Mic Shootout

[ljmaxx]

I did a little mic shootout on my crappie vox with four mics. If anyone would like to hear it it's here:

http://www.recordingproject.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?p=273004#273004

I will post what mics were what this weekend. All four mics were run through a Symetrix 528E with all settings on 0. There is no EQ on any of the mics. All comments appreciated. Have fun with it if you choose to listen.

 

[Halion]

Oh goody! I always like these things. Ok, it's take a shot:

Mic a is a dynamic. Can't tell which.
Mic b is a bright Large Diaphram Condensor.
Mic c sounds alot like mic a to me.
Mic d, I'm hearing an upper-mid boost. Guess, SM58?

 

[soundchaser59]

D, C, B, A in that order. D sounded the best, I think......

 

[Robert D]

DCAB (or is that the chord progression?)

-RD

 

[emergencyexit]

Well the biggest thing I noticed was that your voice isn't crappy at all.

All my newb ears can here is that B is very bright followed by C then A then D in just brightness. B is maybe a v69??? complete guess though. D like someone else said sounds like a 58 to me. A and C sound like dynamics as well, though C may be a relatively flat SDC maybe? I feel like A has wayy to much presence to be a 57, and I don't think any of them sound like an sm7. Im pretty stumped on this one, and I have a feeling that my crappy headphones make everything sound a bit more present then they are... Everything I've stated is complete guess made by a newb so don't be too harsh on it.

Great voice you have here in my opinion.

Ben

 

[ljmaxx]

Okay I guess everyone who is going to compare the trax are through so here's the list.

MIC A - Peavey T9000 which is a tube mic for those of you who may not be familar with this mic.

MIC B - B.L.U.E. Blueberry which is a pretty well liked vocal mic and <may> end up in the RP classifieds.

MIC C - SE H3500 which is one of my favorite vocal mics.

MIC D - Peluso 2247 which is the most expensive of the four mics and I think I'm liking it.

If anyone is still interested I can add another 4 mics to this shootout to give some of you an idea what different mics sound like. If I do I will only do the first verse and chorus so they are easier to DL for everyone on dial up.

 

[frankieballsss]

Mic B sounded the most "out" and natural to me. Their seemed to be a wider dynamic range on the vocals on mic B then any other take.

I guess you'd have to see how that mic translates on different speaker systems though, my home audio speakers make everything sound good.

 

[frankieballsss]

Btw, you have great vox man. Good energy.

 

[Ford Van]

Mic B sounded the most "out" and natural to me. Their seemed to be a wider dynamic range on the vocals on mic B then any other take.

I guess you'd have to see how that mic translates on different speaker systems though, my home audio speakers make everything sound good.

I noted on the other site he posted this one about how next time he does one of these, he should concentrate on making the average RMS of each mic a little closer than these are. B in particular is louder than all the rest. How loud/quiet they were tracked can really have an outcome on how they are perceived.

Also, he used a Symetrix 528. While not a horrible preamp, it isn't comparable the a BUNCH of upper end pre's. Hearing these via say a Focusrite would be interesting. Also, hearing them via "cheaper" pre's like ART, Mackie, DMP3, etc....would be interesting. I think for each pre, one might possibly favor a different mic, as the impedence matching would be different from pre to pre.

I personally liked B, followed by C, D, then A. Although, I wouldn't even consider buying D and A.

B had by and far the most "open" sound, but maybe lacked a hair of low end. Not suprised that it was BLUE Blueberry. AT it's price, not too bad of a deal! I certainly think it is a more open sound that Neumann's in this price range!

C was a hair "tight" for me, but on certain productions, it's more "focused" sound would be desirable. Not sure what the SE H3500 can be had used for now, but I would consider this mic simply for those times when I want a bit more "tightness" in the sound. This mic seems to hold together pretty well.

A was horrible. Distorted and scratchy. Yuk. This mic cost $1300 when new. It can probably be had for less than half that now. But, for $400-500, a guy can do MUCH better than this POS!

D wasn't that far behind a. It distorted too much, but wasn't really "scratchy" like A. It had a bit more focused of a sound. But, it distorted, and generally sounded lifeless and one dimensional. I have heard better tube mics for far less than it's $2000 price tag. I don't hear this mic in my collection EVER, and ESPECIALLY at $2000, or even half that!

 

[frankieballsss]

I noted on the other site he posted this one about how next time he does one of these, he should concentrate on making the average RMS of each mic a little closer than these are. B in particular is louder than all the rest. How loud/quiet they were tracked can really have an outcome on how they are perceived.

Excellent post, if only everybody could think like this.


Yeah, I noticed that B was a bit louder then the rest, though It still had a character to it that I liked, it has this very slight high end raspyness that mic C didnt have, that I think made it fit in the track better.