I haven't had experience myself but a friend of mine really likes it.

He says that you need to watch out for reflections such as from a control room window, compared to say an M-49, but within that constraint in a good studio, the C-800G sounds absolutely superb.

I've heard GREAT reports on this, many directing it usage to exactly what you want if for - Female pop vocals.
I look forward to futher comments, I would like one from the reports I have heard.
:)

I've used it alot on vocals. I've never used the others on your list. Is it worth what is it these days $4000? No. On the right person its magic on the wrong person its ok. By the way, I only use it in omni mode. In cardi, the proximity effect made the mic too cloudy. The best thing I can say about it, is that if you like that modern, breathy, almost on sibilance modern pop vocal sound, this is your mic. If you want that larger than life type of sound, than keep looking elsewhere. When it works on the right person, you use less eq when mixing the lead.

It's OK.... but for that kind of money it's frighteningly disappointing. Not once have I found it to be my first choice, unless all the other available mics were complete crap. For that "modern, breathy" sound thrillfactor suggested, I'd almost rather have a 87, or even try a 414 before this $4000 air conditioner.

YOMV.

As a word of caution, this mic is really picky about its pre. It sounds great with my ISA215 and Vipre and quite crappy and unuseable with everything else.
I've posted this before about a year ago on other forums and found others withe the same opinion. It's an impedence thing. It does sound great with the right combination though, very smooth without alot of sibilance. I've had great results.
Ted.

Glad you asked.

Just this week Mercenary Audio let me borrow a bunch of mics. I got a few from Sam Ash Also.

The Mics were:

1. Sony C800G - $6,000
2. Soundelux Elux 251 - $4,500
3. Soundelux U99 - $2,250
4. Soundelux U95s - $3,250
5. Soundelux U195 - $1,125
6. Brauner Valvet Tube - $2,500
7. TLM 103 (My Old Mic) - $699

First we tried (four of us) Acoustic Gt.
Blind Test.
They all sounded good but the U99 and the Brauner Valvet stood out.

The TLM was the worst and the Sony was second to worst.

Then I cut Vocals with Darryl Hall and the U99 and the Valvet were the best again.

The Sony, TLM and the 251 were the worst.

I do mostly female vocals but I haven't tested that yet.

The Sony did not suck, but being that it was the most expensive in the bunch it clearly is overpriced.

I actually found the 251 less than impressive. I was rooting for that one.

Also to our ears the U195 sounded better than the U95s. Considering that price difference I would say the U195 was the winner for price/performance. It came in third both times.

I'll post more as I go.

Hey Produceher, which preamp did you use to test the mics out? I think Ted made a good point, the SonyC800G is real picky when it comes to pre's. I had the best luck with an old API 312. Also like I stated earlier, the mic sounds terrible in cardioid. In my opinion all mics designed in the last 30 years suck when they are in a cardioid polar pattern. I think its that lets make the latest "U87" which to me is the biggest mistake in mic designs. First of all, the U87 to me sounds better in omni(no pop filter of course, as well as a 414 on vocals). Also the whole proximity thinking thing is killing the clarity of modern mics on vocals. Lastly the fact that a lot of the potential mic buyers have small rooms to work in, sways the designers in their designs. If anyone here recorded vocals to analog(or still does), the sound of the vocals hitting tape, influenced your mic choice. Its funny in the old days we wanted clarity on vocals so much that we screwed around with everything(raise your hand if you did any weird things with the dolbySR to get a little more clarity). The problem is that people forgot some of these things and they are still trying to do things the old way. How many of you young cats heard, well if you do vocals the mics to get is either a U87 or a 414? Digital exposes everything, with extreme clarity(I'm taking into consideration you have good converters). I think that's part of the reasons that the U87 and the 414 fell out of favor with most people. Just an opinion.

I totally agree with y'all that the C800 is seldom the right choice but can occasionally be perfect and it is finicky when it comes to pres. I think almost all mics will sound different in various pres, or are we just hearing the sound of different pres? I've always said I'd rather have a decent selection of garden variety mics,(87/fet47/414EB's ect.), and a lot of choices in pres, as opposed to a lot of exotic mics and just a couple of pre choices. What do you guys think?

The 800G is particulary strange about its pre. Out of all my mics this is the only one that can sound really bad if it doesn't mate well with the pre. Others the color may change but they are still useable. I don't understand why this is with this mic. In some cases it has been the only mic that's worked for me though. I do like my SPA .9 67 better most of the time. I'll tell ya what the Manley Ref Card with the Buzz MA2 is a great combo also!
Thanks,
Ted.

Thanks for the mic shoot out reviews Producher keep em coming!

All that remains is for you to give me Mandy More's private number and we are all set! :)

THETHRILLFACTOR

I also hate the U87 and 414. Those mics always fool the amateurs. Although I must admit to being sucked into the cardioid thing.
I'm going to play with Omni more.

The tests were all in Cardioid. Neve 1272 mic pre (Brent Averill).

Julien

Actually I noticed the opposite. She's not dumb. But she appears very young. I've worked with dozens of girls in her age group who seem 25. Mandy actually acts her age.

She's really cool though. Nice. Very polite and very hard on herself. She is a great singer with great pitch. She took direction well and added her own flavor to the song.

I did not do that Candy song, though.

Just "Crush".

I used my TLM103 with a Neve Pre, Daking EQ, Distressor, Apogee converters into Pro Tools.

Love the Forum Jules

Thanks amigo!

I've been tracking your cool postage on the Digidesign Users Group for quite some time now...

V cool that you hang here...

