Originally posted by mixmkr Seriously...how people get a *rep* by a cyber space message board and carry any [or a lot of] credibility is amazing now...isn't it?
Well, even though this remark wasn't directly aimed at me, I feel I fall into that category, since I don't write reviews for magazines, but I do test "stuff" from time to time and post my findings on "cyber space message boards" like rec.audio.pro, alt.music.4-track, recording.org, and of course, here on homerecording.
My tests on the Studio Projects C1 were posted in the "Under The Hood" thread which generated over 8000 views, so a lot of people were obviously interested in what was going on, and it probably helped Alan sell a few mics in the process. Was it a flettering review? Yes - and no. I had some reservations about the C1's back diaphragm assembly and I voiced my concerns.
Am I qualified to even be making reviews? Again, yes - and no. While I have designed condenser mics for companies like IMC (and that became the proto-design of the CAD E200), I'm certainly not in my friend Stephen Paul's league by a long shot. I know enough to be dangerous. At one point in my checkered past, I actually owned enough of the right test equipment to actually run microphone frequency response curves, distortion, sensitivity and the other required microphone tests, but that was over 30 years ago.
In the last few years, I have done some reviewing of products for rec.audio.pro, but even that was never formal, and based simply on my years as a recording engineer in Los Angeles, working with nice mics, or as a designer over the years of all sourts of audio equipment, ranging from speakers to amplifiers to guitars to just about everything else.
I kinda got into the testing stuff backwards; I bought one of the first Neumann TLM-103s and did an entire track with it for the first rec.audio.pro compilation set, so everybody could hear how it sounded for vocal, guitars, fiddle, mandolin and backup voices.
My next test was on one of the first RNCs - and, I had just borrowed the Neutrik Audio Testing rig from the Neutrik salesman. So I actually did a full electronic evaluation, and the RNC (which I also bought) exceeded every one of it's specs by a wide margin.
I don't remember how I got roped into doing the Oktava tests, but I checked out all the Sound Room Oktava and Elation mics and found (what I believed were) a few winners there. Apparently, a lot of people bought them precisely because I also pointed out all the flaws in some of the other mics they made, and the people that DID buy them agreed 100% with my evaluation. I wound up buying three of them.
I had my head handed to me about the Marshall mics, because I stated, without hearing them, that I didn't think the Chinese mics were consistent or free from high frequency ringing, based on the earlier Rodes mics I heard. When someone asked how I could say that without hearing them, I realized they were right, and asked Brent Casey to send me some for evaluation. Surprisingly, he did, and some models turned out to be incredible buys, and some were duds. I duly posted all that on various forums, and again a lot of people agreed with my findings. I ended up spending some money with Marshall as well.
I listened to all the T.H.E. mics, and I really liked them all. I haven't heard the production models yet, but based on what I did hear, I bought two mics for my own mic collection.
Akan contacted me and asked me to look at the C1, C3, and T3, and I agreed. My initial findings are in the "Under The Hood" thread on the board. Did it help Alan's sales? Probably. Was it a bought review? Well, some of my findings weren't exactly flattering. Are Alan and I friends? I never talked to him before the phone call asking me to look at the mics. Am I trying to help Alan? Yes, I like Alan, and I've even put him and Stephen Paul together to see what might happen.
And finally, where are the mics that Alan sent me to test? They're at Stephen Paul's lab right now, being torn down and really looked at hard, along with some of my Marshall mics.
I'll probably get out of the whole testing biz, simply because it takes too much of my time. I'm probably going to test the RNMP when it comes out, and the modified Stephen Paul Studio Projects and Marshall mics, but those'll be the last things I test.
I'm not a professional reviewer (nor do I play one on TV) - I'm just a small studio owner / recording engineer, with a large background in manufacturing and product design.
If my postings and "reviews" have helped established some credibility on these "cyber space message boards", then maybe it's actually helped some people avoid the "hype and BS" associated with many products being advertised these days.
I'm trying to give back to the new people some of the wonderful information I got from pros when I first started out in the music business - about 50 years ago.
