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cyclometh
King's Row
Joined: 06 Aug 2010
Posts: 1051
Location: Olympia, WA
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 Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:47 pm Post subject: Mic Shootout! |
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Hi folks- two quick samples, for your feedback. I know which one I prefer but I'd like to solicit feedback from some better-trained ears than mine. 
Both are the same passage from Nine Princes in Amber by Zelazny, recorded using Cubase 5.2 with no compression, effects or anything. The interface is a MicPort Pro, used for both mics, which were positioned identically and levels were set the same way for both.
Some notes: This was just done sitting at my desk for comparison purposes. You might hear my chair creak once or twice. 
http://soundcloud.com/cyclometh/mic1
http://soundcloud.com/cyclometh/mic2
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whalewtchr
Cinquecento
Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 582
Location: Savannah, GA
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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#1 sounds good to my ear.
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cyclometh
King's Row
Joined: 06 Aug 2010
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Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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| whalewtchr wrote: | | #1 sounds good to my ear. |
Thank you kindly for listening and providing your feedback.
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
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Monk
King's Row
Joined: 16 Dec 2008
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Location: Nestled in the Taconic Hills
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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I agree, I like the sound of Mic #1 better, it seems to suit you. Mic 2 sounds, ok, but doesn't have the presence of 1.
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Fran McClellan
The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:17 am Post subject: |
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Definitely #1
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Bruce
Boardmeister
Joined: 06 Jun 2005
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Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 7:29 am Post subject: |
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+1 for #1.
B
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:34 am Post subject: |
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Another +1 for Mic One. Mic Two is sibilant. less body, although somewhat defined or focused.
So what are the mics?
F2
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Bish
3.5 kHz
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 3738
Location: Lost in the cultural wasteland of Long Island
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:48 am Post subject: |
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+1 Mic one. I agree with Frank's comments regarding body and sibilance. Mic one sounds more natural, with #2, I can hear the mic (if you know what I mean).
and they are.... ?
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls. |
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cyclometh
King's Row
Joined: 06 Aug 2010
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Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:53 am Post subject: |
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Mic one is my trusty Cascade M20u, a large diphraghm condenser that was my first mic purchase. The second is a Neumann KM 184, which a friend of mine is looking to sell- for a great price. However, I tend to agree with what's been said- the Cascade is better with my voice, and a small-diaphragm condenser isn't a great choice for me.
Thank you all for the feedback!
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heyguido
MMD
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 2507
Location: RDU, the Geek Capitol of the South
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:56 am Post subject: |
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Mic 1, without a doubt, is superior. Warmer presence, less brittle.
And the identity of the winner? The loser?
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Monk
King's Row
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:09 am Post subject: |
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Cory, don't you love when that happens.
That particular Neumann sounds great on acoustic guitar though, really captures the winding of the string. But on your voice... your first choice is great.
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cyclometh
King's Row
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Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:10 am Post subject: |
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The preferred choice is the Cascade- mic one. The Neumann is a lovely little mic but not for me, it would seem, despite the fact that new it's more than four times the cost of the Cascade.
Goes to show yet again that the more expensive gear is not always the most optimal for a given need.
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
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cyclometh
King's Row
Joined: 06 Aug 2010
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Location: Olympia, WA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:13 am Post subject: |
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| Monk wrote: | Cory, don't you love when that happens.
That particular Neumann sounds great on acoustic guitar though, really captures the winding of the string. But on your voice... your first choice is great. |
Aye. In fact the person who owns it used it for micing his acoustic guitar, and I knew it might not really work for my voice, but I am glad I tried it out. Couldn't pass up the chance to try out an eight hundred dollar mic and sometimes you get surprised.
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
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Location: Park City, Utah
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:48 am Post subject: |
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Is the Neumann the black or silver version? Most pencil mics of this design are omni and hypercardioid responses, although the black version is cardoid. These are great for overheads of semi-near-field pickups. The KM184's however lack any presence in distances of under 24 inches.
Like most pencil mics this is a small diaphragm back plate electret, which means it is normally lacking much body in proximity.
Frank F
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Marik
Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 9
Location: SLC
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Frank F wrote: | Is the Neumann the black or silver version? Most pencil mics of this design are omni and hypercardioid responses, although the black version is cardoid.
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No, it is not the color, but model number is the polar response designation. The KM183 is omni, KM184 cardioid, and KM185 is a hypercardioid.
| Frank F wrote: | Like most pencil mics this is a small diaphragm back plate electret, which means it is normally lacking much body in proximity.
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No, they are not on both accounts. In other words:
1) KM184 use true condenser capsules (not electret) based on KM84 design. Both models share similar membranes and "grid grooved" backplates. Their main difference is the size of the "back slots" on the body (just check the pics of each to see the difference), which defines the high freq response.
In the end, I'd say the KM184 is strictly instrumental microphone and I would not expect it to give good results for VO applications. But on the other hand, most of the commercial microphones would not work well for VO, as they were not specifically designed for that application--that market would be way too small for any profitable investment. This is besides the point, each voice is so unique that it makes much more sense just to custom tune the mics for each specific voice.
2) The size of the diaphragm affects "body" or "proximity" only "as far as it goes" (for further reading please refer to the article from Shure website I posted earlier in another thread:
http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/documents/webcontent/pdf_ea_dual_diaphragm_mics.pdf
Also, the "electret" is only a word to describe how the capsule is being polarized, so it has nothing to do with capsule's sonics.
Hope it helps.
Best, M
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Samar Audio & Microphone Design
www.samaraudiodesign.com
The Art of Ribbon Microphones--design, repairs, re-ribboning, modifications, motor machining and fabrication, transformers, and more... |
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