Please Help with the Sibilance of the Groove Tubes, MD1B Tube Mic

zak7 · 3rd June 2009

Hi, I have this Groove Tubes MD1B Tube.
I really like it but the sibilance for female vocalist drives me nutz.

Any suggestions? tubes? etc

I am using it with a Shadow Hills Mic Pre.

Thanks!

Navigator · 3rd June 2009

This may seem simplistic, but it's always worth turning the mic just slightly so that it's off axis a bit. I've done that before when working with a TLM103 which can be a little sibilant on certain vocalists and it did the trick.

zak7 · 3rd June 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navigator

This may seem simplistic, but it's always worth turning the mic just slightly so that it's off axis a bit. I've done that before when working with a TLM103 which can be a little sibilant on certain vocalists and it did the trick.

I did that and does not work.

larry b · 3rd June 2009

I own two MD1 originals. They are not the greatest vocal mics in the world. The fact that they use a small diaphragm capsule doesnt help too much. Its really a SDC in the body of an LDC. So you have to keep that in mind when choosing it for vocals. I've only ever had success with these mics on a very dark-sounding female singer who also knew how to work a mic (distance vs. volume).

I've also had some success having my vocalist turn slightly off the mic. That suggestion is fairly valid with any mic choice if your problem is sibilance.

In my experience with these mics (10+ years), they are best suited to the same things you'd use other SDC's for such as percussion and acoustic guitar, with the noted exception that i've also had great results on guitar amps for blues/twang tones and certain ultra-clean tones. They absolutely suck for heavy distortion guitar.

As always, YMMV

unfadeable · 3rd June 2009

I've owned this mic for years and still use it from time to time for vocals and ive always considered it to be VERY bright. I tracked with it the other day through my MA5 with about 35db of gain and light comp on the way in and it sounded fine. In terms of placement i'll flip the mic upside down, put it up fairly high on the stand, angle it down a tad and then move it off axis so the vocalist is not blasting the cap straight on. The pop filter is usually 6 inches off the mic and i've never had a serious sibilance issue. I assume you've tried de-essing in the box which is never nice but maybe try lightly compressing coming in if you have an outboard comp.

3rd June 2009	#1
zak7 Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2006 Posts: 756 Thread Starter	Please Help with the Sibilance of the Groove Tubes, MD1B Tube Mic Hi, I have this Groove Tubes MD1B Tube. I really like it but the sibilance for female vocalist drives me nutz. Any suggestions? tubes? etc I am using it with a Shadow Hills Mic Pre. Thanks!

3rd June 2009	#4
larry b Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2008 Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan Posts: 1,524	I own two MD1 originals. They are not the greatest vocal mics in the world. The fact that they use a small diaphragm capsule doesnt help too much. Its really a SDC in the body of an LDC. So you have to keep that in mind when choosing it for vocals. I've only ever had success with these mics on a very dark-sounding female singer who also knew how to work a mic (distance vs. volume). I've also had some success having my vocalist turn slightly off the mic. That suggestion is fairly valid with any mic choice if your problem is sibilance. In my experience with these mics (10+ years), they are best suited to the same things you'd use other SDC's for such as percussion and acoustic guitar, with the noted exception that i've also had great results on guitar amps for blues/twang tones and certain ultra-clean tones. They absolutely suck for heavy distortion guitar. As always, YMMV __________________ (after a train wreck take): (producer/talkback mic) "Did anyone hurt themselves?" Kinetic Sound Recording Studio Website coming soon!

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3rd June 2009	#2
Navigator Gear nut Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 100	This may seem simplistic, but it's always worth turning the mic just slightly so that it's off axis a bit. I've done that before when working with a TLM103 which can be a little sibilant on certain vocalists and it did the trick.

3rd June 2009	#5
unfadeable Gear nut Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 144	I've owned this mic for years and still use it from time to time for vocals and ive always considered it to be VERY bright. I tracked with it the other day through my MA5 with about 35db of gain and light comp on the way in and it sounded fine. In terms of placement i'll flip the mic upside down, put it up fairly high on the stand, angle it down a tad and then move it off axis so the vocalist is not blasting the cap straight on. The pop filter is usually 6 inches off the mic and i've never had a serious sibilance issue. I assume you've tried de-essing in the box which is never nice but maybe try lightly compressing coming in if you have an outboard comp.