SP b1 compared to SP c4

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antofants

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I was just wondering if anyone has done any comparison on these two mics. I've been reading alot about how neautral both mics seem to be and both are getting some good props around here. I'm mostly recording acoustic instruments (piano, violin, guitar, etc. ) but some vox and heavier stuff from time to time. Some ambient room micing.
Just curious if anyone can compare the two.
Thanks - David
 
The B1 is a large diam condenser and the C4 is a small diaphram. it really wouldn't be much of an apples to apples comparison.
 
Well, one's a small diaphragm condenser . . . the other's a large diaphragm.

One's bordering on the high-end of the market, serving the professional community and the well-stocked project studio . . . while the other dwells in the basement amongst the bottom feeders.

Do the math.
 
Innovations said:
The B1 is a large diam condenser and the C4 is a small diaphram. it really wouldn't be much of an apples to apples comparison.
Click to expand...
Even so, Dot left me with the impression that the B1 was more neutral than the C4.
 
antofants said:
I was just wondering if anyone has done any comparison on these two mics. I've been reading alot about how neautral both mics seem to be and both are getting some good props around here. I'm mostly recording acoustic instruments (piano, violin, guitar, etc. ) but some vox and heavier stuff from time to time. Some ambient room micing.
Just curious if anyone can compare the two.
Thanks - David
Click to expand...
A nice mic package for your needs would be the Marshall MXL603PRS (matched pair) mic's and Marshall MXLV67G.
 
whoa!!!

OK. To start off with I didn't mean to get anyone's tiffy raised. I had read a bunch of sights on the two different microphones, didn't see anyone make a comparison of the two and thought I'd ask if anyone (hopefully from experience) knew how much they sounded alike (not nessecarily as vox mics but more as instrument or ambient mics). I was aware of one being a large diaphragm and the other a small diaphragm. But as they are both raved as being "very neutral" I thought it would be intriguing to hear someone with some experience of both mics compare the two. (Maybe things like "much more detail out of _____ mic than ____, much cleaner, purer sound out of ____, etc.)
I have a matched pair of the 603. Don't have any qualms with them on most things. They work OK with the rest of my stuff. I was really just inquiring for some educated comparison on the two mics in question.
Sorry if I made anyone angry by asking a question - David
 
Re: whoa!!!

antofants said:
OK. To start off with I didn't mean to get anyone's tiffy raised. ...Sorry if I made anyone angry by asking a question...
Click to expand...
Relax, David. No one's "tiffy" is raised, nor is anyone angry. :) :) We always talk like this. ;)

Here's a post from Dot who HAS tried them both, along with a link to another thread where the C4 is discussed in more depth:

"The C4 SDC's are not "accurate" and they're actually quite colored. More colored than the B series. They are, after all, "C Series" mics. All the C's are fairly colored.

The C4's sound quite good, but are less "real" sounding than the B1 or B3 - which are fairly neutral. Out of all these SP mics, if you're going for something that's as close as possible to the actual sound of whatever instrument you're playing – the B1 and B3 are your best bet, IMO.

BTW, the B1 and B3 are absolute monster mics on toms and also make great OH mics.

The C4's are more forgiving and I think one of the big pluses for the way they're tweaked is that if you're recording in a room that is acoustically less than stellar, the C4's can help smooth out the edges. And in that way, the C4 could also be termed a warm and colored-sounding mic – which also works well to tame some of the harsh transients coming off of cymbals.

Just like some people like the AKG 451 on acoustic, but feel it's too bright for drum OH's – I feel that C4 is excellent for drum OH's and may or may not - according to your taste – work as well on acoustic. Though you can certainly use it on acoustic, and the color and character of the C4 might actually help "glue" the acoustic track nicely in the mix.

