Why is my iPhone mic better than my $100 dynamic!?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stevie_M
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Stevie_M

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Mixing gurus I need your help! This is the same riff, recorded using two different mics. One is from an iPhone, the other from a Sennhesier e609 dynamic mic using an Alesis MultiMix4 USB audio interface via ASIO4 into FL9. Both mics were placed at the same spot on the speaker under the same volume. I am using neutral EQ tone on the Alesis Multimix.

Which one sounds better?




If you said #1, I would agree. It has more body and character, but it was recorded via "voice memos" on my iPhone 5S! Is Apple applying some kind of sound enhancement devilry behind the scenes?! Even when I EQ #2 (dynamic mic) by raising the highs and scooping the lows, it still sounds weaker than the iPhone recording.

This is driving me mad. Why does my Sennhesier e609 sound so dull compared to the iPhone!?!
 
Like Jimmy, I get "not available" but I'm pretty sure Apple (and most phones) apply a fair bit of filtering to increase the clarity of stuff recorded via the tiny internal mic.

I guess the other thing to ask yourself though is "what does your guitar sound like if you put your ear where the mics were"? Is is possible that the Sennheiser is more accurate even if less pleasing to the ear?
 
This is like one of those blindfolded is it Coke or Pepsi tests that I always wanted to do! I don't really know much about mixing or anything, but the second half sounds better to me. The first half sounds like it was recorded in a school hall or something, or like it's ukelele. The second one sounds like it's a guitar right next to me in a room. What you call dull, I think I prefer as the sound of a guitar, mainly because I can hear all the strings and the space it was recorded in sounds natural. I'd be going for the second lot in my mix for sure. Is this where you tell me it's a joke and the second half was recorded with an iphone? :) Anyway, that's just my opinion, it does of course depend on what you're mixing it into, and there's nothing to say the first half wouldn't sound good in the right mix. But as a standalone recording, the second half sounded much better IMO.
 
The answer to which sounds better depends on context: how it fits within a song.

However, without context, I am with fritsthegirl: I like the second half better.
 
I much prefer the second clip...the first sounds thin and "tinny" and very distant. As I said before, I suspect the phone is processing things to sound better at the other end of a phone line. The second part has much more warmth and detail.

What are you using to monitor, Stevie_M?
 
1st one is picking up the room sound along with your acoustic "clicking" plectrum .. 2nd sounds much better ... change between them is a bit harsh,if you put the clips the other way round im pretty sure the first clip would sounds much worse :)
 
The second clip sounds way better. The first one sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom. Turn the amp up and keep using the actual mic and save your iphone for candy crush and selfies.
 
Do phones use condenser mics or software to get that compressed "full-room" sound?

Yeah, the second sounds way better. Room noise, picks, etc. all really limit what you can do with the first.
 
The second one sounds a lot better. The first one may have a useful application somewhere but for recording an amplified guitar sound i would say use an actual mic of some sort as you have illustrated.
 
Much could be said about mike placement, signal chain, etc. Bottom line is: your iPhone sounds better to you because it has a processed sound. It's already compressed. To be honest, you are the only one who seems to think it sounds better. Could this be a psychological need to justify your iPhone, and how long haff you hated your muzzah? :)
 
I prefer the i-phone sound but only because it sounds more natural and ambient, it's how it sounds in the context of a mix though that really matters.
 
Thanks so much for the explanations guys. They are putting my paranoia at ease. I've been recording via Boss GT10 direct in cab sims for a few years, but I recently decided explore amp mic'ed recordings.

So the consensus seems to be that the Senn is capturing a true, flat, unprocessed sound that ultimately is better for mixing as opposed to the iPhone mic's compressed omnidirectional capture? I was paranoid that my Sennie was sounding too "flat and dull" - but is that how raw clean guitar recordings truly sound like before mix/master phase?
 
Stevie_M said:
is that how raw clean guitar recordings truly sound like before mix/master phase?
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Pretty much. Ideally you'll get a perfect sound right at the cab, but that will come with practice and experience. It will always beat an iphone recording.
 
I'm going to go against the grain here and say I definitely prefer the i-phone recording, sound with the room added is much more natural. I thought the senn was too flat and boring sounding, you were right to go with your original thoughts, ...time to hide
 
Btyre2013 said:
I'm going to go against the grain here and say I definitely prefer the i-phone recording, sound with the room added is much more natural. I thought the senn was too flat and boring sounding, you were right to go with your original thoughts, ...time to hide
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Yeah, the sound of the pick hitting the strings in a crappy room is the telltale sign of a good electric guitar track.
 
Greg_L said:
Yeah, the sound of the pick hitting the strings in a crappy room is the telltale sign of a good electric guitar track.
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I have been doing things wrong then. I'll remic my amp with my blackberrey when i get home.
 
ShanPeyton said:
I have been doing things wrong then. I'll remic my amp with my blackberrey when i get home.
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Forget the amp. Just unplug and mic the pickup so you can get that nice rock and roll tinny clack clack of a pick hitting the strings.
 
Greg_L said:
Forget the amp. Just unplug and mic the pickup so you can get that nice rock and roll tinny clack clack of a pick hitting the strings.
Click to expand...

I am just going to use my phone as the pick itself. cut out all the in between junk. Imagine the ambiance of a pick scrape. :guitar:
 
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