4 SDCs on Acoustic Guitar

[Hammer Mark]

Hi all. I'd been lurking for ages, but now that I'm registered I thought I'd try to contribute something useful.

I set up four SDCs held together with rubber bands and mounted them on a single stand. All were connected to identical pres and recorded the same performance.

mics (MF new price):
AKG C451B - $579
AT4051 - $499
AT4041 - $299
Shure SM94 - $180

pre:
Sytek MPX-4Aii (Burr Browns on all channels)

Let me know what you think. I'll post the reveal in a couple of days.

[Hammer Mark]

part II - Jellifish in lieu of pick

[Hammer Mark]

Here's a shot of the mic arrangement...

[Tosse]

Both me and my gf thinks A is the best sounding. The others is either thin or has to little top.

Best regards

[Hammer Mark]

Originally Posted by Tosse

Both me and my gf thinks A is the best sounding. The others is either thin or has to little top.

Best regards

Thanks for participating. Your wallet will approve of your preference -- see next post.

[Hammer Mark]

A - Shure SM94 - $180
B - AKG C451B - $579
C - AT4041 - $299
D - AT4051 - $499

[Tosse]

Nice! cheapest=best
What should i blame it on? bad monitors?

[norman_nomad]

Great test. Much easier to compare when the take is the exact same. I also liked A the best here... followed by D, then C then B...

[mikebeck]

Thank you for posting these tests!

[Magpel]

Ha, a little late to this party, but I thought I'd post my impressions anyway--

The first recording shows the differences better. The shimmer jangle of the jellifish tracks seems to overpower the difference between the mics.

After numeorus reps, I think I concluded that I like the "naturalness" of D the most, followed by the lively bite of A. So the bad news is my preference is the most expensive, and the good news is my second choice is the least expensive!

With no intent to criticize this very useful shootout, do you guys think it makes a difference that the mics were bundled like that, rather than finding the most flattering sweet spot for each?

I like that the exact same wav is used for comparison; that's a huge plus, so I guess there's a trade off.

Thanks for this! I am in the market for an sdc expressly for ac. guitar, so this is really useful for me. In fact, I'd say that the four mics tested pretty much describe my price range.

[migsoto]

I don't really like none of the shots

[lpkyer]

B-D-A-C for me...

[Audiop]

Bundling the mics like that is not a good idea since the frequency reponse will be altered and FR is what typcially makes most of the sonic fingerprint of anything we hear.


/Peter

[SANDS]

Originally Posted by Audiop

Bundling the mics like that is not a good idea since the frequency reponse will be altered and FR is what typcially makes most of the sonic fingerprint of anything we hear.


/Peter

how does it alter the FR? is it the sound being captured from around the sides of the mics compared to the sound coming from the source directly in front of the mic? If so, would this have that big of a change in the sound of the mic?

[SANDS]

I liked D.

[Audiop]

Originally Posted by SANDS

how does it alter the FR? is it the sound being captured from around the sides of the mics compared to the sound coming from the source directly in front of the mic? If so, would this have that big of a change in the sound of the mic?

Yes, blocking the side vents for a directional mic can alter the polarpattern and on axis response.

Also the adjacent mics are forming a baffle that alters the response. A mic in free air will measure differently than the same mic in a big baffle or with a cone a la DPA/B&K or APE balls.

It's the same with speakers, the front of the speaker (the baffle) and surrounding surfaces affect the frequency response and how the energy response/off axis response look.


/Peter

[pianokeys]

I'm happy I picked B easily before checking the results to see that is was the superior 451 (though there are better mics the 451 is decent - honest and well tested in mixes)

After hearing enough tests you learn to listen to the body of the sound more than the extremes - the naturalness of the sound tells you much also about the ability of a mic to handle eq compression etc.

I've never in 15 years found that a mic with initial excitment at the expense of real tone ever outperformed in the final mix.

[Josh Rose]

I preferred the 451 in the first test, but it's not quite right for the second test. Thanks for sharing.

[Beyersound]

I liked C best, it will definitely sit in the track best with a full mix of instruments. I liked B (451, I own one) the absolute least. I was surprised that it lacked detail, and that it had an amazing flabbiness in the upper bass/low mid range. D was the second best, it didn't surprise me that I liked it.

[steveschizoid]

I liked B; there is a bit of tubbiness in the G's (which must be what Beyersound doesn't like), but that would be easily removed in a mix. The transients and highs seem more natural than in C and D. A sounded kind of dull overall. I am surprised that no one has mentioned the fact that a difference of an inch or two in mic placement for acoustic guitar can be significant. If the 451 was an inch closer to the soundhole, it would easiliy account for that bit of mud.

[George Necola]

I dont like all of the examples. problem is, that different microphones deserve different micingposition. this is not part of an online-shootout, because it's not possible.

[jbsg02]

I liked B and D the most, no suprise that they were the more expensive mics

[middletom]

D > a > b > c

[hankdrummer]

nobody mentioned how similar all these clips sound ...

C just has a more annoying high end. otherwise really there's no character difference

what converters were used ?

[Hammer Mark]

Originally Posted by hankdrummer

what converters were used ?

motu 896

[~RW~BootyStackr]

Cool beans! That was fun, way to attach the files as well, I'd like to see more of that on this site. I like the 4041 and the 451 the most, I own both so I'm more than happy about it. I do find I need to put a downward spike at 2k for my 4041 on most things, but it's nice to hear how close it is to the AKG. But D, just too thin, nice top end though. Maybe in combination with a pickup would be golden. Fun! thumbsup

[doorknocker]

Cool test + that's the way ALL files should be attached for shootouts, really convenient!

I like A the best by far. I agree that mic position could improve the other mics in general but I think it's way better to do it like this than to record seperate takes where the playing WILL be different no matter what.

No surprise for me that the Shure mic won out. I often use 57s on acoustics and also SM7s.

One of the most hailed mics for acoustic guitar is the old AKG D-19c. It used to be a cheap dynamic mic (now it's a highly sought-out and quite expensive 'vintage' Beatles mic....). Well, when I first tried out my D-19 I was somewhat unimpressed but OMG did it work within the whole arrangement! Context is everything.

[Jose]

I do not like that guitar sound, for me the most important after the player.What guitar have you used?thumbsup