Studio Projects

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cellardweller said:
I recently bought a SPB1 and haven't even had a chance to plug it in and play with it. :(

What is it most commonly used for, and more pointedly, does it sound good when used in conjuction with a SM57 on a distorted guitar cab?...
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The B1 is a good utility tool. It is very forgiving, so placement is not as critical as the C Series is, but the better the placement, the better the recording.

The B1 works well on acoustic instruments, miking amp cabinets, overheads, and is a pretty good vocal mic. Its like the B1 is a do all mic. Better on some applications than others, but still an affordable large diaphragm mic that can excel at most any application if used correctly in good room conditions.

Open it up and strat using it. No sense in it sitting in its box... :(
 
I kinda' have to agree with Chessparov on this one in the sense that I think the T-3 is their top-of-the-line.

But I also have to agree with Ronan in the sense that most of their models are more of a project-studio level mic.

The T-3, in my humblest of opinions, is a serious mic. I'd record with it any day at any level. But the C-1, B-1, etc. are good value, entry-level kind of mics. Then again, if it's a good match for the voice or source . . .
 
so its now chessrock and ronan in the blind listening test.....
 
I'm not quite sure what the point of the discussion is. The B1 is a $100 mic. Of course it's not going to be as good as the other "higher end" condensers costing anywhere from 5 to 10 times as much. The C1 is only $200 and again, it's dumb to compare to the higher end mics. I think it's pretty much agreed upon that both the B1 and C1 (and their respective counterparts B3 and C3) are great mics for what they cost. They have tons of uses and I would be proud to own any of them.

Another point worth making is that this board is on homerecording.com. I don't know about anyone else, but to me, "home recording" and "project studio" seem to be pretty much the same thing. If that's the case, then why are people on this board complaining about these mics being "project studio" mics? Wouldn't that make them exactly what a home-recordist is looking for?

Just a thought,

Peter
 
there was a blanket statement made about SP mics without any mention to models......
 
OneRoomStudios said:
I'm not quite sure what the point of the discussion is. The B1 is a $100 mic. Of course it's not going to be as good as the other "higher end" condensers costing anywhere from 5 to 10 times as much. The C1 is only $200 and again, it's dumb to compare to the higher end mics. I think it's pretty much agreed upon that both the B1 and C1 (and their respective counterparts B3 and C3) are great mics for what they cost. They have tons of uses and I would be proud to own any of them.

Another point worth making is that this board is on homerecording.com. I don't know about anyone else, but to me, "home recording" and "project studio" seem to be pretty much the same thing. If that's the case, then why are people on this board complaining about these mics being "project studio" mics? Wouldn't that make them exactly what a home-recordist is looking for?

Just a thought,

Peter
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Here is a statement, though too often stated is never heard. At least from my perspective, let's remember where we are!

The whole "right room" thing is kinda ambiguous. I'm pretty sure my room is not the "right room", but it is what it is, and is all I have.

Love the info here about mics that are actually in my price range!!!

Thanx.
 
Here are three songs I recorded for a local band-we used a C1 for all the vocals...

Think Back

Recent Nights

Tell Me

That's what the C1 sounds like on ONE type of voice. Not horribly bright, but it's certainly got a bump in the upper ranges. Can be sibilant with a singer that can't control it. Fairly tolerant of head-wavers and bobbers and weavers, but not incredibly so-the cardioid pattern is fairly tight.

YMMV.....
 
I'd like to be corrected if I am wrong, but I am of the opinion that better, hgih quality mics stand above the budget mics for several reasons, one being off axis response. Granted, signals coming in on axis can sound very good in some of the low cost condensors (and other types too), but when you start getting something coming in at 90 degree off axis, the sound in many of the low cost condensors sound like they have a blanket thrown over them. I can not say this of Studio Project mics because I have never tested them as such. But I will say as an example, the MXL line of mics certainly has a pretty poor off axis response for the most part. I suppose a frequency attenuated response off axis could be used as a positive, but in most cases I would think it would present more problems. Not getting into build quality and a better consistancy from one mic to another (and other issues) with better, more expensive mics, I would site the off axis response as one of my main concerns dealing with the "new crop" of lower cost microphones.
But, I suppose as long as you are close mic'ing all your stuff and postitioning yourself in the sweet spot of the pick up pattern, I guess the worries could be diminished quite a bit.
 
When someone says something like "great mic for the price" it makes me think you should get a better mic if you can afford it.
 
H2oskiphil, just wanted to say that the songs sounded really nice. Loved "Recent Nights."
 
mixmkr said:
I'd like to be corrected if I am wrong, but I am of the opinion that better, hgih quality mics stand above the budget mics for several reasons, one being off axis response.
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Off-axis rejection is a big part of it. How well it stacks up in a mix is another biggie. How solid they are in the midrange is huge when stacking instruments and voice.

Another biggie for me is how well they handle essssssssssses and other consonant sounds.

I like an "S" to sound like an S. I like a "K" to sound like a "K," and a "T" to . . . you get the picture. Anything else to me is just kind of annoying, and is the sign of a mic that's trying to be something that it's not. I don't mind so much if the "S" is exaggerated, as long as it still sounds like an "S."

