What divides good mics from bad mics?

[Daniel Antix]

Originally Posted by Vandergraf

I believe it's called the "Epic Sound".

i just laughed so much it hurt a little

Blender/Hob threads are entertaining... he should have his own section so we still get to sledge him... but it doesn't interfer with intelligent conversations.

[Bob Olhsson]

To me, a good mike is one I can count on to sound great when I don't have enough time to try different mikes. Top of my list are unmodified U67s, U87s and KM84s followed by the good old SM57. All are hard to beat when combined with the right placement and a touch of eq.

Most other mikes sound great on some things and wretched on others.

[Lennon]

HI Bob....

But what is it inside the U67 that makes it great?

L;

[Lennon]

I also see on my analyzer that my CAD Trion is boosting the arra around 180, 260 and 390, but strongest on the 180-90. If I lightly compare to the audio examples on the wavs on this page: Chameleon Labs TS-2 it seems to be a drop on these mics between 200 and 400. To me the area around 300 hz is kind of muddy?

So what part in the mic is boosting what area?

L;

[Bob Olhsson]

U67s are very immune to breath pops and sibilance.

If anybody really knew why, there'd be lots of copies. Unfortunately most mods remove those two qualities.

[Lucin Niega]

Let's see... He talks about the U47. Anyone remember a thread by the same name? Acts like an ignoramus by making inflammatory statements. That kind of sounds familiar. He started his profile this month. Didn't someone get banned this month? The only question I have is... Why not Blender3?



Dude, you need to get a Furby. It's interactive.

[BLP]

Originally Posted by lucey

The capsule is the thing you're not considering, and those are more art than science, and more important than anything else.

My thoughts exactly. The physical tolerances of the capsule, the acoustical properties of the grill, the layout of circuit (not just the components used), the quality of the build/machining... All of these things have a profound affect on the "quality" of the mic. Typically they translate to the more tangible characteristics of transient response, SPL handling, self noise, frequency response, susceptibility to interference, etc.

That having been said, it's all in how you use 'em...

If you are interested, The Microphone Book by John Eargle is a great reference/resource.

[uncle duncan]

I want to by Hob's CD, as long as he ran it through toobs! I haven't laughed this hard since the blender thread.

But back to mics - the Apex tube mic sounds pretty bad stock. Put a new capsule in it, a new transformer, some new electronics, and it sounds much better. This would indicate that the components have a lot to do with the sound quality. Plus, there's quality control. Since capsules vary, without QC, the same brand and model mic can sound great or suck, depending on which one you get.

Then there's the intangible element of design - the way the transformer or the tube adds harmonics, the way the grill attenuates the highs, the EQ curve of the capsule. There is a bit of art and luck involved. If there wasn't, all $1k-mics would sound great.

Perhaps the reason most over-$2k mics sound great is because the builders have time to address all these issues, but I suppose some would argue that some over-$2k mics don't actually sound that great, in spite of their price.

[Lennon]

I was also thinking along the lines of Metal-Film resistor contra othe resistors.
Old type resistors (50's-60's) contra the newer ones, small ones, large ones.. What kind of caps are best suited. Some say it need to be hig frequency electrolytics, etc.

L;

[crmt19]

I'm pretty sure it's just the color that makes a great mic.

[DeBasement]

Originally Posted by Hob

Everyone disagreed with Thomas Edison about gravity but look who ended up being right. You really shouldn't judge people you know. You never know who the next star might be.

This is AWESOME!!!!! My new quote of the week and a leading candidate for my sig.


By the way, they also laughed at Einstein when he said man could fly. But then he showed them with his theory of relative gravity (short form: relativity), which proved conclusively that your relatives can fly.


kf hkh