| I agree that a good source like an acoustic guitar would have been nice (I am not guitar player and don't have a player hanging around right now, so this was not an option anyway), but my method of recording a CD through speakers has some benefits:
1) The song I chose covers all frequencies (airy voice ... deep bass, and every thing in between,
2) The source is the exact same for both audio samples. They are even aligned, so you can put them both in the left/right channel of your DAW, or in two separate tracks and switch between them.
Of course I could have a better signal path -- who couldn't? Everyone can upgrade until bankruptcy, but the M-Audio Tampa delivers a rather clean signal and tons of gain (around 68dB, I think) needed for a ribbon mic. I consider getting a Blue Robbie or an AEA TRP, though.
While I was a bit disappointed by the "upgrade", I think the tighter low end is a significant improvement. The lack of output at higher frequencies can probably be eq-ed. When I record my tenor saxophone through the mic, it sounds actually very good (way better than, for example, the Rode NT2-A, AT4047, Sennheiser MD441, Neumann KM184 and Gefell M930, which are the mics I owned and tested).
Michael: I am not sure if your statement about the standing acoustical waves due to the parallel grill is valid: as opposed to most LDC designs, where the grill is much larger than the capsule, the ribbon motor covers most of the space inside the grill. I think there is not enough "empty space" inside the head of the mic for standing waves between the front and back end of the grill, but I might be wrong.
If you want, I could easily do an audio test with and without grill and post results here.
I can also post audio files of my tenor saxophones if someone is interested (the only instrument I play and record). |