Old 05-26-2019, 07:42 PM   #1
kirk1701
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I have a hunch that one of my vocal mics is a terrible match for my voice. I need your help to confirm my theory.

So I did a karaoke-style test. I'm attaching a link to a drop box folder with three wavs. I just need you to tell me which you prefer: 1, 2, or 3.

I won't reveal which is which until after a good number of votes are in.

It's all unscientific and certainly not blind. I did try to set the levels as equal as possible. There's also a brickwall limiter on the master buss. No eq or compression on the vocal tracks.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xayfj8oaq...C5W8dL-wa?dl=0
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Old 05-26-2019, 08:38 PM   #2
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preferred the 2nd mic.
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Old 05-26-2019, 09:01 PM   #3
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I like the third one ("love 3.wav") because it's less sibilant and picks up less "resonances".

Last edited by poplomop; 05-26-2019 at 09:22 PM. Reason: typo
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Old 05-26-2019, 09:29 PM   #4
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Thanks for the replies! Keep em coming!
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Old 05-26-2019, 10:12 PM   #5
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My first reaction to #3 is that it didn't have the oomph that the other two had but listening for a second time through, I like #3 BECAUSE it doesn't have that oomph. It sounded very clean. If I had a second choice I'd go with #2.
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:13 AM   #6
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#3 misses a lot of important high frecuencies.
#1 also doesn't sound very nice on the high end.

I would go with #2
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Old 05-27-2019, 10:19 AM   #7
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I'd go with 2 too...

1. Is harsh. NT1a?
2. Is the more balanced one.
3. Lacks some high. SM7b?

It's almost as if someone was playing with high-band EQ
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Old 05-27-2019, 11:26 AM   #8
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Nice job !

Mic one my fav. Really nice sound. You can even boost the overall vocal a dB or 2.
Mic two second fav because it has a bit less highs but still good sound.
Mic three I don't like because it's very muted sounding on the highs.

Monitoring here with Rokit 8 monitors and 10" Rokit sub.

I strongly encourage you to ask each user how they monitored because you don't want people telling you something sounds a way and find out they listened on a cell phone.
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Old 05-27-2019, 11:27 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cyrano View Post
I'd go with 2 too...

1. Is harsh. NT1a?
2. Is the more balanced one.
3. Lacks some high. SM7b?

It's almost as if someone was playing with high-band EQ
SM7B's don't lack highs. I love mine.
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Old 05-27-2019, 11:53 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coachz View Post
Nice job !

Mic one my fav. Really nice sound. You can even boost the overall vocal a dB or 2.
Mic two second fav because it has a bit less highs but still good sound.
Mic three I don't like because it's very muted sounding on the highs.

Monitoring here with Rokit 8 monitors and 10" Rokit sub.

I strongly encourage you to ask each user how they monitored because you don't want people telling you something sounds a way and find out they listened on a cell phone.
Thanks! Good point about the monitoring! If listeners wish to share their playback system, it certainly would be helpful.

I should reiterate I have not eq'd or compressed anything. All three are straight in/straight out. Pultecs exist is all I'm saying.
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Old 05-27-2019, 12:12 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kirk1701 View Post
Thanks! Good point about the monitoring! If listeners wish to share their playback system, it certainly would be helpful.

I should reiterate I have not eq'd or compressed anything. All three are straight in/straight out. Pultecs exist is all I'm saying.
I you ride the fader with volume automation then you can push the first parts up a bit more as the later vocals get louder on their own.
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Old 05-27-2019, 01:23 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coachz View Post
I you ride the fader with volume automation then you can push the first parts up a bit more as the later vocals get louder on their own.
Defeats the purpose of the exercise to my mind.
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Old 05-28-2019, 10:43 AM   #13
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#1 best
#3 clean (though a bit too quiet in the mix)
#2 too upfront, too sibilant

There are things to consider in a mic shootout like this. One is getting the same LUFS level on all tests for the vocal tracks. Another is using an identical singing technique (mic distance, mic position in the room, etc.).
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Old 05-28-2019, 01:29 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Philbo King View Post
#1 best
#3 clean (though a bit too quiet in the mix)
#2 too upfront, too sibilant

There are things to consider in a mic shootout like this. One is getting the same LUFS level on all tests for the vocal tracks. Another is using an identical singing technique (mic distance, mic position in the room, etc.).
I DID that. LUFS identical on all three.