Pr...OPS!

:)

Produceher

Good luck with that combo, Neve and SonyC800G. The Sony was one of the first mics I've ever tried that didn't sound great with a Neve(1073). I think it might sound better though with pre's that push the sound more forward. I do remember once using one at Sony studios and asking the assistants there what pre's did they normally use with it, and they all said Neve's. I was huh?

I think my friend was probably using an SSL or a John Hardy preamp.

I recently had a chance to listen to the C800G alongside a Soundelux 251 through a Buzz Audio Pre. I really liked the Sony's smooth yet airy quality. For most of my work, the Sony looks appealing, but not so good for the old pocketbook. Thanks again for all the input.

if you havent compared these mics to the lawson 251 your doing your ears and pocket book a disservice

Found this old thread and thought this was a good place to drop a fine example in

Peluso VTB vs the C800G:

Just a little tease towards audiokid..
Remember? It was Dirk Brauner who choose the vovox as the best accompanying cable for his excellent mics...
;-))

+1 for the Brauner. I use it with great pleasure for years, now.
It stands up to an U87, anytime.

Is it just my imagination or do those voice recordings sound less than good?
And is it the pop filter making extra wind noise or is it her nose poking it?
lol... I would not want to keep the tracks..

K....It does seem a bit over the top breathy doesnt it. I think its her technique. Or maybe they've got the pre so hot they've got nowhere to go. The compressed sample is better.

I hear the faults you are both talking about but see past that because I know this is only a quick example for demonstration purposes using the web and most likely limited time. But yes, if you are going to do something, do it right :) But, I still hear past that, quite like the singer here and it does serve its purpose from my POV which are the two mics over a compressed format.
I like hearing how raw sounds and then how it sounds put together. Kudo's to her for the example and doing it for SoundPure.
Plus, it is fun to occasionally resurface old topics here. I remember reading most of them. There is so much great info.

re poking fun.... Rainer, please don't stop. I'm pretty sure you and I are on par and when not, I am looking up to you.
Yup, I know Dirk chooses VOVOX and if I was high end like that, I would do the same. I mean, you don't put plastic seats in a Ferrari even though plastic or leather serves the same purpose. I think this is what the disbelievers are basically saying.

I do believe VOVOX are most likely one of the finest cable available but I don't think they are money well spent for 98% of the world population of studios today. I would have to know there was nothing more I could possibly do to my audio chain before I would buy them at this point in history. If the public at large starts demanding higher end sounding music ( like the old days) maybe then it would it make financial sense to invest in VOVOX. I think its a do it all the way or pass as well. Buying one VOVOX cable IMHO and the rest of your studio is Mogami... pretty silly.

All being said, noticing the improvement with accousound already, I'm pretty certain VOVOX is also a noticeable improvement.

Hey, Chris.. ( btw, a healthy, sucessful and Happy New Year to ya all...)
Please imagine a lot of ;-) in all my comments about cables. I am not actually teasing ..I am just pulling yar leg...
The quotation for the cables is still on its way to me, though...

Nah, if you want to show the difference between 2 mics, it needs to be the best quality recording you can manage.
Otherwise you are up to a lot of mockery from engineers who can do better with what they already have.
I like the singer, though, just not her nose on the screen..to close....

Hm... the occasional youtube track could make for some interesting and helpful topics. I never look at any of them like that and see your points. I think I'll look for more and maybe they will be worth dissecting and talking about.

SoundPure has a lot. We could do a "What's wrong with this "! I think this would lift the bar for the next generation of youtube production.
Many pro audio dealers are going to start doing these. I think it would be really helpful.

audiokid, post: 360233 wrote: ... I mean, you don't put plastic seats in a Ferrari even though plastic or leather serves the same purpose. I think this is what the disbelievers are basically saying...

Well, we think we are saying that RICH Corinthian leather is just the same as leather. ;)

On the YouTube issue, there have been a lot of really helpful uses of compressed formats in audio and music in general. Comparing two very good mics is probably not one of them. In fact, it sort of works in reverse. It implies that if you work in compressed formats there is not much bang for the buck in high end equipment. Of course, you can put a positive spin on that and note that modest equipment is no barrier to success on YouTube (e.g. The Gregory Bros. and Pamplemouse).

I think that soundpure video was intentionally recorded hot to show how the mics react to pushing. Sounds better at 720p. Nose into pop filter? Meh. I say, Bonzo's squeaky bass drum pedal is much more prominent but it stuck. She's a great singer and the song is nice. A nice change from the radio tripe. Did they ever reveal which mic is which?

hueseph, post: 360286 wrote: I think that soundpure video was intentionally recorded hot to show how the mics react to pushing. Sounds better at 720p. Nose into pop filter? Meh. I say, Bonzo's squeaky bass drum pedal is much more prominent but it stuck. She's a great singer and the song is nice. A nice change from the radio tripe. Did they ever reveal which mic is which?

Hueseph chimes in like a true Canadian musician!!! No need to mention the obvious as we see right past it all and dig in deep to the good stuff. Ya! :tongue:

Just pocking fun and pulling legs back... Its New Years! :biggrin:

I think this is showing how close the VTB compares. I'm pretty certain the engineers at soundpure are not trying to fake, shill gear by being misleading just for the sake of making a deal on youtube.

Jaaa, ...and scanning the farthest horizon of audiokid's Seerightpast land, using a large telescope, you can see 2 empty crates of beer that Bob and myself drunk, before we, disappointed as we were, turned round, since there was nothing to discover that we didn't know, already...
..LOL..

:cool: + :cool:

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