Another plus of the C4's is if you have a fairly clean mic pre, like the DMP3, Grace or Sytek - the C4's offer an inexpensive solution for adding some color into the chain."

http://www.studioforums.com/6/ubb.x...26095781&m=9496098413&r=9576052204#9576052204

:cool:
 
Re: whoa!!!

antofants said:
OK. To start off with I didn't mean to get anyone's tiffy raised. I had read a bunch of sights on the two different microphones, didn't see anyone make a comparison of the two and thought I'd ask if anyone (hopefully from experience) knew how much they sounded alike (not nessecarily as vox mics but more as instrument or ambient mics). I was aware of one being a large diaphragm and the other a small diaphragm. But as they are both raved as being "very neutral" I thought it would be intriguing to hear someone with some experience of both mics compare the two. (Maybe things like "much more detail out of _____ mic than ____, much cleaner, purer sound out of ____, etc.)
I have a matched pair of the 603. Don't have any qualms with them on most things. They work OK with the rest of my stuff. I was really just inquiring for some educated comparison on the two mics in question.
Sorry if I made anyone angry by asking a question - David
Click to expand...
There is an incorrect rumor going around the internet forums about the Studio Projects B1 being a neutral and uncolored mic... but, that is NOT true... the Studio Projects B1 is NOT a neutral mic.

The Studio Projects B1 is NOT a flat uncolored mic.
 
DJL knows - just ask him!

DJL said:
There is an incorrect rumor going around the internet forums about the Studio Projects B1 being a neutral and uncolored mic... but, that is NOT true... the Studio Projects B1 is NOT a neutral mic.

The Studio Projects B1 is NOT a flat uncolored mic.
Click to expand...

There is an incorrect rumor going around the internet forums about DJL being a neutral and unprejudiced person regarding SP mics... but, that is NOT true... the DJL we all know and love is NOT a neutral person, and has an axe to grind with Alan and his SP mic line.

By the way DJL, as I asked before - can you name ANY commercially available LDC mic that is flat or uncolored? We're still waiting...
 
Go brush your teeth kid klash

kid klash said:
There is an incorrect rumor going around the internet forums about DJL being a neutral and unprejudiced person regarding SP mics... but, that is NOT true... the DJL we all know and love is NOT a neutral person, and has an axe to grind with Alan and his SP mic line.

By the way DJL, as I asked before - can you name ANY commercially available LDC mic that is flat or uncolored? We're still waiting...
Click to expand...
The Studio Projects B1 is NOT a flat uncolored mic... and anyone who says otherwise is full of crap.
 
DJL,

Congratulations on reaching 2000 posts.

It's a pity so many of your recent contributions have consisted of so much vitriolic drivel.

:rolleyes:
 
Re: Go brush your teeth kid klash

DJL said:
The Studio Projects B1 is NOT a flat uncolored mic... and anyone who says otherwise is full of crap.
Click to expand...

Well, whatever it makes me full of, for my tastes, I think the B1 is pretty neutral. It reproduces my voice with wonderfully spot-on accuracy, with a nicely low self-noise level.

I should add that I am only able to hear the results of the B1 through various types of speakers and headphones...
 
You really can't compare the SP B1 to the SP C4. Its like tring to compare a telescope to a microscope, both are useful tools
with different applications.

I have used the C4's as overheads on drumset with great success. They impart a relatively bright sound to the cymbals yet have plenty of bottom for the toms. When I want a darker sound, the Oktava MC- 012's work really nicely.

The B1 is a good all round studio workhorse. Sort of like a condenser version of the SM 57 in that it will ive you a good signal or a number of different applications including voice. It is not as colored as other LDC's that I use (it sure sounds neutral to me) such as the MK219's or the V67. I use my B1 on my rack toms a lot and my MK219's on floor toms. I use my V67 as a vocal mic for a rich voiced alto and it works real well for her. The B1 was not colored enough for her voice and the MK219's were just too dark.

So you see, different applications, diffeent mics. They're all good for something.
 
ausrock said:
DJL,

Congratulations on reaching 2000 posts.

