i didn't listen to the links. i won't listen to links from RO or for that matter any other audio / recording forums for the simple reasons that 1) music sounds like doo doo on computers and 2) mp3 mp4 blah blah makes music sound like doo doo on computers.

if you load wave files i'll listen. otherwise it's an exercise in futility.

but i will kick the ball.

which one sounds best to you? that's what matters. this all has absolutely zero to do whith what other people think. if that's what you're after go out and invest 10k in a vintage C12 or something of that nature. then we all will be jealous.

as a self recording artist you really need to hone your own decision making skills. that's this whole endeavor is about.

good luck choosing a mic.

which one do you like best?

mmmmmphhhhh! aghhhhhh! suicide ahhhhhhhsh*t!

Should you post the waves, dropbox works great.

Although I try and hear past the degradation, dither and compression errors in soundcloud or other online audio hosts, This is a sample of what Kurt is talking about.

http://recording.org/digital-audio.21/53521-dither-or-distort-listen-decide-yourself.html#post395035

All these shootouts do IMHO is destroy the manufacturers who don't deserve to be included. But if done well, they are entertaining.

actually i like to choose mics by what they look like. lol. howdy

mmmmpph! arghhhhhhh! suicide ahhhhhhhh!

lol, I don't share you opinion on this, but here are some beauties, and a good price too:

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.mxlmics…"]MXL® Microphones - Studio Microphones[/]="http://www.mxlmics…"]MXL® Microphones - Studio Microphones[/]

there are some that look like a U87 !

I had a listen and Mic1a is my favourite. Hope that helps.

Well, I like 2 and 3 as well, depending on your eq. How do they take EQ?

thanks what did you like about it?

Well, Mic1a was clearer but that could be a negative in the Mix. The other two might take EQ better which may or may not be better. If mic1a was too bright in the mix, Mic2 or Mic3 might be better with just a bit of HPF or slight lift in the top end.

This is why these test really serve little purpose. Follow?

ok so how would you choose a mic?

How do they hold out when you belt into them or, sing fast lines? They vary with different preamps and singers too. Or the room you are in?

You'd be better off asking us what track we like best, with music in them.

You may be best off just buying an SM58. Chances are, your room acoustics are less than desirable and therefore, a dynamic mic would serve you much better over a low end condenser or any condenser for that matter.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

there is music in all the tracks, there is acapella first then in a mix.
My room is treated, do you hear a problem?
one of the mics is an sm7 a large dynamic

My apologizes, I only listened to 5 sec on each one. That's about all my brain will remember between each track when comparing. I choose very quickly. No, I didn't listen for room problems. Nothing popped out at me.

Before you share the mics, see if others will chime in.

I'm out for the night.

Cheers!

Okay, I have a few more minutes.

I'll guess:

Mic1a: RODE
Mic2a: Shure
Mic3a: Audio Technica

I personally liked 3 most. It seemed the most balanced of the three. 1 was too brittle to me. 2 was a little too muffled. That being said, it sounded to me like you were way too close to all of the mics. I would have backed away at to at least 10". Part of the tone is delivery and all the examples sounded over all dead to me. Too dead. There's no life there. That's probably due to proximity and partially due the fact that you are holding back. You need to be able to belt it out.

If you backed up a bit and put some more of your cajones into the singing, it will change the sound again so that also renders this kind of pointless. Your vocals in these examples would be fine for a soft ballad but that's not what you were singing.

highriser, post: 395058 wrote: ok so how would you choose a mic?

with my ears. i would listen and then pick which one i thought my voice sounded best with.

thing is, what i think sounds great you might think sounded like ass. that's why i said it's really a choice that should be made by you.

really though, i do like to start with something that looks really cool. that way other people will go;"gee willakeres kurt, that mic sure looks cool!" :biggrin:

best bet would be as audiokid mentioned, an SM58! cheap, sounds good on a lot of things and you can use it as a hammer to build a vocal both (remember to use proper room ratios:))

L. W. Sepmeyer, 1965, 1,00, 1,14, 1,39 ... The Golden Ratio, 1968, 1,00, 1,62, 2, 62. Dolby Lab ... 1,00, 1,49, 2,31. Worst ratio (RPG Inc.) 1,00, 1,07, 1,87 ...

mmmphh! arrghhhhh! suicide ahhhhhh!

ok so here are clips of the mics this time all equidistant and diaphragm facing me completely.
I also used dither to avoid any distortion to the tracks.

If you have time to give your input it would be much appreciated
[="http://soundcloud.com/adammishan/mica-1"]mica-1 by Adam Mishan on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]="http://soundcloud.c…"]mica-1 by Adam Mishan on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]
[[url=http://="http://soundcloud.c…"]Micb-1 by Adam Mishan on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]="http://soundcloud.c…"]Micb-1 by Adam Mishan on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]
[[url=http://[/URL]="http://soundcloud.c…"]micC-1 by Adam Mishan on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]="http://soundcloud.c…"]micC-1 by Adam Mishan on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free[/]

so do i have to be a member of soundcloud to listen? because i can't get those tracks to play.
(edit at a later time)
ok. i said i wasn't going to do this but here goes anyway. (my curiosity got the best of me).

ok so i d/loaded them and to tell the truth i hear a lot of problems none of which would have anything to do with the mics. there's a couple of places where some weird resonances jump out and the sound of the room becomes very evident. pitch and performance distract from the ability to analyze the mics and to be honest i really don't hear much of a difference in any of them. and i got to say "sweet home aba-lama" is about my least favorite rock song in history. if i had a nickel for every time some ignorant drunk slob yelled out "play some skinnard!" i would be able to afford a 2" tape machine and an API. yuck!

nothing personal Adam but i think you are stressing way too much over a mic choice. buy a good one and make it work for you. you can worry about the nuances of which mic is best later. you have other fish to fry first.

(remember to use proper room ratios)

L. W. Sepmeyer, 1965, 1,00, 1,14, 1,39 ... The Golden Ratio, 1968, 1,00, 1,62, 2, 62. Dolby Lab ... 1,00, 1,49, 2,31. Worst ratio (RPG Inc.) 1,00, 1,07, 1,87 ...

mmmphh! arrghhhhh! ahhhhhh!

I like number two, it has a nice airy feel to it, does anybody think this is not the one to go with?

well if anyone cares the order was
at4040
nt1a
sm7b

Boy, I would have sworn mic1 was the RODE, merely because they are more freq brighter. I think Mic1 would serve you better for Voice Overs. I agree then, take Mic2. Its has the greatest balance of the three based on your experiment.

Cheers!

I hear distortion still. Too close. Gotta work on delivery. You can make any one of those mics work. I still like the SM7B best. The order is what I expected but none of these is terrible. They all can potentially be good. It sounds like you are in a 4' x 4' x 8' box. It's lacking openness. It sounds stuffy. Like you could run out of air at any moment.

mic comparisions, shoot outs, ridiculous

Here's something to think about Hue, and all of us following this.

Aside from these being entertaining...

When doing comparisons together here, I've noted certain members liking brighter or duller mix's. Its just a hunch but I would bet the people who like the duller mixes have brighter monitors. And the members who like the brighter mixes, have duller monitors, or less hyped high end. And this isn't even taking your rooms into consideration or your ages. So how does anyone know whats truly accurate for you highriser?

So to the OP. Asking people to comment or give you advise on a mic for you ( sorry to be harsh) is really naive. It points out that you have no clue what is good for you. Other people may have completely different tastes, including accurate or inaccurate monitoring systems. You are blindly falling prey to a salesman.

Hope this helps stimulates more discussion on why I think mic comparisons are ridiculous.