here's a very interesting mic comparison by price range

  • Thread starter Thread starter CyanJaguar
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Well, my picks turned out to be:
The Blue was my favorite pick. But hey, thats just me, I have expensive taste!

The Marshall was my least favorite, thats interesting, because I thought the Marshall would have faired better. I'd still like to hear it on an instrument though. Could be what I was mistaking for silibance, could turn out to be detail in the high end, especially on an instrument.

The AT 4033 scored 3rd with me. Doesn't surprise me a whole lot.

And the SM58 ended up being my second place favorite. Well, huh, yeah, it is a good vocal mic.
 
i think the v67 was the clear cut winner as far as price/performance....
 
Gidge - really how did you get your title? You allowed to pick your own after so many posts or something?
 
Cyan, you're thinking too much, like me. Trade the Blueberry for the Soundelux I spoke of and see what you think about it. If not, stick with old faithful, the TLM-103. :)
 
Well, that was a shock to me!

Well, I'm a mic newbie, so I thought it would be interesting to hear my views, as I have no experience of what any of these mics sound like. I'm just judging what I hear.

I listened to the 4 clips just once, and tried not to analyse what I was hearing. I then had a quick compare by listening to the first 2 secs of each clip.

When I first listened to it, I thought I was listening in order of cheap to expensive - i.e. shure clip 1 and blueberry clip 4. It was a big suprise to me!!

So...in order of worst to best...

Clip 2 - the blueberry! This sounded like the cheapest one to me....little did I know...hehe

Clip 1 - MXL - sounded a bit rounder to me. It was quite close between this and the blueberry though. Interestingly, the MXL is actually more expensive than the AT4033 in the UK. Cheapest I've found it is for £220, and you can get the 4033 for £200.

Clip 3 - SM58 - I thought this was the 4033. Sounded nice and a bit warmer than clip 1. Very suprised it was the shure mic.

Clip 4 - 4033. I was sure this was the expensive one. Sounded warm and full. Man...I love this mic.

So...interesting results. I know it's very subjective. Stick someone with a different voice on it, or change one of the links in the chain, and it could have been a different story....but I think I've made my mind up about which mic will be my 1st. I loved the sound of the 4033 in Bluebear's acoustic guitar. I thought it was the best by far. Now I've heard it with vocals, I think I've comfirmed myself as an AT man :-)

It's interesting how everyone has different opinions on which they like. I guess I'm learning that it's pointless asking questions like which is the best vocal mic out of x y and z, because it comes down to personal choice. I'm sure some people didn't like the sound of the 4033 because it's not the sound they're looking for.

Even so, I have to say that the differences were not huge, and I think you could get good results out of all of them for different applications.....I guess that goes towards the assertion that there is no direct correlation between price and quality.

This may be a bit contraversial, but when you've got decent mics, like the ones tested, they could all be used for proffesional recording, and the view of a newbie like me, is just as vaild as a record producer with 10 platinum albums under his belt. It's just comes down to what you hear with your ears, and no amount of experience can change that, IMO. One person may criticise the dullness of the mic, while someone else might think it's the dog's cohonas (sp?)!

And anyway, you can never have too many mics now can you! :-)
 
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Damn! Learn to sing!

All jokes aside, the only mike I have out of the tested is the sm58, and I hate it for vocals. Overall, it sounded decent compared to the other mics you tested, but your vocal dynamics are alot different then mine. Is the shure better for vox without the foam in it? My mic knowledge is like forest gumps original shrimp knowledge, but I'm looking for the right cocktail. I'm about to purchase a new condensor, what would you suggest for a raspy, deep voice? I'm looking for a nice top end sound to accent my raspiness!
 
Re: Damn! Learn to sing!

Cwadroon said:
... I'm about to purchase a new condensor, what would you suggest for a raspy, deep voice?...
Umm, voice lessons.
Sorry, I couldn't help it!! You set yourself up perfectly! :p
 
Yeah. It has a lot of proximity response, but a nice thick midrange and a good top end. I prefer the Rode NTK, but it has substantially less proximity effect, and is a little bit hi-fi for a "Tom Waits" style. In fact, I would bet a ribon mic would be great on a gravelly voice too, even though the top end would be reduced.
 
Irie Charger!

Hi-fi sounds good, definately aint Tom Waitts style over here. More like Buju Banton.
 
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