Blind Tests?

charleslee · 29th October 2003

Greetings,

Sorry for this repeated question, but i hope i can get some comments here.

I would like to perform some blind tests for some mics and convertors again.

I am wondering if it is a fair test if i set up a single speaker in my recording booth, feed it a mono signal from a CD player (playing maybe some CD with vocals and guitars, ie. Eagles?), and then perform my various mic & convertor tests instead of getting someone in to play an acoustic guitar and do some vocals?

What do you think?

Thanks and Regards,
[Charles]

C.Lambrechts · 29th October 2003

glad to see you want to go through the trouble of doing some blind tests to start with .... most people just rely on external opinions these days.

That said ... the speaker setup is a start ... but I would still bring in the guitar player ... the idea is to record new stuff right .... not a CD that's allready finished and processed to sound at it's best. Makes more sence to do it with fresh material, possibly music style related to what you want to do with it .... no ???

Dot · 29th October 2003

Having done a bunch of different listening tests, I'd say no, you can't just play a CD through a speaker into mic. You need real live source material. Even playing a pre-recorded vocal track or acoustic track out through a speaker into mics doesn't work.

One thing you could do is record an electric guitar dry, and send that recorded signal out to an amp. Use that amp as source for your mics.

charleslee · 30th October 2003

Thnx guys, for the comments.

I thought of using the "speakers method" so that

1) I can get a consistent "performance" for all tests
2) my recording booth is small (about 7 by 10 feet) and setting up a few different mics to pick up similar "sweet spots" at the same time might not be possible

But, then i just thought of a little "flaw". The speaker/monitor i have on hand is either the Alesis M1 Active or the Genelecs 1029A without the sub.

The M1 Active will be too boomy, and the 1029A will be lacking in lows, so it might not work for me after all.

I'm not sure if the mini compo/hi-fi set i have is just as bad? u know, those with bass control, specific "EQs" type?

Another thing, if i were to get an acoustic guitarist, unless he is real good, i'm not sure if every two performance will be the same. as in same "strength" in plucking or struming the strings, etc..

As for micing up guitar amps, to start with, i do not have access to them at the moment, and the mics i use are condensors, so not sure even if i can get hold of an amp, will it blow the condensors since my room is not very big for distant miking.

anyway, i'm using pro tools (LE) to record the tests. if i manage to get a fairly good mono speaker, should i feed 1khz tone and pink / white noise to calibrate the mic's pickup/input levels before every tests, so that the input levels and settings are almost fairly consistent?

thanks guys for your input.

Regards,
[Charles]

29th October 2003	#1
charleslee Gear maniac Joined: Jan 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 196 Thread Starter	Blind Tests? Greetings, Sorry for this repeated question, but i hope i can get some comments here. I would like to perform some blind tests for some mics and convertors again. I am wondering if it is a fair test if i set up a single speaker in my recording booth, feed it a mono signal from a CD player (playing maybe some CD with vocals and guitars, ie. Eagles?), and then perform my various mic & convertor tests instead of getting someone in to play an acoustic guitar and do some vocals? What do you think? Thanks and Regards, [Charles] __________________ www.tworooms.com

29th October 2003	#2
C.Lambrechts Lives for gear Joined: May 2002 Location: Ans (Liege) Belgium Posts: 3,286	glad to see you want to go through the trouble of doing some blind tests to start with .... most people just rely on external opinions these days. That said ... the speaker setup is a start ... but I would still bring in the guitar player ... the idea is to record new stuff right .... not a CD that's allready finished and processed to sound at it's best. Makes more sence to do it with fresh material, possibly music style related to what you want to do with it .... no ??? __________________ Chris Lambrechts

29th October 2003	#3
Dot Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2002 Location: on the beach in warm, sunny SC Posts: 872	Having done a bunch of different listening tests, I'd say no, you can't just play a CD through a speaker into mic. You need real live source material. Even playing a pre-recorded vocal track or acoustic track out through a speaker into mics doesn't work. One thing you could do is record an electric guitar dry, and send that recorded signal out to an amp. Use that amp as source for your mics. __________________ Dan Richards Yackin' about gear and recording techniques at http://studioforums.com

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30th October 2003	#4
charleslee Gear maniac Joined: Jan 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 196 Thread Starter	Thnx guys, for the comments. I thought of using the "speakers method" so that 1) I can get a consistent "performance" for all tests 2) my recording booth is small (about 7 by 10 feet) and setting up a few different mics to pick up similar "sweet spots" at the same time might not be possible But, then i just thought of a little "flaw". The speaker/monitor i have on hand is either the Alesis M1 Active or the Genelecs 1029A without the sub. The M1 Active will be too boomy, and the 1029A will be lacking in lows, so it might not work for me after all. I'm not sure if the mini compo/hi-fi set i have is just as bad? u know, those with bass control, specific "EQs" type? Another thing, if i were to get an acoustic guitarist, unless he is real good, i'm not sure if every two performance will be the same. as in same "strength" in plucking or struming the strings, etc.. As for micing up guitar amps, to start with, i do not have access to them at the moment, and the mics i use are condensors, so not sure even if i can get hold of an amp, will it blow the condensors since my room is not very big for distant miking. anyway, i'm using pro tools (LE) to record the tests. if i manage to get a fairly good mono speaker, should i feed 1khz tone and pink / white noise to calibrate the mic's pickup/input levels before every tests, so that the input levels and settings are almost fairly consistent? thanks guys for your input. Regards, [Charles]