scrubs
Not of sound mind
noisedude said:You want to get it on with a Lakland bass?
Who doesn't?
Who doesn't?
noisedude
New member
A valid point well made 
W
wilkee
New member
The problem with all of these type of tests is that because we are not comparing the sound to the original we have to give our opinion as to what sounds the most pleasant to us.
In an ideal world we would only ever have to use one Mic. to record everything. This ideal Mic. would record faithfully what it was presented with. The problem is we do not want that, we want something that somehow makes it better. This is when the choice then becomes an "Artistic" one. It then becomes easy to see why two people can have such differing views.
Tony
In an ideal world we would only ever have to use one Mic. to record everything. This ideal Mic. would record faithfully what it was presented with. The problem is we do not want that, we want something that somehow makes it better. This is when the choice then becomes an "Artistic" one. It then becomes easy to see why two people can have such differing views.
Tony
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noisedude
New member
I only wanted to discuss what we hear - it's not a comment on the gear, performance or recording itself. Is the high-end sibilance I hear on the Z5600 what other people call sibilance? Is the SolidTube a 'detailed' sound?
It's like working out that you aren't colour-blind and that red to you is the same as red to someone else. Just working out our terms of reference for discussing.
It's like working out that you aren't colour-blind and that red to you is the same as red to someone else. Just working out our terms of reference for discussing.
D
Dr.Grace
New member
wilkee said:
Well said!!
Don
D
DJL
Self Banned
Hmmm, well... it's ok for a ballpark idea... but that's all.chessrock said:
A
acorec
Banned
chessrock said:
These sessions do me no good. I find that the real usefulness of mics comes with using them in my studio and using them in a mix. This is where the warts and problems show themselves. I don't necessarily advocate expensive mics always, but I have returned my share and seem to end up with the more expensive variety. There are some exceptions like Oktava and GT stuff. There are just too many variables in each person's environment/equipment to judge based on a single track done in an unknown environment. To judge it you must be there and hear the source for yourself.
OneRoomStudios
New member
wilkee said:
But isn't that what matters - the end result? As has been said over and over again - if it sounds good, it is good. How many of you have heard John Lennon in person? Does that make you ineligible to judge how the recording sounds? No! If I'm working with a singer, I want to make them sound as good as I can, not necessarily the way they actually sound....
As far as the complaints about mic location, levels, etc...those are valid complaints, and make it near impossible to accurately judge the mics, but as noisedude said, that's not what he's interested in. He just wants to talk about "good sound' vs "bad sound" and peoples opinions thereof. I think it's a great exercise to help people with ear training. For once ignore what mic was used and just talk about the sound...that is the most important part after all...
My .02
-Peter
W
wilkee
New member
OneRoomStudios said:
I was only pointing out that the choice of mics would be down to "Artistic" prejudice which explains the vastly different appraisal of the mics on test.
Your comment proves you agree with me.
Tony
D
Dot
New member
The sound samples, combined with tools such as the in-progress mic chart, reviews, and discussions, we're working to provide information to help people make heads or tails. We're also testing and using these products, and recommending [ or not recommending ] them based on our findings. If someone wants SDC recommendations - I've used 50 pairs. I've used almost all of the budget LDC's on the market and have used over 50 preamps. We're now testing even more pres and also getting into the higher end mics. So, there's a lot more to TLS than just isolated sound samples.
That's good. And that's all TLS proposes to do with the sound samples. Give people a taste and give them a ballpark idea. We're offering a chance to go from not hearing any of the mics and preamps at all to at least being able to hear some samples. And there are relative differences between the mics. The 414 is brighter than the V69ME, and that can clearly be heard. And it's not necessary to have heard the "source" in order to tell that. And if someone already has a bright mic and they're looking for something darker, I'll point them, say, to the samples of the 414 compared to a V69ME to give them a first-hand example of a darker mic. And they can clearly hear the V69ME is darker than the 414. So then that might give someone enough info to put the V69ME on their short list of dark mics to consider. I've gotten hundreds of emails from people because they heard John Hardy, Great River, Phoenix Audio, Millennia, API, Earthworks, Studio Projects, ADK... on TLS. And they "got it" and heard the difference. And it was something they could use - along with reading reviews and forum recommendations and asking questions - to find the gear was right for them.
