shure ksm44 figure 8

kensington

kensington

New member
Hi, I read a review recently that said the ksm44 in figure 8 pattern was uneven in it's tonal response. The front sounding much different, clearer with more highs, than the backside. He said the back sounded too muffled.
Has any KSM44 owner experienced this?.....this unmatched sound? The reviewer also said it affected the mic in omni mode. Any feedback appreciated, I was thinking of getting one 'til I read that. Wanted to use it for M/S recording among other things. Thanks KK
 
I'm not much of an MSer, but it sounded interesting enough for me to test. Here is a graph of the high frequency range of the KSM44, front and back, with the same white noise file, only difference is the KSM44 was rotated 180 degrees for the two graphs.

Across the full frequency range (not shown), the front was about 1dB hotter than the back. In this high frequency range, the front is about 2dB brighter.

I don't know how typical that performance is of figure 8s, nor what practical effect the difference might have on MS recording fidelity.

Edit: oh, sorry I accidentally chopped off the X axis labels. It runs from 4kHz to 15kHz, with 8 marks per octave.
 
shure44

mshilarious, thanks. Wish I knew what you were talking about in your edit comments. X axis......8 marks?....duh. Does this mean there is a slight difference........2db brighter doesn't seem like much. When you put the ksm44 in figure 8 and speak or sing into both sides, do they sound different to your ears? The reviewer I read was Michael Cooper in Mix Mag.....I'll see if I can find the link and include it here. Thanks again. KK


http://mixonline.com/mag/audio shure ksm 3/index.html
 
kensington said:
2db brighter doesn't seem like much. When you put the ksm44 in figure 8 and speak or sing into both sides, do they sound different to your ears? The reviewer I read was Michael Cooper in Mix Mag.....I'll see if I can find the link and include it here. Thanks again. KK
Click to expand...

2dB should be noticeable. In fact it could be used as a feature for vocal recording, like getting two different mics in one! I can't perform with enough consistency to post anything meaningful, but the back side sounds a little softer to me.

In an MS application, I'd be inclined to take into account the mic's response when setting up the mic--for example, for an orchestra I'd aim the back side to stage right.

Or for bluegrass, at the banjo player :D

But again, are other figure 8 LDCs better at this? I don't know, this is the only one I've got :confused:
 
thanks for checkin' that out..........don't know about other multipattern 8 proclivities either, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy a KSM44........or a AT4050. Knot Shure witch won. take care kk
 
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