VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Vocalvoodoo · Last edited by Vocalvoodoo on Fri Sep 16, 2011 5:47 pm; edited 1 time in total

Here's a sample of JJ Audio's modded MXL Cr24 with their premium capsule and electronics mod. Opinions?

I like it well enough but have a hard time having a non-biased opinion of my own voice on a mic, like many. Not to mention my room needs some serious help in the low-mids so I don't trust my monitoring completely.

Thanks!

www.vocalvoodoo.com/JJ_Audio_modded_MXL_Cr24
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Josh Mahler
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Bill Campbell · DC Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 621

I like the sound. It has a nice presence that cuts through. As a producer, I think all voice-overs need some processing. I think this would process well. No vices.

We're you using the high pass filter on the mic? I have the older MXL 2003, not the A model. It's a really nice sounding mic for the cost. Mine seems to have a little more down low, that's why I asked about the HP filter.

How did it sound before the mod?
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Sorry, Josh, not a fan of the sound on this one.

Can't really list the whys and whynots but just not feelin it on this particular mic.

Mike Sommer · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:38 pm Post subject:

It sounds pedestrian, and rather dull.
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Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

SkinnyJohnny · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:53 pm Post subject:

I'd say stick with the 416!
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Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 10:18 am Post subject:

Thanks for the input guys!

@Bill: No low cut. The lack of low end is positioning which I'm still experimenting with. I'm in a new room so I'm still trying to find the best place to record in this room. Before the mod it was even more thin and peaky sounding. I can't find any of the recordings I had of it before modding. It sounded pretty bad, IMO. Maybe this is a case of trying to polish a turd.

I'm with you Rob, I'm just not feeling it. Mike, agreed. I'm trying to like it so I don't feel like I wasted money, but maybe I just have to accept the fact.

Here is another file.

www.vocalvoodoo.com/Cr24-2.wav

I tried to find the most balanced spot in this room frequency wise. I'm telling you, I'm realizing even more how important proper room treatment is. While I do have super-chunks and 704 traps in the corners along with the first reflection points treated, there is still much more work to be done. Move the mic an inch and the sound can change quite drastically.

With that said, luckily one of the GIK Acoustics guys are local so he's going to come over and help me set everything up correctly in addition to putting up more traps and panels if needed.

EDIT: I want to add one more thing. The capsule is turned sveral degrees so it's off-center. I'm assuming that could cause some "weirdness" in the sound by creating unintended reflections in the head-basket?
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:39 am Post subject:

Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:47 pm Post subject:

I should have some time tonight to take pics and make a drawing. I appreciate you looking at them, Mike.

I took the mic apart and turned the capsule, but it went right back to where it was after I put it back together. It is an MXL after all, so I'm not surprised. I suppose at that price point you're not paying for great QC!
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Josh Mahler
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:57 pm Post subject:

Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:34 pm Post subject:

I tried the bailing wire but that didn't help. I also lowered the capsule a bit. Unfortunately that didn't help bring out low end at all. Angry

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Bish · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:12 pm Post subject:

Interesting information here. I have the Cr24/2003a and was at one time considering the OktavaMod upgrade... but the cost of the mod is not insignificant (best part of $400). I got to thinking that would buy me a lot of OC703 & burlap! The last time I applied Mike's oft repeated advice to my recording space, the improvements were noticeable. I'm realizing that the best $400 mod to a $200 mic is in the room, and not in the mic.

Cheers
peter
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Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:33 pm Post subject:

I wasn't able to snap picks tonight and get all the dimensions of the room. It's a funky "L" shaped basement room with lots of nooks and crannies, but will be able to get all dimensions today and draw up something that is hopefully halfway passable.

If interested, frequency response and waterfall graph pics from Fuzz Measure are below. IK's ARC mic was used at the mix position pointed at the ceiling.

Frequency Response

(blue line is the right monitor)

Waterfall
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Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:30 pm Post subject:

Alright, Mike. Here's a link to the pics and sketch with dimensions.

pics

The pics are a little dark (phone camera), and most all my panels are black so it's a bit hard to tell what's what.

The front corners both have a 2'x4'x4" OC 703 panel straddling the top of the corner with 2'-9" of 26" across super-chunked acoustic cotton on the bottom of the corner. The cotton is covered in each corner by a OC 703 2'x4'x2" panel.

The window is covered by 3, side by side, OC 703 2'x4'x4" panels.

The panels on the front side walls are OC 703 2'x4'x2" panels.

Both panels on the fireplace are OC 703 2'x4'x4".

The cloud is four pieces of OC 703 2'x4'x2" panels sitting on top of a 4'x4'x1" piece of OC 705.

Back wall has 4 OC 703 1'x4'x4" panels. I might actually use those to treat the support beam the runs acros the ceiling behind me.

And finally, the pieces on the guitar wall are spare acoustic cotton I had which are 1'x3.5'x3".

When I need to record, I just pull down one of the window panels, put it on a stand. Along with the existing panel that's on a stand, I create a 'V' with the mic in the middle. That actually does a really nice job of killing the reflections from the little area by the bathroom and stairs.

It's not a pretty set-up, but it's a rental house so I can't "do it right" yet.

One final thing, the opposite sides of both the back and right walls are unfinished, so I was thinking of filling them in with acoustic cotton.
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:05 pm Post subject:

You're water falls tell the story. You need a ton more treatment.

You're front corner traps are not nearly thick enough. You need a minimum of 6". It just so happens that if you have 6" of 2x4' panels straddling the corner you have enough to make superchunks.

The chunk in the rear corner looks like cotton. This material my not be dense enough. Even as a listening space there is not enough treatment in this room.

There is a lot of comb filter eco in the graphs and some deep nulls.

What mic did you use to test this room??

Over all you need a lot more treatment and a plan of attack.
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Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

Vocalvoodoo · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:07 pm Post subject:

I used the measurement mic that comes with IK Multimedia's ARC. (Bad investment, despite the glowing reviews, IMO)

Yeah, it's in pretty bad shape. Am I correct in assuming that the foundation walls make the problem even worse?

I've also noticed that when I push the volume of my monitors to moderate levels the stereo image shifts to the right.

I want to get this fixed, but I'm probably not going the DIY route this time. Too much time spent and prefab just looks a lot better. While it costs more going prefab, the extra cost is well worth it to me this time around.

No wonder each mic I buy never sounds quite right, not to mention mixing in this room, and my previous one, is an absolute PITA!

What do you suggest for treatment?
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Josh Mahler
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