Help me understand the difference in mikes please!

[trevlyns]

Guys, I've wrestled with this for years and then came across THIS CLIP (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aESQnmaKk9E)

It compares 5 condensers across the price range using the same vocalist, phrase, dynamics etc. Yet, I can't detect any difference.

Now, could be my 60+ year old ears are due for replacement, but can someone here REALLY detect a difference in these 5 mikes?

I sure would appreciate it if you could point out how they differ from each other - albeit ever so slightly. What differences are YOU hearing guys?

I appreciate YouTube is compressed video, but there must be a point to this clip. I just don't see it...

Professional input welcome.

[karbomusic]

I listened to the first two. 2nd is a little more pronounced in the high-end (big deal). That being said, not a single person posting comments under that video would be able to tell you which mic was which consistently without the video telling them which was which. I chuckled quite a bit at the comments and how silly they were. 99% of the mics made are for the job at hand which includes many factors other than shootout specs, not for using those audiophile descriptions like spectral, 3d, upfront, immediate, engaging. pffft. Those are descriptions people use when they can't tell much difference and their imagination takes over. ;)

Its fine to have multiple mics that you know well and which ones work best in which situations but there is much more in making that choice than throwing the mic in front of a female or male singer and calling it a shootout. Dropping back to my comment about mic two being a tad brighter, that might be exactly what is needed in some other mix, in this mix the first mic likely works better as IMHO the bite of the brightness isn't needed in that piano/voice mix, nothing that the vocal needs to cut through etc... Mics are tools and I would never use such descriptions as above when I'm tracking and need to record something.

[TimOBrien]

The point is you shouldn't be comparing anything on YouTube,
as the quality of clips is so low as to make it meaningless.

It's kinda like putting a lawnmower engine in various cars and then
criticizing their performance on the freeway....

[timlloyd]

I think actually, what's more pertinent is being able to flip between each mic during playback, without altering play position which of course isn't possible on YT.

If you can't do that, comparing is much tougher. If the mics sound different, they'll still sound different when lossy compressed.

[ivansc]

I have every studio mic I ever bought apart from my original RodeNT1 which I hated from about a week after I bought it.

Massive differences between even my large condenser mics, and of course the SDCs are different again.

Its a EweToob thing.

And my ears are eight years older than yours and guaranteed to be even more knackered!

[Cosmic]

I have every studio mic I ever bought apart from my original RodeNT1 which I hated from about a week after I bought it.

Massive differences between even my large condenser mics, and of course the SDCs are different again.

Its a EweToob thing.

And my ears are eight years older than yours and guaranteed to be even more knackered!

Hang about, you're 68!

RESPECTAMUNDO MY MAN!!!

That means I've a good 29 years left AT LEAST of this messin!

[viscofisy]

If you haven't read his stuff already,forum member Fran Guidry has a lot of commonsense opinions (IMO) for people like me who want to avoid the pitfalls and want as good a sound as poss - and what results can be realistically expected from spending $1000's on one part of your signal chain (ie mic in this case).

In short,while the $2000 upwards mics may be better,how much better they are has to be in the context of your other gear,your abilities,and both of these in relation to the end listening product/format.

I think that's kinda what you're asking in the OP.

Here's his website,and his side of the story :

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/

[trevlyns]

Sound advice as always (pun intended). :)

I've always read fran's threads with interest and will spend some time perusing his website.

Thanks guys.

[naturalbridge]

I have every studio mic I ever bought apart from my original RodeNT1 which I hated from about a week after I bought it.


A Rode NT1 is basically my only mic (I have an sm57, too) and, while I use it for everything, I’m really not too fond of it.

I think it’s time for a new vocal mic.

[ksor]

My ears are like yours - over 60 years old - I can't hear any difference at all !

Over the years I learned myself to listen to MUSIC instead of lestening to GEAR !

Think back when you were young - oh, what did matter back then was curves, diagrams and specifications ... the music was a minor part of it.

I Denmark we have a saying - translated it sounds like: Beleave/faith can move mountains - concerning gear it should be: Beleave/faith can move money !

One did comment that the Neumann is so fantastic - 2500EUR was removed from his account where it could have been 100EUR !

[trevlyns]

I'm liking your idea of listening to the music and not the gear, ksor.

Thing is, there's just so much choice out there and us bedroom boys need to get the best bang for our buck.

Oh well, maybe the Euro Millions - one day .... :)

[ivansc]

Dear Mr. Bridge,

If you are in the Untied States, might I suggest that you get Michael Joly or one of the others that mod RodeNT1 's to give your mic a sorting?

Apparently they can be made to sound infinitely better than stock with a relatively small cost involved. Please note relatively as in less than buying another mic.

This applies to the original NT not the NTa as far as I know.