Shootout!! Portico, API, AKG, Octava, Peluso

mltamisin · 11th January 2006

Got together with Chuck Jopski at Summerhouse Sound yesterday & tested out several items: AKG 460's, Peluso CEMC6's, and Octava MK012's. We conducted the test relatively well. The mics were tested in Neve Portico's and API 3124's on drum overheads only. We measured the distance from the mic heads to the snare and used the same stereo bar (X/Y setup) for all 3 sets. All were tracked through a Pro Tools HD setup at 96k. A meter was used to try to keep levels pretty even and I tried to play the drums as consistently as possible doing the same beat.
Firstly, the Portico's with the silk out held its own pretty well against the API's. The silk option just didn't sound very good on drums. Less definition and punch and a little more smeared sounding. Also, there was a slight drop in output from the pre's w/silk in. The silk out option sounded quite good and I wouldn't hesitate to use them on drums.....but the API's just had that extra little punch, tightness, and focus you would want with drums. I was pleasantly surprised that the Portico's held up that well though.
Now on to the small diaphragms. The room is quite nice for drums. Adequate size and treatment. The drums had a good natural sound in the room. The AKG 460's easily sounded the best in the room. We both agreed hands down. For rock drums the natural EQ of these mic's were best. They just possess that rock sound. Nice and shimmery presence with no off tones to the cymbals. The Octava's MK012's came in second. The highs in these mics are boosted at a lower frequency than in the AKG's so the cymbals didn't quite sound as good....but certainly not bad for $200 pairs. Definitely good enough for rock & roll. Surprisingly, the Peluso CEMC6's didn't impress us for this purpose. Quite a bit flatter in the highs than the other 2 sets which just didn't do it for us in this application. Chuck likes these mics as room mics and I could definitely see why. Perhaps these would be great in a jazz session as well.....or maybe in a smaller room with lower ceilings where the highs often cause more problems. Each mic has an application and perhaps in a home studio with low ceilings these may excel but I hate to speculate.
Lates - Matt

chuckj · 11th January 2006

Matt pretty much gives a good summary. I now have a new gearslut friend right up the road who can be as anal retentive (in a good way!) as I am about this. So I'll add my 2 cents worth. The Peluso's with the Portico may have given the most accurate if not appealing representation. I find in most of my drum tracks and more distant micing applications I will have a tendency to cut around 300-500hz. I have a bit of a slight bump in the room response around that area. I think what the Peluso/Portico combination accomplished was revealing that low mid-bump which slightly obscured the detail and punch we were looking for in the drums. The Octava's most certainly availed themselves well in this test. They had no roll-off but adding a HPF at 70hz made the reponse closer to the 460's although with not quite the detail and "pull" of the 460's. We tracked the 460's and the Peluso's with their 70 and 75 hz rolloff's engaged. For 200 bucks a pair though the Octava's would be hard to beat. In this instance, as in most cases, you get what you pay for I suppose. The 460's still had more of a "professional" sound that was immediately preferable to both of us. Subjective, sure. Fun to do the tests, you bet. As always the YMMV disclaimer applies.

11th January 2006	#1
mltamisin Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 1,172 Thread Starter	Shootout!! Portico, API, AKG, Octava, Peluso Got together with Chuck Jopski at Summerhouse Sound yesterday & tested out several items: AKG 460's, Peluso CEMC6's, and Octava MK012's. We conducted the test relatively well. The mics were tested in Neve Portico's and API 3124's on drum overheads only. We measured the distance from the mic heads to the snare and used the same stereo bar (X/Y setup) for all 3 sets. All were tracked through a Pro Tools HD setup at 96k. A meter was used to try to keep levels pretty even and I tried to play the drums as consistently as possible doing the same beat. Firstly, the Portico's with the silk out held its own pretty well against the API's. The silk option just didn't sound very good on drums. Less definition and punch and a little more smeared sounding. Also, there was a slight drop in output from the pre's w/silk in. The silk out option sounded quite good and I wouldn't hesitate to use them on drums.....but the API's just had that extra little punch, tightness, and focus you would want with drums. I was pleasantly surprised that the Portico's held up that well though. Now on to the small diaphragms. The room is quite nice for drums. Adequate size and treatment. The drums had a good natural sound in the room. The AKG 460's easily sounded the best in the room. We both agreed hands down. For rock drums the natural EQ of these mic's were best. They just possess that rock sound. Nice and shimmery presence with no off tones to the cymbals. The Octava's MK012's came in second. The highs in these mics are boosted at a lower frequency than in the AKG's so the cymbals didn't quite sound as good....but certainly not bad for $200 pairs. Definitely good enough for rock & roll. Surprisingly, the Peluso CEMC6's didn't impress us for this purpose. Quite a bit flatter in the highs than the other 2 sets which just didn't do it for us in this application. Chuck likes these mics as room mics and I could definitely see why. Perhaps these would be great in a jazz session as well.....or maybe in a smaller room with lower ceilings where the highs often cause more problems. Each mic has an application and perhaps in a home studio with low ceilings these may excel but I hate to speculate. Lates - Matt

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11th January 2006	#2
chuckj Gear nut Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 132	Matt pretty much gives a good summary. I now have a new gearslut friend right up the road who can be as anal retentive (in a good way!) as I am about this. So I'll add my 2 cents worth. The Peluso's with the Portico may have given the most accurate if not appealing representation. I find in most of my drum tracks and more distant micing applications I will have a tendency to cut around 300-500hz. I have a bit of a slight bump in the room response around that area. I think what the Peluso/Portico combination accomplished was revealing that low mid-bump which slightly obscured the detail and punch we were looking for in the drums. The Octava's most certainly availed themselves well in this test. They had no roll-off but adding a HPF at 70hz made the reponse closer to the 460's although with not quite the detail and "pull" of the 460's. We tracked the 460's and the Peluso's with their 70 and 75 hz rolloff's engaged. For 200 bucks a pair though the Octava's would be hard to beat. In this instance, as in most cases, you get what you pay for I suppose. The 460's still had more of a "professional" sound that was immediately preferable to both of us. Subjective, sure. Fun to do the tests, you bet. As always the YMMV disclaimer applies.