Tell me about mic voices;

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Reilley

Reilley

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No dount microphones had different "voices," right? Do these differences disappear as you go higher up the price ladder? Do the best mics just do a more perfect job of capturing the "pure" sound, as if your ear was there listening?

(I've seen mics advertised for 3 to 4 THOUSAND !!!!)
 
No matter how much you spend, mics always sound different from eachother. There are mics that would be considered to capture the 'pure' sound of what's in the room, but that is not what all good mics do. I've heard for instance, that the T.H.E. TT-3M does an amazing job of capturing exactly the way things sounded in the room. This is definitely NOT the effect that you want for all mics though. Many expensive mics are made to flatter the signal being recorded, or color it in some desirable way. As well, you can spend thousands of dollars on one mic, and it won't necessery sound great on all singers, or all guitars, or whatever your recording... I've never heard the term 'voices' used before, but I assumed you're just referring to the different sounds that different mics produce.
 
Mics and preamps are not usually chosen because they accurately reproduce a sound source. They're chosen because they sound good. Probably a great pair of measurement mics or omni small diaphragms, such as Earthworks, are among the most *accurate* mics in existence, but you wouldn't generally put them up for a main vocal mic. Such mics are often used when you're recording something big with a lot of different sounds, from a grand piano to an 88 piece orchestra.
In general, I would say accurate mics are most useful when the original source sound is very good, and the room is just right. I would also say that more expensive mics often (not always) sound better to more people on more stuff.-Richie
 
Thing I've noticed about mic voices is they can be pretty damn persistant.


Like when I walk in to guitar center, I can hear a whole bunch of them saying: "Look at me, Keith. Look at me. Aren't I pretty? Wouldn't I sound good?"

Then, before I can even get over to check out all of the cool Behringer gear :D . . . I hear them talking to me again : "Where you goin? Get back here. You haven't looked at me yet."

Then finally when I go over to look at them, there they go again . . . "Keith, buy me. Buy me. Buy me."

Then after I finally take 'em home, they all start in on that "talk about me on that message board" crap. I'm about ready to go put a nuzzle on 'em is what I'm gonna' do.
 
chessrock said:
Thing I've noticed about mic voices is they can be pretty damn persistant.


Like when I walk in to guitar center, I can hear a whole bunch of them saying: "Look at me, Keith. Look at me. Aren't I pretty? Wouldn't I sound good?"

Then, before I can even get over to check out all of the cool Behringer gear :D . . . I hear them talking to me again : "Where you goin? Get back here. You haven't looked at me yet."

Then finally when I go over to look at them, there they go again . . . "Keith, buy me. Buy me. Buy me."

Then after I finally take 'em home, they all start in on that "talk about me on that message board" crap. I'm about ready to go put a nuzzle on 'em is what I'm gonna' do.
Click to expand...

LMAO... I was going to say something like that, but I couldn't think of anything that clever :D
 
For example, Walter Becker offered the opinion that the Shure SM 57 is so omnidirectional, and has other characteristics, which tend to give it a slightly compressed sound when used to mic an amp, because some areas of the amp cone sound different from other areas. Some singers say that they sound much better with certain mics compared to others. (See Richard Monroe's remarks on the AKG 320 thread.) To the extent that certain mics favour certain voices, sounds, or frequency ranges, and have other sonic characteristics, I thought that they could be said to have different "voices," a term used to discribe the sound of various musical instruments. I assumed that this would be used to describe mics, but being a newbie, it seems I was wrong about that.

The point, of course, is not the terminology, but the variation in sound produced by one mic compared to another.
 
Steely Dan are such amateurs, the SM57 is a UNIDIRECTIONAL microphone (cardiod).

Chris
 
My mistake again, of course I meant UNIdirectional, which is why it can pick the sound off part of the amp speaker cone and not get the rest of the cone.
 
Reilly, your explanation is very good. Different mics do have different characteristics.

I would recommend paying a visit to the sticky thread at the top of the forum "How does diaphragm size . . . "

It's a really good read, and it's pretty much full of all sorts of info related to diaphragm size, pickup pattern, etc. etc. and how all of the different microphone types will behave and react to various applications.

The really expensive mics aren't necessarily going to make things sound closer to reality . . . the idea is to make things sound better than reality. That's why they're expensive. :D In certain applications like classical and jazz music, oftentimes greater accuracy is the goal and a lot the more accurate mics can also be more expensive. For the most part, really good mics are usually expensive, whether their purpose is to reproduce things accurately or to enhance the sound source in some way.
 
Thanks, I'll read that now.

Are there mics which tend to lend a "warm" sound to vocals, the way that, for example, certain guitar pickups are warmer than others, or would this notion not apply to mics?
 
Yo Reilly! "Warmth" tends to be a very subjective term, therefore of limited value. What most people call "warmth" is really selective distortion. For many vocalists, a very little amount of distortion can be a good thing, like airbrushing a picture, it can smooth over annoyng details. It can also cause a vocal track to lose clarity, and get lost in a mix.
Usually the idea of a warm mic is associated with tube (valve if your British or Aussie) mics. Ribbon mics are also often associated with warmth, and mics with real transformers. Such mics are good for some vocals, strings and brass. The bell curves overlap, though and tube mics and FET mics vary across a broad spectrum of distortion. Why, you can buy all the distortion you need in a really cheap mic. Some distortion is very bad.-Richie
 
Ahh, tubes again ! Tube amps, tube pedals, now tube mics. I live and learn. Do some folks strongly prefer tube mics, in this day and age?
 
Some have an unusual fascination with them. :D Good mics are still good mics, regardless of what they got in 'em.
 
chessrock said:
I'm about ready to go put a nuzzle on 'em is what I'm gonna' do.
Click to expand...

Definitions of nuzzle:

* verb: dig out with the snout, of animals
* verb: rub noses
* verb: move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position

I always thought you had a sick affinity for mics. :D
 
Reilley, if you haven't done so already, go to the "sticky" thread at the top of this list (mic diaphragm size etc), which turned into a marathon session of describing what mics do, how they do it, where to use them etc. But, don't read the thread, instead go to this http://www.artistcollaboration.com/~tekker/Harvey Threads/HarveyThread.doc


download that document, and read. It is well worth it to get you rolling on how mics do what they do. It will take a few days to digest... or weeks ...or never...
 
crazydoc said:
Definitions of nuzzle:

* verb: dig out with the snout, of animals
* verb: rub noses
* verb: move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position
Click to expand...

Alright, then, Doc. I'll tell you what I'm gonna' do, then.

First, I'm gonna' dig out their goddman snounts. Then I'm gonna' rub their noses and put 'em all in comfy positions . . .


Then I'm gonna' stuff a goddamn sock in their mouths so as to shut 'um up ! ! !
 
I just unplug mine and keep them shut up in cases - can't hear a thing. Course when I lets 'em out they're so pissed off and hoarse they sound like shit. Maybe I need to nuzzle 'em a little bit.
 
I think he meant muzzle, like the clam. Shellfish?

Or puzzle.
 
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