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05-26-2019, 07:42 PM
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#1
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Mic choice
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
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
Last edited by kirk1701; 05-26-2019 at 08:37 PM.
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05-26-2019, 08:38 PM
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#2
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 7,569
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preferred the 2nd mic.
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05-26-2019, 09:01 PM
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#3
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 201
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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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05-26-2019, 09:29 PM
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#4
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Thanks for the replies! Keep em coming!
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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05-26-2019, 10:12 PM
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#5
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Northeast Michigan
Posts: 3,460
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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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05-27-2019, 09:13 AM
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#6
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Germany
Posts: 1,130
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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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05-27-2019, 10:19 AM
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#7
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Belgium
Posts: 5,246
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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
__________________
In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell
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05-27-2019, 11:26 AM
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#8
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 12,769
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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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05-27-2019, 11:27 AM
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#9
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 12,769
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cyrano
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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SM7B's don't lack highs. I love mine.
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05-27-2019, 11:53 AM
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#10
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coachz
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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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've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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05-27-2019, 12:12 PM
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#11
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 12,769
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kirk1701
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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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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05-27-2019, 01:23 PM
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#12
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coachz
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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Defeats the purpose of the exercise to my mind.
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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05-28-2019, 10:43 AM
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#13
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 3,201
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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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05-28-2019, 01:29 PM
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#14
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Philbo King
#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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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.
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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05-28-2019, 03:53 PM
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#15
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Missouri, USA
Posts: 48
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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.
Last edited by rainydayshirts; 05-28-2019 at 03:55 PM.
Reason: addition
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05-28-2019, 05:07 PM
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#16
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 201
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I still like #3 although yes it could be turned up some more.
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05-28-2019, 07:02 PM
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#17
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rainydayshirts
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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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
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
Last edited by kirk1701; 05-28-2019 at 07:22 PM.
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05-30-2019, 09:08 AM
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#18
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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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.
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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06-03-2019, 07:23 AM
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#19
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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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
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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06-03-2019, 08:13 PM
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#20
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Mortal
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Wickenburg, Arizona
Posts: 14,047
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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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06-04-2019, 07:44 AM
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#21
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Ontario
Posts: 1,676
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pipelineaudio
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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Good talk. yikes.
__________________
"I've never trusted Klingons and I never will. I can never forgive them for the death of my boy."
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