wow! they dont suck!

[undergroundtoon]

I just got done listening to ever track of amazing grace (vocal) on the listening session. I listened for clarity to MY ear. Alot of them IMHO sounded like to much on the nasal side for me. I was listening for clarity. I narrowed to track 59 and track 55. after a several reviews of both i chose track 59 for clarity. Track 55 used a Neumann TLM103 cost $999. Track 59 was Studio Projects B3 $160. I am shocked I was just watching tracks not mic's. This B3 will for sure be my next mic. I guess you can make fun of me if you want , But i am going with my ear on this one.

http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session2.htm

 

[undergroundtoon]

and i hope i never hear amazing grace again in my life 50 times is enough for me.

 

[slidey]

if it sounds good why not get it

I use SE electronics 2200A's in preference to a TLM103

 

[slidey]

and i hope i never hear amazing grace again in my life 50 times is enough for me.

LMAO I'm hearin' ya there

 

[chessrock]

The listening sessions is easily the saddest excuse for a mic comparsion that I've ever heard.

Nothing against SP mics - they're fine. I wouldn't base a purchasing decision on that site, though, without testing it out myself first.

.

 

[slidey]

The listening sessions is easily the saddest excuse for a mic comparsion that I've ever heard.QUOTE]

really, if you hear the same piece being sung by the same singer through different mics then it gives one an idea of what each mic is about

certainly if one has trouble getting to a big time music store then it definately helps to make decisions

 

[chessrock]

Levels are poorly matched. The singer sounds like a teenager who's tired of singing the same song over and over ... sounds like she's confused as to what side of the microphone to sing in to. On one of the samples -- the B1, in fact -- it sounded like she was facing away from the mic, or off to the side. It looks like they removed that particular sample. Good. Just so many flaws in this.

I suppose it's better than nothing, but I certainly wouldn't use it to base any hardcore decisions on ... although it could be useful in context; as one example to help reinforce others when making a decision.

.

 

[Robert D]

I have to say, for such an enterprise, the logistics of getting all that gear together, all the work of hooking everything up, doing the tracking, editing and catalogging the takes, yada yada.... there's was a real lack of effort to come even halfway close to the same performance on most of that stuff. That really dillutes the value of the whole thing. I appreciate that it's been made available for everyone. It's just a shame they dropped the ball so close to the end zone on what could have been a truely useful tool.

 

[hungovermorning]

The listening sessions is easily the saddest excuse for a mic comparsion that I've ever heard.

Nothing against SP mics - they're fine. I wouldn't base a purchasing decision on that site, though, without testing it out myself first.

.

It's a great starting point however if you have nothing else to base it on. I personally have bought a couple mics solely based on reviews or soundclips and been reasonably happy (it's better than just reading the specs, I had one friend buy Samson mics because of their published range, eep!). There's really no way to know if you like something or not until you get it into your room, to you pre, to your board, to your tape machine with your voice. And for $160 it's worth the chance. The beautiful thing about microphones in that price range is that someone is always looking to buy it.

 

[chessrock]

I have to say, for such an enterprise, the logistics of getting all that gear together, all the work of hooking everything up, doing the tracking, editing and catalogging the takes, yada yada.... there's was a real lack of effort to come even halfway close to the same performance on most of that stuff. That really dillutes the value of the whole thing. I appreciate that it's been made available for everyone. It's just a shame they dropped the ball so close to the end zone on what could have been a truely useful tool.

What it tells me is that it was put together by a bunch of gear freaks instead of production or music freaks. There's a difference.

.

 

[Albertm]

A vocal producer I ill ever be, they all sound the same. My poor ears.

 

[notCardio]

A question for Chessrock

I understand your take on shootouts in general, and this one specifically. Is there any method of doing a shootout that you think would be a relatively valid test? Or is the fact that virtually all of the variables in any given chain are going to be different from an individual's situation going to be enough to make ANY shootout worthless, IYO?

 

[Rick Shepherd]

The differences between each mic is sooooooo small, and I agree that the site is worthless.

 

[notCardio]

Actually, one thing I think is helpful about it, is that it tells me my ears aren't very good!

