SDC shootout

[Rickard]

Here are some drum clips of four small diaphragm condensors. There are two sets of clips in stereo. One rockish and one jazzy. Spaced pair through a True Precision 8.

The mics are:

Schoeps 221b
Octava 012 Joly mod
Beyerdynamic MC930
Sputnik

Whadya think?

Dean

[travisinhell]

i don't hear enough of a difference to pick one over the other. i've only listened thru a couple of times so i'll listen some more and see if my mind changes.

[Osumosan]

#1 and #4 catch the highs better and #2 is fuller for the toms. #3 is more 414-ish. #1 seems the fastest. Were the mics listed in order? I wouldn't be surprised. If so, my desire for the Oktavas have been rekindled. For acoustic work, #1 would win hands down.

[peeder]

My preference: 1, 2, 4, 3. I wouldn't use either 3 or 4 myself. I think 3 may be the sputnik, but they might be in order. I don't like the pastey sound of the sputnik usually, and while both 3 and 4 are pastey, 3 is especially pastey. And in this case we want Paiste...

[ianvargo]

number 2 on both clips! They sound the fullest and most musical to me. what are they?

[Rickard]

Thanks for the responses. I'll put up the mic key soon.

Dean

[redddog]

Where are we with this?

[Tomer1]

I found mic "D" to be the nicest.

[leddy]

I say that-

A=MC930
B=Oktava
C=Sputnik (by process of elimination since I have not heard of them)
D=Shoeps

I own the Beyers and the Oktavas. I hear more high end in "A", like the Beyers have. I hear B slightly darker, C is kind of muddy. D is the nicest so my assumption is that those are the Schoeps.

[Jimbo]

I say that -

The Sputnik is a LDC.

[Rickard]

Thanks for listening to the clips.

The mics are:

A-Oktava mc012 Joly mod
B-Beyerdynamic MC930
C-Sputnik
D-Schoeps 221b

My favorites are the MC930s and the Schoeps. I can't choose between them. The 012s don't have the sound stage that the beyers and schoeps have but do sound good. The sputniks I thought were quirky but could have their place in the right situation and yes it is a LDC.

Dean

[peeder]

Fascinating...at least I recognized the Sputnik's pastiness (I can't understand why people here like that mic). Here I liked the oktavamods, and didn't like the Schoeps....?

Thanks for the shootouts!

[mig27]

Thanks for sharing this Dean.
And for turning me on to the Beyer MC930's.
Nice!

[peeder]

Originally Posted by patrox247

I don't know anything about that Sputnik mic other than it sounded sort of cheap and boxy compared to the others. Who makes that mic?

M-Audio. It goes for about $600 or so I understand.

[mljung]

Originally Posted by Rickard

Thanks for listening to the clips.

The mics are:

A-Oktava mc012 Joly mod
B-Beyerdynamic MC930
C-Sputnik
D-Schoeps 221b

My favorites are the MC930s and the Schoeps. I can't choose between them. The 012s don't have the sound stage that the beyers and schoeps have but do sound good. The sputniks I thought were quirky but could have their place in the right situation and yes it is a LDC.

Dean

I agree! Intersting to hear both your fine sdc shootout's.
These stereo sdc pairs are all fine, but I have an idea that the Jolymodded MK012 could be better matched. Their weakness is the stereo rendering more than it's character!


One question: you say A-B stereo, how far were they apart?
Thanks for doing these shootouts!

[Rickard]

They were about 3 feet apart and about 3 feet centered above the snare.

[mljung]

Originally Posted by Rickard

They were about 3 feet apart and about 3 feet centered above the snare.

Have you tried near coincident techniques using the same microphones over this kit, if so what were your observations. The A-B is a little unfocused and overly 'broad' listened to via loudspeakers, but the texture and sound quality is fine; that's why I asked.