U87 vs BeesNeez Jade

[Recording David]

Hi folks,

I've done a U87 vs Jade shootout for another GS member. If you want to check it out you can hear the results here: David Shoukry - U87/BeesNeez Jade shootout - SoundCloud

It's acoustic guitar, classical guitar, vibes and alto sax. Both mics were placed next to each other and tracked the same takes. Bit of reverb added but no EQ or compression. Chain was U87/Jade-Pacifica-AD16X.

Let me know your opinion!

[Recording David]

I matched the levels approximately, but definitely not scientifically! It's probably not too exact.

[mistaD]

thanks for the shootout. These mics seem as though they could be siblings. The comparison reminds me of u87 vs a um70. I don't know if its me but for some of the instruments the u87 sounds fuller and I wasn't expecting that. The Jade sounds like the 87 eq'ed in the low end, which is actually a good thing come mix time.

Very interesting shootout!

By the way was that you playing?

[trubac]

prefered the U87 all the time ... I'm afraid ... more natural, less aggressive
IMHO

Edir : but maybe the Jade would sit better in a mix, but for solo work ... u87

[mistaD]

Originally Posted by trubac

prefered the U87 all the time ... I'm afraid ... more natural, less aggressive
IMHO

Edir : but maybe the Jade would sit better in a mix, but for solo work ... u87

You edited in something similar to my post and now after re listening I agree with you on the point of the Jade being more aggressive. Its almost like the u87 smooths out the sources?

Is that one of the reasons the U87 works on most sources? Not that it highlights the performance but it smooths it out?

[MadGuitrst]

Vibes:
U87: soft and not very articulate but pleasant.
Jade: (distorting a bit on loud parts?) More articulate and chimey...captured more overtones too.
I think I would prefer the Jade but it was distorting on the loud parts and that made it difficult to judge.

Acoustic Guitar:
U87: solid and even, nothing stood out, maybe a tad veiled.
Jade: definitely clearer, more lively, vibrant and articulate, can hear the *string windings*.
I definitely preferred the Jade.

Classical Guitar:
U87: Again, solid and even, full, not dull relative to the instrument.
Jade: Much different, I can hear the inside of the body, less low end but more articulate through the mids and the highs, which I kinda prefer but could see why others would rather the more rounded classic sound.
Toss up between solo or in the mix (as mentioned above).

Sax:
U87: again, very well rounded and even.
Jade: much more resonance comes through, but the high end can be a bit fatiguing.
I'd pick the U87 here, even thought the Jade is clearer more articulate - but it hurts sometimes.....maybe in a mix.

Overall:
The U87 just sounds nice and even all around, although it's a tad veiled in comparison.
The Jade is more clear and articulate with better highs and captures certain subtleties - i.e: resonance of the sax, windings of the guitar strings, overtones of the vibes.

As with anything, it's a matter of taste and I could see where either would better fit someone/something better.

Overall, for instruments, I would personally pick the Jade. I could roll off a little of the top when needed, but I don't know that I could make the U87 clearer - dial in more highs, yes, but clearer? Hhhmmm.

I'm curious about it on vocals - like many mics, this would really be singer specific, mix specific.

From what I could hear, my first thoughts are that I would prefer the U87 on vox. The unknown is whether or not it would accentuate the grunt I often like to sing with too much. It doesn't sound like it, but I've had it occur enough to know it could be.

As for the Jade, I would be concerned not about eshiness but sibilance. It seems like the high end could be a bit much - does the jade have the sibilance roll-off switch? The again, in a relatively dense mix it no doubt would slicee through better, and the highs could be rolled off a tad. Whether or not it would sound better on me I have no idea,

In all, they both are good sounding mics with the U87 sounding more classic and the Jade sounding more modern. They're actually nicely complimentary IMO.

Thanks for the clips......oh, and the performances were very nice.

-Mad

[Michael_Joly]

MadG gets my vote for the most articulate and detailed reviewer of mics.

[Recording David]

Thanks for taking the time to listen. And thanks for the very detailed analysis above.

To answer your questions:

Yes, I tried to do approximate level matching but it's not exact.

No, it's not me playing!

It was the U87ai

Thanks again.

[eddierodriguez]

man, i don´t like sax most of the time, but this sounds really nice.

the jade has that punch-in-your-face mid-bump.

[chribble]

You should Try the Jade in Omni.

[chrisdee]

I preferred the U87 also. It sounded smoother and more plesant.

[didier.brest]

I listen to both guitars. I definitely preferred the U87. The boosted highs from the Jade are not for me. The U87 is warmer, more natural to my ears, without definition loss.
It would be interesting to listen to both after some EQ to compensate for the obvious differrence between the frequency differences.

Great samples and vey nice music anyway. The classical guitar piece is beautiful.
Congratulations to the player(s).
Thank you for sharing.

[Aearth]

I suppose that's why there are so many different mics out there for all different sources. The Jade is great on vocals as it is a little colored, but still sounds good on guitar.

nIC