It's a pity so many of your recent contributions have consisted of so much vitriolic drivel.

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Well, with comments like yours... what do you expect? Anyway, thanks.
 
Re: Re: Go brush your teeth kid klash

billisa said:
Well, whatever it makes me full of, for my tastes, I think the B1 is pretty neutral. It reproduces my voice with wonderfully spot-on accuracy, with a nicely low self-noise level.

I should add that I am only able to hear the results of the B1 through various types of speakers and headphones...
Click to expand...
Cool, you must have a lot of pretty neutral LDC mic's.
 
Re: Re: Re: Go brush your teeth kid klash

DJL said:
Cool, you must have a lot of pretty neutral LDC mic's.
Click to expand...

Actually, no. What I do have is professional radio experience since the mid 70's, hearing my voice reproduced through "a lot" of other people's LDC's, SDC's and dynamics.

My son, being a trained singer, has a great voice with which I would say I am fairly familiar. Recording him, not to mention myself, I think the B1's neutrality is both commendable, and for the price, phenomenal.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Go brush your teeth kid klash

billisa said:
Actually, no. What I do have is professional radio experience since the mid 70's, hearing my voice reproduced through "a lot" of other people's LDC's, SDC's and dynamics.

My son, being a trained singer, has a great voice with which I would say I am fairly familiar. Recording him, not to mention myself, I think the B1's neutrality is both commendable, and for the price, phenomenal.
Click to expand...
Then you know the B1 is NOT a neutral mic... right?
 
Flatpicker -
Thanks for the quote from Dot. Some input like that is kinda what I was looking for. I understand that LD and SD can be different creatures. But I can still describe one as being fuzzier than the other and liking to bite people. Especially when it comes to ambient and acoustic micing. There are a lot of LD mics that I believe to handle those situations better than some SD mics. I try to do a pretty thorough search before I post anything. I'm sorry I didn't see the one with Dot earlier. - David
 
Here a post from Jay Lison I found on the Studio Projects forum over at R.O where he compares his newly puchased C4s to his B1s:

"I just got my C4's today! Here's my first impression of them.

First thing, I must have the bad shockmounts, because my mics don't stay in them at all. When I was putting it on the mic stand, I forgot about this, and nearly sent one of my brand new C4's slipping through the shock mount, and right into the ride cymbal. These guys don't want to stay in the shock mounts...at all. Right now, I'm relying on the mic cable to keep them held in place.

I tossed them up on my drum kit with the cardiod capsules on. I put a 57 on snare and a 112 on kick, and thought I'd see how the C4's hold up capturing the rest of the kit. I thought the C4's sounded fantastic on the cymbals, and the snare mixed with the 57 sounded great too. The hi-hat also sounded frickin' great. Since I didn't have mics on the toms, they sounded a bit thin, as one would expect. Even with no filter being used, these guys don't have very much going on in the low end department, which is exactly what I want out of a pair of SDC cardiod mics.

I've been using the B1 mics as overheads for the past couple months at home in my home studio, while I was deciding what overheads to buy. The B1's had too much low to low mids to be used as drum overheads, but sounded very much how my drum kit sounds in my room (which is nearly totally dead; 6" insulation). The toms with the B1's as overheads didn't need close mics, they sounded full and just like my toms. The problem was, the whole kit was too full sounding, so it needed a lot of EQ to fit it in a rock mix, which resulted in the toms being thinned and needing close mics anyway. So, the C4's fix that, and now I'm just going to toss up the B1's on my toms, or use them for overheads when doing jazz or sparse instrumentation recordings.

In conclusion, these are exactly what I wanted, great overhead mics for my drums. I'll be recording a session over the weekend, and I'm going to put them up against a pair of 451's (which I'm not all that fond of for the money(too bright)). I'll try to post a link to some audio samples later next week."

You can visit the thread here:
http://www.recording.org/ubb/ultima...26;t=000146;p=1
 
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