Same take on #1 and #2. I set them up side by side and sang.

#3 is a different take, but same position in the room.

You're hearing the actual differences between the three: loudness, eq, compression, etc. I added nothing in post.

Loudness is the same (barring human error) on all.
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Old 05-28-2019, 03:53 PM   #15
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Any chance of getting the vox by themselves? For a better A, B, C, comparison.

#2 would be my preference on a once through listen of all 3.

#1 comes in 2nd.

#3 sounds like it has more low-end coloration.

Curious what pre-amp, interface, etc. is being used. Impedance of each mic. Whether one or more of the mics has variable impedance.

Also, somewhat off topic, I dig your vocals. Sounds sort of like a jazz/blues singer singing lounge music.

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Old 05-28-2019, 05:07 PM   #16
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I still like #3 although yes it could be turned up some more.
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Old 05-28-2019, 07:02 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainydayshirts View Post
Any chance of getting the vox by themselves? For a better A, B, C, comparison.

#2 would be my preference on a once through listen of all 3.

#1 comes in 2nd.

#3 sounds like it has more low-end coloration.

Curious what pre-amp, interface, etc. is being used. Impedance of each mic. Whether one or more of the mics has variable impedance.

Also, somewhat off topic, I dig your vocals. Sounds sort of like a jazz/blues singer singing lounge music.
Compliments are never off topic lol!

Interface is a Tascam US-600. Recorded straight in. I think giving too much info about mics will bias the experiment. I wanted bare ears. As if you were listening on the radio or iPod.

I can provide vox only link, for sure:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xayfj8oaq...C5W8dL-wa?dl=0
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Old 05-30-2019, 09:08 AM   #18
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Here's the lineup:

1. CAD GXL2200 modded with RK-47 capsule.

2. AT 2020

3. Apex 205 ribbon w. Triton Fethead. I've removed the internal wind screen on the front side, so it's a little clearer than stock.
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Old 06-03-2019, 07:23 AM   #19
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My conclusions:

This was a helpful experiment.

I did learn that something about #1 (modded CAD MXL2200) is unflattering to my "head voice." That could be the internal HPF, the room I'm singing in, or the circuit. It would seem that even with the capsule mod, it's not a good choice for my voice. Perhaps it will favour others.

I learned that #2 (AT 2020) is the best choice 95-98% of the time. A couple listeners noted some sibilance. I usually record through a GAP Pre73jr, often with a Mooer Yellow Comp in the insert. The idea being to soften the highs somewhat. So all good there.

The Apex 205 ribbon (#3) is a bit of a wild card. It is a dark, nearly muffled mic, even with the Fethead attached. That said, it does pick up a surprising range of frequency that the right EQ can really bring out. Whenever I use this mic (often on guitar amps), I do so knowing I'm going to have to boost the highs a certain amount in the mix.

(I suspect that when these mics were designed, recordings were being made in much livelier rooms than we're used to hearing. I'm thinking of Studio A at Capitol or United in LA. Abbey Road and Decca were also big, airy rooms. The ribbon mic is a self-contained iso booth/filter, so the singer could perform in the same space as the orchestra.)

For this experiment, my favourite choice was #3. Here it is with processing. Manual tuning with ReaTune, eq, and a bit of tape compression/saturation). V-Comp is probably on the busses. Verb is a chamber IR from Reaper Stash. I can't remember who uploaded it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gptfo3yvsj...ibbon.wav?dl=0
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Old 06-03-2019, 08:13 PM   #20
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My favorite mic is: I don't give a shit. The source quality was high enough that I wouldn't in any way hesitate to record it with an sm57 or some MXL whatever and then move onto a decision that actually mattered.
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Old 06-04-2019, 07:44 AM   #21
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Quote:
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My favorite mic is: I don't give a shit. The source quality was high enough that I wouldn't in any way hesitate to record it with an sm57 or some MXL whatever and then move onto a decision that actually mattered.
Good talk. yikes.
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