VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Mike]

What started as a reply to jrodriguez315's post about the difference between the C1 and the B1 microphones got out of hand and took on a life of it's own. Hence the new thread.

I was originally going to post two recordings made on both the B1 and the C1 to show the difference between them. Obviously, this is only really relevant to my voice/pre-amp/studio set up, but still maybe useful.

Anyway, I ended up raiding a large chunk of the mic locker and recorded the same passage on 9 different mics. So I've decided to post these as a kind of blind listening assessment. This says nothing about how any of these mics would work on a different voice in a different studio, but kind of interesting anyway.

The files are all here .

All the mics were recorded using an Apogee Mini-Me (with Softlimit/comp setting 1) into a Mac Mini running DP4. MP3 encoding was done at 320Kbps using Bias Peak.


I'll identify the mics later. The B1 and C1 are in there. Bill, can you take a guess at which is which?

Cheers.

Maiku
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www.michaelrhys.com

"If grass could run, cows would look like tigers."
Murray Wiggle

[Frank F]

Well, this is my critique: LOL (I am picky on my mic selection... so I am not going to identify the mics, only their characteristics).

A: bright, but thin in mid's. I like this microphone, but it would need some adjustments to make it work across the range of the human spoken voice.

B: muddy lows, with some nice feel in presence

C: too bright... too many high's and hot (very sensitive) - picks up clicks too much

D: muddy upper mid's, no real presense, flat

E: Clean, good presense (personal favorite)

F: Solid, but harsh

G: Solid presense, good overall range.. feels good (second favorite)

H: just plain muddy - could be EQ'd to work right but this is definately a female vocal microphone.

I: feels compressed... no real presense, too much upper mids - feels over-processed even though it isn't. This microphone makes me wonder what the actual frequency range is on it? 50Hz to maybe 16500 kHz - maybe???

Now watch "I" will be the most expensive, with the most frequency range, and the best specs of all... ROFL

Toodles,

Frank F
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[steveanthony]

E and G, in that order, get my vote.

[billelder]

Mike,

LOL! Nope. Not gonna do it. Not gonna play. That's like asking "Which brown cow broke wind?"

But, always willing to make a fool of myself, I kinda think E is the C1 and G is the B1.

Great sounding locker you have there!

Bill

[Philip Banks]

A - Too much top around the bottom end.

B - Nice bottom great top, does she have a sister

C - 20khz boost around the Broadstairs region would have lifted this.

D - Foul and satanic. I believe this to be possessed by demons.

E - Crisp an' here be dragons.

F - Quaver an' here be sea monsters.

G - Dual patternated with a robust mid-range, pity about the smell of
brewers yeast. What's all that about?

H - When Mike Batt released a number of songs dressed as a Womble he
used this mic, Mike. If it's good enough for Tobermoray it's good enough
for me.

I - With a 10db pad and an enamel bucket this would sound like Pat Fraley
falling into a bucket of peanut butter. Nice bright EQ.

J - Like the curve of the same name, gets worse before it gets better.

[Jowillie]

Forget the mics....I want a copy of that player interface. Is it Flash?

Oh Yeah.....I'm betting G is your awesome workaday U87.

This is fun and will be enlightening, Thanks.
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Wild Willie Edwards
www.hometowntvtoday.com
http://vomictest.blogspot.com

[Bruce]

Not knowing what you REALLY sound like in person, I'd label E the best for accuracy in low, middle, and high, and G for strong mid to low range presence while maintaining decent highs.

I'd use G when you want to be Mr. Announcer, and E for everything else.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[allensco]

I'll take E and G for $300 Alex...

[donrandall]

I listened last night, but wanted to wait and listen again before posting my choices.

I generally prefer a bias toward being crisp - and for that reason, I really liked the sound of "E" very much. But, "G" is so clean and clear while adding just the right amount of breadth and depth that sounded bigger and fuller without becoming tubby or boomy. Hmmm....I like 'em both very much, but find that I like "G" just a wee bit more.

[CWToo]

[Mike]

[Jowillie]

Thanks for that, Mike. It does interact nicely with the rest of your very clean, professional site.

I gotta ask another stupid question--did you run all mics through an Apogee Mini-Me with its slight built-in compression?

I love these games.
_________________
Wild Willie Edwards
www.hometowntvtoday.com
http://vomictest.blogspot.com

[billelder]

[Tom Greenlee]

My favorites are E and G as well. I actually like G the best It's got just the right amount of low/mid range warmth for my taste without sacrificing the highs. E is my second favorite sounding as good as G but without quite as much warmth.
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TG2

"Communication without intelligence is noise; Intelligence without communication is irrelevant."

Gen. Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps

[Mike]