Sm57 vs Audix i5

  • Thread starter Thread starter Elton Bear
  • Start date Start date

Which mic do you prefer for all-round studio use?

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Elton Bear

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Any thoughts?

I used an Audix i5 on snare for the first time the other day and was blown away. Which do you guys prefer?
 
the i5 makes 57's totally obsolete on snare, but i think 57's are still better for certain applications
 
im a 57 guy. i have 4 of them. what other mic works well for almost any/every studio/live application, and can be thrown at a brick wall, through a window and used as a hammer??
 
I agree as far as the snare goes...It's a coin toss on guitar amps though...57 sounds good on some....i5 on others...BTW, the i5 is pretty damn sturdy as well...have had mine since they came out, and I have used it to hammer things several times. :D
 
blueroommusic said:
have had mine since they came out, and I have used it to hammer things several times. :D
Click to expand...

thats a reason for me to look into one. i guess it would be a change of pace.. i was also considering getting an MD421. just another dynamic for all purpose or whatever.

i can't take delicate (dynamic) mics. any mic that i'm putting on a close miked drum has to be tough.
 
I would definitely recommend it...like i've said before, I don't use 57's on snare anymore...i5 beats it every time, and I do mean every time...it seems to have much more detail to me on the snare.
 
TragikRemix said:
what other mic works well for almost any/every studio/live application, and can be thrown at a brick wall, through a window and used as a hammer??
Click to expand...

none that i can think of..........nope. not one..........
 
thanks metalhead.

just a thought- was it done at the same time, with each mic in a different position?

i liked both, i think the i5 was brighter and a little more detailed, where the 57 sounded, well, darker and i hate to say it, duller. but it still made for a good sound.

looks like santa might bring me an i5 this year. that will be the first piece of studio equiptment i ever recieved as a gift!
 
TragikRemix said:
thanks metalhead.

just a thought- was it done at the same time, with each mic in a different position?

i liked both, i think the i5 was brighter and a little more detailed, where the 57 sounded, well, darker and i hate to say it, duller. but it still made for a good sound.

looks like santa might bring me an i5 this year. that will be the first piece of studio equiptment i ever recieved as a gift!
Click to expand...

Both clips were done as a re-amp from the same 2 DI tracks, and with the mics in the exact same spot.
 
I5 has something weird going on in the low mids. I still prefer sm57 on snare even if it sounds boxy and "worse". I5 sounds "better" as in more detailed or something, but has a weird quality that's hard to describe.
 
I like the i5 on guitar amps/cabs and snare drums WAY more than the SM57.
 
If I can only have one, I'd have to take a 57. The I5 often beats it, sometimes badly. However, on occasions, the I5 can sound really nasty, while I can always get something at least semi-usable from a 57. The I5 has more of an "air" peak than the 57's well-known mid-bump, so if the 57 goes bad in a honking kind of way, the I5 fails in the screechy or scratch area, which I find much worse.

Both regularly see snares, toms and cabs in my hands. The I5 is the best in my bunch for a couple of vocalists, though. Try it on yelling voxs, it's pretty cool.
 
Because of this thread I picked up an I5 and used it this weekend on an old blackface deluxe reverb. 99% of the time, I reach for a e609 for almost all amps. I was really impressed with the I5. This particular guitar player runs a TS9 with an older Strat and with the I5 we were both really pleased with the SRV-ish quality of the tone. We also mixed in some room mics (Rode NT5s) and it really sounded great.

It may not become my "go to" but I will at least think about it for amps... now to try it on snare. Wondering if, as I look to add tom mics to my collection, if some more I5s wouldn't be a bad idea... :rolleyes:
 
I finally got to try the I5 on a snare, and I am in love with it. I am sure it isn't the best in all snare applications, but in this case it did a much better job than the 57.
 
Though I've used both of them , they were each at seperate times. I am picking up an audix i5 from my friend in a few days for cheap. Im anxious how well the i5 will fare in all of the applications i put it up to.

Does the idea of miking an amp with a 57 and the i5 at the time and then combining them sound reasonable? 57s got more meat and i5's got the higher end as far as i know. Maybe I'll try recording with them each and pan them each equally away from the center and see what that sounds like. I'm interested :)
 
I've found that to be the other way around - the SM57 often sounds too trebley to me, i usually use an LDC in combination to get some low balls, but the i5 doesn't need it
 
TragikRemix said:
what other mic works well for almost any/every studio/live application, and can be thrown at a brick wall, through a window and used as a hammer??
Click to expand...

RE20..... :cool:
 
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