Members fu2jobu Posted January 9, 2011 Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thought it didn't come yesterday (Saturday) but found it at the front door today (we use our back door of our house as the main entrance/exit). So I recorded a medium length clip with 5 different mics. If you feel like it chime in with which mic you think sounds best (or rank them in order of which you prefer). Not exactly live conditions but it's the best I can do over the internet. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1056976 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigjd Posted January 9, 2011 Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 I like the 3rd and 4th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted January 9, 2011 Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 Could you do a more "dry" acappella vocal comparison? It is hard to hear differences with all the delay, echo and guitar going on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 9, 2011 Could you do a more "dry" acappella vocal comparison? It is hard to hear differences with all the delay, echo and guitar going on I thought about that but felt it was better to record using effects as they would be used in a real world situation. The guitar was panned to one side and the vocals to the other so that the vocals can be isolated if you wish. Edit: you may need to download to isolate left and right. If I play the track through soundclick I can't isolate, If I download and then play the tracks are then stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I was able to isolate the vocals without any issues. I can tell some differences; however, there is so much reverb that it is overwhelming IMHO. Additionally, it is difficult to focus on the vocals when the vocals are only in one ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 5 and 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lifeloverwg Posted January 10, 2011 Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 I like #3.2,4 and 5 sound the same to me when I jump back and forth between them. 1 sounds very thick and muddy. All of them could also be affected by how well or differently you sang the track, not to mention that I might choose differently for a different voice, but if I was picking a mic for your voice I would take #3 by far. Winston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 I prefer #4 and #5. I tried to be as impartial as I could, listening to each track quite a few times, but of course I also knew which mics they were. #1 was definately muddy and not in the same class as the other 4. I don't think #2 sounds bad but it did seem to have more slapback from the reverb on my S's. #3 was just a little boomy to my ears on the low parts. At the end of the day I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of the mics from #2 to #5. I think it's a case of it's more the indian than the arrow (and yeah I know I got some work to do on my voice. I have been out of it for too many years now). Anyways, here's the list of which mics they were. 1) Audio Technica ATM29HE2) Shure SM583) Shure Beta 57a4) EV N/D767a5) Shure Beta 58a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 How can you tell??? Those "samples" sounded bloody awful to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 How can you tell??? Those "samples" sounded bloody awful to me. Just what I needed... some good, positive feedback to inspire me to get back to where I used to be... oh wait. No worries, I've got thick skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 F'loG, I could stroke your ego by telling you they sound WONNNNDERFUL,,,, but between you and me, I honestly don't think that would in ANY WAY be helpful to you in the long run. How can you evaluate a mic with a sample like that? It's impossible. Now, if you were asking, "how does this track sound", with the different mics? Well, that might be another story. You've taken the "mic assessment" out of the equation by overloading them with reverb and EQ. I am led to believe that you're looking for a particular sound,,,, (Pink Floyd-ish perhaps),,, but in this case, I firmly believe you need to rethink the depth and quality of the reverb, as currently applied,,, as well as cleaning up the mud in the vocal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 Now, if you were asking, "how does this track sound", with the different mics? Well, that might be another story. You've taken the "mic assessment" out of the equation by overloading them with reverb and EQ. That's all it was really meant to be - which mic do you prefer on this one recording of my voice. Nothing more, nothing less *shrugs* P.S. While there was reverb used I didn't add any EQ or compression Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 P.S. While there was reverb used I didn't add any EQ or compression Sure you did... you just don't know it. Your effects contain a healthy dose of both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 I am glad that you are pleased with the EV. I have always found them easily a winner in an A/B comparison. In my comparisons, I didn't use recordings as you have though. I did them with the PA by listening out front with the vocal dry. Also, there is always the ability to eq different microphones to the tone you want. The real differentiators to me are clarity, warmth, noise rejection/feedback rejection. In order to do a real good comparison, you have to work on the channel eq for each mic to get the best mix you can and then compare them. Also, you really have to use them in a gig environment to see how they are going to work with the whole rig. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your 767. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 I'm surprised at the results. Live, I much prefer the 767a to the Beta58a. I can't recall if I've heard a Beta57a for live vocal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 Also, there is always the ability to eq different microphones to the tone you want. The real differentiators to me are clarity, warmth, noise rejection/feedback rejection.In order to do a real good comparison, you have to work on the channel eq for each mic to get the best mix you can and then compare them. Also, you really have to use them in a gig environment to see how they are going to work with the whole rig. Agreed but I'm not gigging at the moment and only have half a system left. There was/is no way for me to do a real world test with the equipment available to me at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hmmm, could be true. Also going through a few soundcards and conversion to mp3 not sure how that would effect it as well. F'loG, What is your signal chain? FWIW, we tried recording a few practice sessions using a very basic setup; a Zoom H2. We experimented with several different settings, and found that the MP3 format was virtually useless. No articulation, no "air" around the vocals, muddy,,,, you name it. Recording to a WAV setting yielded vastly superior results,,,,, no contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 Input = A&H ZED14->Lexicon MX400->M Audio Delta 44Output = Soundblaster Audigy (will have to try output from the M Audio) Also I am down to using freeware WAV to MP3 convertors. With the A&H Mixer I got Sonar 6 LE which was overdue since I had been using Cakewalk 9. One of the things I lost in the upgrade was the plugin to export from Sonar/Cakewalk to MP3 format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 11, 2011 Members Share Posted January 11, 2011 Input = A&H ZED14->Lexicon MX400->M Audio Delta 44Output = Soundblaster Audigy (will have to try output from the M Audio)Also I am down to using freeware WAV to MP3 convertors. With the A&H Mixer I got Sonar 6 LE which was overdue since I had been using Cakewalk 9. One of the things I lost in the upgrade was the plugin to export from Sonar/Cakewalk to MP3 format. Where is the reverb currently applied? In the ZED 14, or "in-the-box"? Although I'm not familiar with it, I would imagine that using your M-Audio Delta 44 would yield far better results on the output, compared to the SoundBlaster Audigy. That's basically a gaming card, and most likely has a very limited dynamic range, which would explain a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fu2jobu Posted January 12, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 12, 2011 The reverb is currently out of the chain but for the original recordings it was done on the channel insert using a TRS cable. The SoundBlaster doesn't appear to be affecting the recordings. When Exporting the audio clips Sonar either defualts to the MAudio card or more likely doesn't use the soundcard at all. Thei eis a very, very audible difference when listening to music, with a Media Player, through the MAudio Output versus the SoundBlaster. The SoundBlaster serves a vital purpose in that I have 100's of songs setup to use soundfonts samples for Midi Drums, Bass, Piano etc. So for now it stays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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