DJL said:
That's good. And that's all TLS proposes to do with the sound samples. Give people a taste and give them a ballpark idea. We're offering a chance to go from not hearing any of the mics and preamps at all to at least being able to hear some samples. And there are relative differences between the mics. The 414 is brighter than the V69ME, and that can clearly be heard. And it's not necessary to have heard the "source" in order to tell that. And if someone already has a bright mic and they're looking for something darker, I'll point them, say, to the samples of the 414 compared to a V69ME to give them a first-hand example of a darker mic. And they can clearly hear the V69ME is darker than the 414. So then that might give someone enough info to put the V69ME on their short list of dark mics to consider. I've gotten hundreds of emails from people because they heard John Hardy, Great River, Phoenix Audio, Millennia, API, Earthworks, Studio Projects, ADK... on TLS. And they "got it" and heard the difference. And it was something they could use - along with reading reviews and forum recommendations and asking questions - to find the gear was right for them.
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D
DJL
Self Banned
Dot... please don't misunderstand me... I like the fact that your trying to help people and the TLS is better than nothing. But IMO, there are flaws... like MP3 files appose to Wave files, no consistent reference mic and etc, etc... but like I said, the TLS is better than nothing... and I give you both thumbs up for your effort.
noisedude
New member
I think we all second that statement!!
M
musical5
New member
For what it's worth, I bought my "go to" preamp after hearing its samples on TLS. It helped quite a bit. I have never had a single regret with my choice. Most dont with the Phoenix Audio stuff though.
Dracon
New member
Reviving this to make a comment!
Hey, hey hey!
Well, I revived this thread not to comment on the listening session but mainly to talk about comparing mics.
I'm taking a 'recording class' and this past tuesday we did a mic shootout. Not too scientific in nature but rather revealing. I basically read a sentece or two from the book, and the same distance from each mic with a pop shield held upto my nose.
We tested the E835 against the Electro Voice RE20. Three of us thought the Sennheiser was a winner in this category. The instructor (a Professional Recording Engineer www.mirrorsound.com), another student (who played pro bass guitar in some band), and myself. The other two students did not give much input on these.
In the Condenser Category we tested the following
MXL V67G
AKG 414 (In Cardioid pattern).
SB1
AT 4033
Again the SB1 sounded muffled (like someone put a blanket over it).
The AT 4033 was not bad, sounded bright and was picking up the highend too well for my taste. It just sounded a little harsh on the top end.
The AKG 414 was the clear winner with believe it or not my Ghetto V67G comming in second. Most everyone agreed that the 414 was smoother and nicer sounding. However, the MXL came pretty close to the 414. No harshness on the top end and it was nice and smooth.
The instructor also went through all the mics reading a sentence out of the textbook. Even though we both had different types of voices, the 414 has that nice 'radio voice' it's so often heard by DJs.
There was no EQ or compression on any of the vocals, and we heard the sound through a couple of HR824.
The bottom line. If you have the $1,000 or so to spend on the AKG 414 go for it. If you don't go test the V67G at your local GC or whatever. I can tell you the instructor was suprise that the MXL cost $99 (both due to the looks and sound).
My $0.00000000000002 worth.
Hey, hey hey!
Well, I revived this thread not to comment on the listening session but mainly to talk about comparing mics.
I'm taking a 'recording class' and this past tuesday we did a mic shootout. Not too scientific in nature but rather revealing. I basically read a sentece or two from the book, and the same distance from each mic with a pop shield held upto my nose.
We tested the E835 against the Electro Voice RE20. Three of us thought the Sennheiser was a winner in this category. The instructor (a Professional Recording Engineer www.mirrorsound.com), another student (who played pro bass guitar in some band), and myself. The other two students did not give much input on these.
In the Condenser Category we tested the following
MXL V67G
AKG 414 (In Cardioid pattern).
SB1
AT 4033
Again the SB1 sounded muffled (like someone put a blanket over it).
The AT 4033 was not bad, sounded bright and was picking up the highend too well for my taste. It just sounded a little harsh on the top end.
The AKG 414 was the clear winner with believe it or not my Ghetto V67G comming in second. Most everyone agreed that the 414 was smoother and nicer sounding. However, the MXL came pretty close to the 414. No harshness on the top end and it was nice and smooth.
The instructor also went through all the mics reading a sentence out of the textbook. Even though we both had different types of voices, the 414 has that nice 'radio voice' it's so often heard by DJs.
There was no EQ or compression on any of the vocals, and we heard the sound through a couple of HR824.
The bottom line. If you have the $1,000 or so to spend on the AKG 414 go for it. If you don't go test the V67G at your local GC or whatever. I can tell you the instructor was suprise that the MXL cost $99 (both due to the looks and sound).
My $0.00000000000002 worth.