com.

You have no useful argument, so you resort to name calling etc. Well done! You seem to fit right in and will be called to moderate the new "Behringer Forum" that will be started sometime in the fall.

Dear Acorndick,

You threw the first meaningless punch, Acorndick. You haven't provided this thread with anything useful. I'm not arguing! I put up my recording and asked for opinions about Chinese mics--and your statement about major labels: whas that meant to make me feel bad? What prupose did that comment serve?

----

A) Don't post.

-or-

B) Make your own stupid post, I did!

----

You can't even follow very simple intructions! How can you do well in the exceedingly more complex world of recording music? Why am I asking Acorndick questions. Please don't respond, Acorndick. I'll start a new thread somewhere for you to ruin. (see dragon cave)

 

[noisedude]

IMHO you are wrong or you had a bad example of a Berry B1, BUT I can respect your view because you at least have listened to the products unlike a lot of morons (got that from Noisy Dude) that would not know a Berry B1 if it bit them in the Balls.

Hey, don't drag me into this! I'm quite capable of dragging myself into it!!

 

[chessrock]

It's a recorded sound I very much prefer for my playing and one I hadn't had much luck achieving until the SP B1.

I'd ditch the B1 and go with something mellower in the highs / high mids. Oktava MK-319 comes to mind. Not sure if you've ever considered this one, but the Groove Tubes GT-44 would be ideal.

I think what you're hearing in your head as your guitar sound is already coming accross, and doesn't need to be accentuated any more. It sounds like it's being tailored to sit in a busy rock mix. But if it's not actually in that context, it doesn't need that kind of immediacy, and it can chill out a little more and still accomplish the same goal. I mean it's basically the only instrument in the mix, so it doesn't need to stand out. And it's still going to sound like a small-bodied taylor no matter what you mic it with.

 

[Dot]

I own and use both regularly otherwise I would not be so willing to put in my penny's worth, unlike a lot of pepes on this Forum.
IMHO you are wrong or you had a bad example of a Berry B1, BUT I can respect your view because you at least have listened to the products unlike a lot of morons (got that from Noisy Dude) that would not know a Berry B1 if it bit them in the Balls.
I am willing to bet that with the examples I have, not too many people would be able to tell them apart when auditioned blind, I know have great difficulty, but maybe my ears are Fuc*ed

Tony, what else do you use in your signal chain? pres, cables, A/D, monitors? It makes a difference.

 

[Sonic Idiot]

I do have an mk-319 (not the GT you mentioned, though.) I do like that mic a lot and think it works really well with this guitar and have used it on "strummier" things to fine effect. But, again, the result with the B1 is what I'm after for me with finger pickin. No finger picks or nails for me either, and I find the mk-319 needs a boost to bring out aggressive high mids on my playing. I do hear what you're saying, though.

Part of my thinking with that sound is that for most of the CD, the guitar is well defined and sharp. (Also why I didn't record in stereo--wanted a much more old timey flavor) I didn't want to make a mellow sounding Crosby Still Nash kind of CD.

I've posted this several times on the board, but I recorded my first solo effort entirely with an MK-319. This mp3 is a good example and really makes your point--the guitar is much more mellow:

 

[junplugged]

that clip was interesting. it seemed to have the lows and low mids filtered out.

 

[chessrock]

This mp3 is a good example and really makes your point--the guitar is much more mellow:

That's more what I'm talking about.

I think this is also another example of the importance of the monitoring setup. The picking should come through fine on most systems, and it's likely you're either EQ'ing or using mics that compensate for what might be a lack of definition in your monitors. In rooms where there is poor bass treatment, for example, modal frequencies can often mask some of the definition in those critical regions (around 5-6 khz).

Also, in busier mixes, that region tends to be more critical as it can get lost. But in a guitar-only mix, it will almost never be an issue.

 

[Sonic Idiot]

I'm hearing that about monitors.

I use very small monitors at home for myself: KRK V4s. I've only had them for six months, but I find them very detailed. The stereo spread leaves a bit to be desired, but it's probably my placement's fault. I've got playback rigged up to a crappy bookshelf awai and a crappy sony boombox for other reference.

I think the difference between the two tracks I've posted here is not very subtle: Different Mics, different room, different end goal with each track. I maintain my affection for the B1--I really, really like its characteristic, but Chessrock is right--what you hear is what you get. If you want more like what Chessrock finds the better route, well, there you are then.

 

[PhilGood]

(voice of Satan) Aaaaaaaaaurgh!! I wake up and go through the train wreck, seeing things are getting exciting, then you're all making up and having rational, meaningful, helpful conversation??!! *NO!!* Get back to the insults and name calling!! What happened to the penis sizes???

You're taking all the fun out with this useful information!!!!!!!

 

[The Axis]

Chinese manufacturing is going through what Japanese manufacturing went through about 40 years ago.

At one time, anything "Made in Japan" was junk, and it had a bad reputation. Then, they implemented modern quality control techniques and eventually kicked our ass and won away most of our most lucrative automotive industry with superior quality products.

In the recent past, China has had a bad reputation, and lots of cheap, uneducated labor. But that has been changing, and they are starting to have have lots of cheap HIGH QUALITY products that some hoyty-toyty snobs refuse to recognize.

All the better for those who are able to discern quiality on their own.

 

[Sonic Idiot]

Philgood,

I'm writing poems about Acorndick in the Dragon Cave.

 

[giraffe]

yea, it's getting better, and it will continue to but.....

not everything made everywhare is going to be worth buying, peroid.
thare will always be some crap, and guess what.......
some of it will be made in china, big deal.

call a dog a dog, a 100$ mic may do what you want, but it is not going to sound like a 1500$ mic.

i don't see that that's a problem.

 

[junplugged]

if there were no cheap condenser mics, I'd still be recording with my sm57 and sm58. After having to buy cheap mic preamps (for phantom supply), I might just be better off with the preamp and the 2 Shure mics. It's a theory I'll be testing.

 

[wilkee]

Tony, what else do you use in your signal chain? pres, cables, A/D, monitors? It makes a difference.

Signal chain in = Mic - DAV Electronics BG1 Pre - EMU1212M soundcard

Signal chain out = Emu1212M - Rotel Pre - Rotel Power - ATC SCM50 monitors or Sennheiser HD580 Headphones

I use the DAV pre mainly for crossed pair recordings but as it is the best pre I own this is what I use for checking Mics, otherwise I am quite happy to use the pre's in my Berry digital mixer & ADAT into an Alesis HD24 or straight into the EMU.

Tony

 

[CCS]

really now, who cares if one mic is cheaper. its all about what you can do with the tools you have. the only reason nowdays i would buy a u47 is A: they are good sounding (but alot of other things these days can hold their own against them) .

They are much more than good sounding, including the U47 FET. Higher end mics hold their own against a U47, but I've yet to hear any budget mic do it, which is why I won't be getting rid of my TLM 170 anytime soon. I'd much rather have one great LDC, than 10 budget LDCs.

 

[hueseph]

If anyone took their time to look at the two B1's (SP & Berry) they would find that they are both made in the same factory and basically use the same quality of components.
Anyone stating that one or the other is much better is talking "BOLLOXS" *.

Tony

* Anglo-Saxon for utter Shyte

Behringer mics are NOT made by 797 which are the manufacturers of Studio Projects Mics. 797 who have been around for near 50 years and are iso 9001 approved. Behringer products are not. http://www.797audio.com/about/company.htm