A little mic test for you all....

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sonusman

sonusman

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I have always claimed that my little ol' AT 4033 is a damn fine sounding mic, and for only around $400 to boot these days, I consider them a steal.

I recorded a CD a couple of years ago and for most of the vocal tracks we used a AKG 414, ART Tube MP. But on one track, we used the AT 4033. Same exact signal path and wire, just a different mic.

Download this mp3,
and post which clips you think were recorded with the 414, and which with the 4033. Same singer on all three, same compressor at mix (a Crainsong! yeah baby....). Also, guess which mic I used on the female voice.

I think that this should illustrate that indeed the AT 4033 is comparable to much higher priced mics that are held in high regards by many top notch engineers....:) Of course, many hits used the AT 4033 on the lead vocal track, so it really is no small secret that this mic rocks big time!

By the way, I will email anybody that answers with their guess with the correct answers.

Ed

[Edited by sonusman on 09-02-2000 at 10:09]
 
Also...

I should say too that all the trumpets, percussion, drum overheads, trombone, and the horns on the Leslie cabinet for the Hammond used the 4033 too.

Ed
 
My Guess

The first clip could be either one (including the female vocals). But if I HAD to guess one or the other, I'd go with the 4033 on the male and 414 on female.

The second clip I'd say was a 414.

The third clip, a 4033.

I'm sure I'm WAY-OFF but I can honestly say my favorite was the second clip.

Another thing to keep in mind is the pre. It's not one I'd really pick for comparing mics. Damn nice comp by the way, though.

But maybe the 4033 and MP is a good combo. I wouldn't know.

If it's the second clip, I'd sure as hell say it's a good combo.
 
Oh

By the way, what I was listening on is probably a $30 sound card and little $20 powered computer speakers.

So don't even listen to me.
 
i to am on a $30 soundcard and $20 speakers. all i think is the 414 on clip 2.
 
here's my guess:

1st Clip: Male, 4033. Female Not sure..SM57? :)
2nd Clip: 414
3rd Clip: 414
 
My guess is the second clip was recorded with the AT 4033 whereas the third was recoded using the AKG 414. As for the first clip, sounds like some cheapo mic that didn't work well with the mic pre.
 
I was listening through a pair of cheap headphones.

I did not really like the sound quality of the first clip(i hope it is not the c414)

I kinda liked the female vocals(i would not be surprised if that was a 4033 though)

I did not really like the 2nd male clip but it sounded like it had more clarity than the first one ,

I would say that the 3rd clip had the same quality as the second clip, from my flawed headphones i.e

I really liked the female vocals best of all. Was that the same preamp as the other vocals?
 
I have no idea about these mics, never having used either, but I liked the sound on the second take best. Sounded clearer and more present to my ears.

And, oh yeah, I liked the music too.
 
A guess based on the handful of < $300 mic's I've actually used would be pointless. I'm am curious about the answers, though.
 
i don't have any reference to base a mic decision on, but i think the 1st and 3rd clips had the same mike for the male vocal. The 2nd one sounded (forgive my novice descriptors)"fuller". In fact it had to much midrange on my alesis .7's (prolly their fault not the mic's ) but through some old bookshelves it was great.

so did i fail the test?
 
my guess:

414 - 1st Clip (both vocals) and 3rd Clip

4033 - 2ndClip

the 2nd clip in my mixing room was a bit brighter (presence) than the 1st and 3rd clips. also, the vocal line on the 2nd clip stood out more (more definition), i don't know if it's better, just differnt.

-kp-
 
414 first clip male voice

female voice could be either because don't know if it's eq'd or not.
Others on male 4033.

these assumptions are that no eq was used. I suppose if they were tweeked so much they may be close. I have used the 414 and was not impressed. I just hear more air on the first male vocal than anything else.
 
Hey Ears...

You have disabled email from this BBS, so I can't email you to tell you how right or wrong you are. Sorry.

Come guys. All can feel free to guess which vocal track used what is now a $350 mic, and which one used a $1000 mic.

By the way Ears. The only eq that was applied to any of the vocals on this whole CD was a high pass filter was used, usually set at around 90-100Hz. Other then that, here and there there was some little nasties that we used some 7KHz cut, but this was only done of certain words that needed it, and was done manually. Other then that, there is no eq applied, and only the Crainsong ST-8 on the vocals. A hair of reverb (not much), and usually some very far in the back delay that can only be heard here and there.

Ed
 
i know the 414 is over twice the price of the 4033 now. but i still believe in the majority of cases its going to outshine the 4033... on equal playing fields. engineer, singer, room, preamp all have an effect. but you know which would you take a pair of for free first? two 414s or two 4033s?
 
Actually....

That would really be a tough choice to make kristian. Seriously. The 414 is available to me just about when ever I want. But really, it just isn't really better, on any playing field. It is a nice mic, but, with the 4033's at less then half the price, well.....You just can't really go wrong. I think of a 414 as something I would buy with a more disposible income.

We did use the 414 to mic a few Rhodes tracks on this CD. We were running the Rhodes through a Marshall JCM 60 with the stock Celestian speaker (one 12"). The 414 sounded about as good as a 57 did, but with a little better control on the low end. We were looking for a very controlled sound, so the AT's were out of the question because they were picking up every little noise!

But, I certainly wouldn't say no to a free pair of both! :)

Ed
 
Yep, ain't no doubt about it - it's a guy singing on all three.

Huh?

What was the question?

Seems like the third one isn't holding on to the top end(it's a little more fragile) than the other two.

The second one has a hollowish sort of sound, but it was louder in the mix than the other two, so maybe that's what I'm hearing is different.

First one sounded a little 'dull'(opposite of bright) compared to the other two.

No clue what the girl's singing through, but it sure ain't Radio Shack.

foo
 
Hey Sonusman, I don't know what mike was used for what, but I gotta tell ya, I like music with a good groove, and the stuff on that mp3 kicks butt!!!! How can I get my hands on that cd? really! just point me to the artist's website or whatever so's I can buy it!

Oh ya, and the vocals all sound great to me. Now ya got me wanting one of those 4033's. I'm having a hard time believing you used an Art MP on that recording, but if ya say so... :) I guess I either need to learn how to use mine, or maybe it's defective.

Romeo
 
Hungry? On Acid? Whacked on the Head?

uh...

"...Bananas and Fudge Apples,
Seven Foot Fruit in a Soup..."

I would LOVE to hear the rest of that song (and I think the vox best on that song (#2)).
 
I Know The Answer

Now I want to know how the 4033 compares to one of my 103s.
 
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