 

[TelePaul]

I just got done listening to ever track of amazing grace (vocal) on the listening session. I listened for clarity to MY ear. Alot of them IMHO sounded like to much on the nasal side for me. I was listening for clarity. I narrowed to track 59 and track 55. after a several reviews of both i chose track 59 for clarity. Track 55 used a Neumann TLM103 cost $999. Track 59 was Studio Projects B3 $160. I am shocked I was just watching tracks not mic's. This B3 will for sure be my next mic. I guess you can make fun of me if you want , But i am going with my ear on this one.

http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session2.htm

Dunno bout the listening sessions, but ive a studio projects TB 1 and its the business.

 

[undergroundtoon]

The listening sessions is easily the saddest excuse for a mic comparsion that I've ever heard.

Nothing against SP mics - they're fine. I wouldn't base a purchasing decision on that site, though, without testing it out myself first.

.

..Chessrock has a very valid piont to try before you buy! If you ask the people in this forum who constiantly give good advice(glen, harvy, masteringhouse, benny, brad, fletcher to name a few) they will tell you this same thing. Its too bad i cannot do this. For my cartoon i have many people that i need to record. It would be imposible to take them all to someone elses studio to try out mic's to see which ones are best for them and buy a mic just for that one person's voice. Everyone has jobs kids and work to deal with. I am lucky to have the little time with them that i get.

..What i am about to say i want you to take in knowing that i am new to this and others(the pro's) might (and will) tell you to do just the opposite. I do NOT consider this good advice to pass on. It is just what i did that worked for me. keep that in mind.

..For the people who say they cannot tell the difference try this(this works best on high speed internet so their are no breaks). Go back to the top and call up the listening session site. shrink down the size of the window as skinny as you can so you can only see the numbers of the takes. Get out a pen and paper and write down 51-86. Call up windows media player and shrink it down too on the other side of the screen. This is so you do not half to restore down between takes. (THIS IS THE PART THEY WILL HATE) Plug in a cheap set of headphones strait into your computer(not DAW) and put them on. Start track 51. They start to sing.
AMAZING GRACE> stop and go to the next track 52> AMAZING GRACE> Stop and go to the next track 53> repeat till 86. Go thru each one quickly. After you have gone thru them all quick and you start to hear the difference in sound. Now pick up your pen and paper and start over. This time give the track number(51-86) a y or n next to it= For yes i like or no i dont like. After that go thru it again only with the tracks that have a yes.The third time around listening to just those two words your ears start to open up even more to what you like. Repeat this until you have it down to between 3 and 5 that you like. Now go back again listen to those fav tracks thru the next phrase HOW "S"WEE"T" "T"HE "S"OUND. This time you are listening how the mic deals with the S and T sound. This way you do not waste youre time with the S and T on mics you do not like to begin with. Then make your final judgement. I used cheap headphones for two reasons. First hopefuly half the world will be listening to you song on their i-pod. Unless you just want to make music for yourself in your room you need to take this into consideration. The second reason is isolation. The sound is going nowhere but in your ears and the outside sound is mostly blocked by your headphones. This is how i made my choice. If the mic i picked was over $200 i would have tried it out before i got it for sure. This test also uses different amp's with the same mic which lets you listen to the sound of the amp too.

Again do not take this as knowledge(it is not). Its just as a test for fun to open your ears

 

[undergroundtoon]

i learned one thing for sure. Not to waste my money on a Audio-Technica 4050. I almost bought this thing since i like my 2020 so much. I found out i do not like the sound of the 4050 at all IMHO.

 

[undergroundtoon]

... sounds like she's confused

.

They were all male vocals.

 

[ermghoti]

i learned one thing for sure. Not to waste my money on a Audio-Technica 4050. I almost bought this thing since i like my 2020 so much. I found out i do not like the sound of the 4050 at all IMHO.

Probably a good move. I bought the 4050 based on the guitar clips, and it sounded just like I thought it would. So, I'm guessing you wouldn't like it, if you didn't like what you heard.

 

[BigRay]

I love the 4050...It stands head to head with my schoeps, and does a fine job.

accurate, not bright..