just got done with an LDC shootout...

I

Ironklad Audio

New member
i just wrapped the shootout a few mins. ago...i'll post the clips when i get home in a little bit

anyways, there were 4 mics involved - 2 that are considered ubiquitous "standards", and 2 somewhat cheaper "prosumer" mics. i'll reveal what mics were used in a couple of days.

signal chain:

steinway grand piano-->mic-->grace 801-->digi 192 converters-->PT HD

no eq/compression or anything was applied to the tracks. also, the grace has a stepped gain control, so the same amount of gain was applied across the board. i would still probably adjust the levels to be even when trying to judge them on their quality, but doing it this way also serves to give an idea of each mic's sensitivity.
 
that was the tough part...cramming 4 large mics under the hood of a piano is easier said than done

i had to just line them all up in a row, but made sure to keep them the same angle/distance from the strings in the piano. in the end, there was probably close to a foot between #1 and #4 - there was just no way around it.

of course i wasn't meaning this to be a 100% scientific comparison...but it definitely gives an idea of what you'll get with each. i'll let you guys decide which ones you think sound better...

and i'm uploading the tracks right now, but it'll still take a bit - each file is around 18MB because they're still 24/96 wav's
 
Nice playing, man!

I didn't think any of the mics sounded bad. #1 was a bit treble heavy, #2 sounded a bit muffled, #3 had some mid range boost, and #4 had some high mid boost. At least that's what I heard on a few quick listens. I personally think each mic would work equally well in different situations.

I want to say 1 and 4 are the cheaper mics, and 2 and 3 are the more expensive standards, but it's an extremely close call. Not worth the price difference, IMO.

btw, thank you for posting wave files. It's really hard to tell subtle differences between mp3s, which is what some people default to posting.
 
believe me, it wasn't me playing...i used the studio at my school for it, and we scouted some random talent around campus - the guy we found just happened to be pretty good. i didn't even tell him i was going to roll yet - he stopped for a second, i hit record, and kept rolling until he stopped.
 
well...only 1 person listnened and posted in here, but in case anyone else was interested, here's the mics:

#1 = Neumann U87ai
#2 = Rode NT-2A
#3 = AKG C414 B-ULS
#4 = Audio-Technica 4033a
 
Oh damn, I called the U87 a cheap mic. The hell happened to me?

I think you should also put it all into a mix, since that's what matters, most of the time. Some mics just don't sound too great by themselves, but sit perfectly with a kit, bass and guitars.

Sucks no one really looked at the thread. :confused:
 
hell...my pos pc won't download them or something...? maybe all this updated software that occurs every day? frkn block when you don't want it and allow the commercials when you do want the blocking........ arrrrrggggg
 
A lot of what I'm hearing is the different positions of the mics. Even if it's a couple of inches, that's a big deal. Anyway, 2 sounded like it had a weak/funny sounding midrange. The other 3 I can handle.
 
I would take a look, but that savefile site is worse than AKG's site. Aside from the logon thing, I can't get past the ads to logon on my slow dialup connection. And otherwise have no interest in registering. The popups are annoying too. Are these porn clips or something?
 
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