To me, Shures and Audio Technicas . . . will tend to faithfully reproduce consonants. That's why I have to side with Ronan in some respects. I think of those as being professional-caliber mics. Most of the Chinese ones I do not -- with a few exceptions. Like I said, the T-3 is a serious tool, as are some of the ADK's and the Groove Tubes line. -- So this is not in any way a "blanket statment." I'm naming names and models of which I have some experience with.
 
OneRoomStudios said:
I'm not quite sure what the point of the discussion is. The B1 is a $100 mic. Of course it's not going to be as good as the other "higher end" condensers costing anywhere from 5 to 10 times as much. The C1 is only $200 and again, it's dumb to compare to the higher end mics. I think it's pretty much agreed upon that both the B1 and C1 (and their respective counterparts B3 and C3) are great mics for what they cost. They have tons of uses and I would be proud to own any of them.

Another point worth making is that this board is on homerecording.com. I don't know about anyone else, but to me, "home recording" and "project studio" seem to be pretty much the same thing. If that's the case, then why are people on this board complaining about these mics being "project studio" mics? Wouldn't that make them exactly what a home-recordist is looking for?

Just a thought,

Peter
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You are exactly right. Th SP mics seem to be the best there is in the pricerange and build quality. The QC also seems to be great along with the best customer support out there. To put these project mics against full blown pro mics and say they are "as good or better" is a rediculous assertion to say the least. I say that everyone should be damn happy that the SP mics fill the home recording market in a big way. To go further with a $79 mic and compare to the big boys, well......it just seems to be, as you say "dumb".
 
acorec said:
You are exactly right. Th SP mics seem to be the best there is in the pricerange and build quality. The QC also seems to be great along with the best customer support out there. To put these project mics against full blown pro mics and say they are "as good or better" is a rediculous assertion to say the least. I say that everyone should be damn happy that the SP mics fill the home recording market in a big way. To go further with a $79 mic and compare to the big boys, well......it just seems to be, as you say "dumb".
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what about SP's upper end mics?...how do they compare to the big boys?......
 
Phil nice job on those tunes. The vocals sounded great through the C1. What keyboard are you using?
 
Ronan said:
When I had a chance to try out some studio projects mics, my reaction was that they sounded like a "project studio" mic. Not really a bad mic like many other low end condensors, but by no means a solid pro mic.

So for the price point that is pretty good. With really cheap gear its usually a matter of making sure they do not butcher your sound.
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Yeah, I like the way chessrock put it... the Studio Projects mics "are good value, entry-level kind of mics." With Marshall, Behringer, Studio Projects, Nady, and etc there sure are a lot of cheap Chinese budget mics being sold on todays market.
 
chessrock said:
Off-axis rejection is a big part of it. How well it stacks up in a mix is another biggie. How solid they are in the midrange is huge when stacking instruments and voice...................
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I was speaking of off axis response ...NOT off axis rejection. But that(rejection) is another aspect too. How well the polar patterns are defined...if it(a less expensive mic) is really aproaching a lousy omni if it was trying to just be a "ooverblown" cardiod.

But stacking "cheap" mics up (like in drums) and compounding the off axis responses can make for some muddy combinations.
 
steve350 said:
Phil nice job on those tunes. The vocals sounded great through the C1. What keyboard are you using?
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Thanks. We finished this CD about 4 or 5 months ago, and this band is already wanting to get back into the studio to start another. I've thought real seriously about getting a new "main" vocal mic, but for this particular guy the C1 just flat out works. I can't justify the additional $$$ it would cost to get a significant improvement mic-wise, particularly without upgrades to the rest of the signal chain.

He uses a Yamaha Clavinova-I think it's a CVP-109...moves that heavy SOB in and out of the studio and lugs it to gigs. I offered to let him use my CS1x or any of my modules, but he likes the hammer weighting of the Clav. We ran it DI to my old Mackie 24*4, then into Vegas through a Seasound Solo. Minimal eq and compression, but I did use PSP Pianoverb on the piano tracks.
 
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acorec said:
To put these project mics against full blown pro mics and say they are "as good or better" is a rediculous assertion to say the least. I say that everyone should be damn happy that the SP mics fill the home recording market in a big way. To go further with a $79 mic and compare to the big boys, well......it just seems to be, as you say "dumb".
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The USA Dreamteam was picked to win the Gold Medal. Why, because they were the pros, the best of the best, the players everyone wanted on their team to be the very best. After all, they had the best coaches, the best paid players, the best uniforms, the best sneakers, the best room conditions, the best engineers...I mean, they had to win Gold!

To say that the rest of the project basketball teams in the Olympics were "as good or better" is a rediculous assertion to say the least. I guess it was a good thing no one told those other teams. To go further with a low budget team and compare them to the big boys, well, ......it just seems to be, as you say "dumb".

Well the low budget team from Argentina kicked the American teams ass! Oh yes, Davy slew Golith, SP beat Neumann, the Red Sox beat the Yanks! It happens all the time as it did several times to the Dreamteam in this Olympics.

The same holds true with our mikes. They are used by the top pros, and just like the USA Dreamteam, we are not the best mike in the world, but the best mike in the world is not better than us. So, to put these project mics against full blown pro mics and say they are "as good or better" is really an accurate statement. :)
 
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