Mic shoot out. and mic pre shoot out - Page 2

Jonesfromindia · 2nd July 2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiospace

Thanks for posting this.

My favorites were 3, 7 and 2. I already knew I dug the SM7B but was surprised to have liked the Blueberry and Cactus.

Least favorites , with the notes I made to myself (least favorite first):

4 - "horrible"
5 - "bad, bad esses, cheap-sounding"
6 - "awful"

Funny thing is I heard female vocals through #4 (AKG) recently and thought it sounded great. Shows how idiosyncratic the marriage of mic and voice is.

Is the "SM27" a Shure KSM 27? Too bad you couldn't do the TLM67, that would have been real interesting against this group...

hmm i actually liked 6...its my mic lol.

i liked how the SM7 sounded, but i wouldnt have picked it out. it wasnt as natural sounding as the blueberry was. sputnik was a nice warm sound to me. and the cactus makes him sound nasally which, is what that mic is supposed to do.

isnt it amazing how no one has chosen the $3000 U87?

rockum · 3rd July 2009, 04:36 PM

1st place - 7 pretty clear winner to my ears
2nd place - 5
3rd place - 2

Chris Lago · 3rd July 2009, 06:31 PM

I think no one chose the U87 because it was saturated to death

Jonesfromindia · 4th July 2009, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrislago

I think no one chose the U87 because it was saturated to death

Michael_Joly · 4th July 2009, 01:11 PM

Huh. Was the C214 positioned the same way as the other mics? Because it hears a lot more room and is very hollow-sounding if it was.

You know, for all the slavish love the SM7 gets I'm just not hearing it on this vocalist. The SM7, like all moving coil dynamic mics does not resolve "S" as accurately as a well-behaved (and lighter moving-mass) condenser or ribbon mic. The SM7 doesn't do this vocalist justice with regard to sibilance in my opinion. The U87AI with its K67 capsule and HF attenuation circuit has a tighter "S" and less "eshhh" than the SM7. It is more refined sounding.

I was actually surprised by the Sterling Audio ST69 - my notes say "upfront, intimate and clear". Could be because this mic uses a 797 Beijing Audio capsule which is a step up from the garden variety Alctron K67-type frequently heard.

The clarity and less forgiving nature of digital recording really requires getting the sibilance range right. But non of these mics is a great performer when it comes to sibilance. I'm hearing multi-layer mesh headbasket effects that color and smear "S"s. Try to find a good solo'd recording of a Neumann M 49 (or just some old Barbra Streisand stuff) to hear a mic that is less colored, more open and less sibilant than any of these mics. The '49 has a very large, more open headbasket (compared to a U 47 or U 87) surrounding a K47 capsule. The impressive midrange phase accuracy of the K47-type capsule translates into better sibilance control further up the spectrum.

This test shows you don't have to spend boatloads of money to get U 87 ballpark sound - the $300 Bluebird is the best value condenser in this group.

dysenterygary · 4th July 2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonesfromindia

hmm i actually liked 6...its my mic lol.

i liked how the SM7 sounded, but i wouldnt have picked it out. it wasnt as natural sounding as the blueberry was. sputnik was a nice warm sound to me. and the cactus makes him sound nasally which, is what that mic is supposed to do.

isnt it amazing how no one has chosen the $3000 U87?

Being a sputnik owner as well, I thought it sounded awesome. And the U87 wouldn't have been my pick for a while. The sm7 was really nice too. That last one though was not so hot...

Jonesfromindia · 6th July 2009, 05:51 PM

bump.

FatBassPlayer · 6th July 2009, 08:26 PM

This test is really messed up. The 214 sounds like you are singing in the wrong end, and there is distortion all over the place. I thought none of the mics sounded good.

Welkin · 17th July 2009, 10:39 PM

The levels are uneven but after a quick tuning this became rather interesting. My quick order of preference:

1. SM7B (a clear winner)
2. Blueberry
3. Bluebird
4. Sputnik
5. Cactus
6. U87ai
7. ST69
8. and 9. C214 and SM27, I can't decide which one is worse.

I don't like the processed sound of some mics, especially the U87ai was surprisingly bad. Obviously the singer has the nice raspy quality to his sound and the order could be completely different for another singer.

3rd July 2009, 04:36 PM	#32
rockum Gear addict Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Nashville Posts: 369	1st place - 7 pretty clear winner to my ears 2nd place - 5 3rd place - 2 __________________ http://myspace.com/rockkennedy

3rd July 2009, 06:31 PM	#33
Chris Lago Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto/Hollywood Posts: 5,730	I think no one chose the U87 because it was saturated to death __________________ http://www.chrislago.com http://www.myspace.com/chrislago Recording/Mixing/Mastering

4th July 2009, 01:11 PM	#35
Michael_Joly Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Springfield, MA - Working on mics 16 hrs / day Posts: 1,804	Huh. Was the C214 positioned the same way as the other mics? Because it hears a lot more room and is very hollow-sounding if it was. You know, for all the slavish love the SM7 gets I'm just not hearing it on this vocalist. The SM7, like all moving coil dynamic mics does not resolve "S" as accurately as a well-behaved (and lighter moving-mass) condenser or ribbon mic. The SM7 doesn't do this vocalist justice with regard to sibilance in my opinion. The U87AI with its K67 capsule and HF attenuation circuit has a tighter "S" and less "eshhh" than the SM7. It is more refined sounding. I was actually surprised by the Sterling Audio ST69 - my notes say "upfront, intimate and clear". Could be because this mic uses a 797 Beijing Audio capsule which is a step up from the garden variety Alctron K67-type frequently heard. The clarity and less forgiving nature of digital recording really requires getting the sibilance range right. But non of these mics is a great performer when it comes to sibilance. I'm hearing multi-layer mesh headbasket effects that color and smear "S"s. Try to find a good solo'd recording of a Neumann M 49 (or just some old Barbra Streisand stuff) to hear a mic that is less colored, more open and less sibilant than any of these mics. The '49 has a very large, more open headbasket (compared to a U 47 or U 87) surrounding a K47 capsule. The impressive midrange phase accuracy of the K47-type capsule translates into better sibilance control further up the spectrum. This test shows you don't have to spend boatloads of money to get U 87 ballpark sound - the $300 Bluebird is the best value condenser in this group. __________________ Vintage U 87 not in the budget? 250+ vote A/B test reveals a toss up Hear the OktavaMod'd NT1a and decide for yourself

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6th July 2009, 05:51 PM	#37
Jonesfromindia Gear maniac Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 274	bump.

6th July 2009, 08:26 PM	#38
FatBassPlayer Gear maniac Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 167	This test is really messed up. The 214 sounds like you are singing in the wrong end, and there is distortion all over the place. I thought none of the mics sounded good.

17th July 2009, 10:39 PM	#39
Welkin Gear Head Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 31	The levels are uneven but after a quick tuning this became rather interesting. My quick order of preference: 1. SM7B (a clear winner) 2. Blueberry 3. Bluebird 4. Sputnik 5. Cactus 6. U87ai 7. ST69 8. and 9. C214 and SM27, I can't decide which one is worse. I don't like the processed sound of some mics, especially the U87ai was surprisingly bad. Obviously the singer has the nice raspy quality to his sound and the order could be completely different for another singer.