mics and subjective sounds Part 2

CoolCat

Well-known member
I removed the pc from my small room and it went to being amazing again, as far as silent.

Part 1 was determining I didnt need an outboard preamp, my interface alone is fine.
Part 2 was determining which Mics I will keep... the LDC and Dynamics all gathered in this sanity check.

All I need are mics for vocal and acoustic guitar, all else is ITB.

Im unbiased and not giving a crap which mic sounded best to me in this test. Ears Only...
The SM7b, SM58, MXL BCD, Rode NTV, MXL 990, MXL 991, SM81, PG 81, KSM27 covered a range of types and patterns.

The goal was to choose a few mics like a top 3 and the results were surprising. Next is to get rid of these unused mics laying around collecting dust.

I am/was a bit shocked with the results.

My fav was the 991 MXL, crisp, detailed, great on acoustic guitar and could do vocal but really liked it on the acoustic guitar.
(the US SM81 and PG81 sounded dull and blurry in the similar design, all of the mics had something missing. The KSM27 was close)
The 991MXL doesnt need gain help or eq help. So simple to track with.

The best vocal mic of this small test was a little harder to choose but the RODE NTV-Tube gets my vote but... it picks up a lot of the guitar if singing and playing the same time. So the MXLBCD1 has the tightest pattern, best rejection, it didnt pickup the acoustic as much. MXL BCD has a little more output than the SM7 but not much, and has a bit more treble which works for me...however... it can get thin, quickly, if a sound source moves much.

running the mic straight into the Interface removes me from screwing up the signal with compressors and eqs on outboard gear going in.
Mic to Interface preamp to REAPER (no realtime plugins either...they still sound phasey sometimes)

will try this setup in 2020.

Less can be more ...less shopping and more playing hopefully.
 
5 days later.....

A re-listen to the sound bytes of mics has changed. Its confusing....how does the sound change from day to day or week to week?

This most recent re- listen the MXL 991 had a distinct "tinny-rattle" I didnt hear the day of the last listen?
The duller SM81...now took 1st place???? SM81...wins today

Tired ears? Burnt out ears? the only difference is the date?

The RODE NTV tube mic still had a nice handling of the ssss's and was good too. But its sensitivity picks up everything...which isnt always ideal with a Mediocre player and Sub-Average room...

The dynamics sound similar SM7, SM58, similar. Kind of blah compared to LDC's.

Its hard to choose when the results dont show consistency....wtf?
 
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