Topic: how various mics sound

[stvgray]

I don't know if this exists anywhere, but does anyone know of a site where they give short descriptions of the sonic characteristics of various mics usef for live taping?

What would be cool is something like a table with various models, prices, polar pattern, maybe columns for top end, mids, bottom, overall tonal balance, spatial characteristics.

Anybody know of something like that? Or, if it can't be that convenient, at least a site with a nice collection of reviews of mics commonly used by tapers?

[Craig T]

there's a cd out there ("The Great Mic Shootout"?) that has a ton of sound samples from different mics.  I think it was done with someone reading a magazine article and changing mics every few sentences.  I can't remember where I saw this, but I'll post back if I do.

[Chanher]

I don't believe any site like that exists (it'd be cool if it did). the next best thing might be listening to shows taped by gear you possibly want.  if you post in ask the tapers, many would be happy to share samples or full copies of tapes they've made.  I'm sure on this board alone you could find almost any combination you could think of....

[sexymexi]

anything i have is yours let me know. i can give you some 391 > Wmod Ua-5 combo, and some Geffells > Mini Me, i have a few of each. as well as a bunch of others laying around here.  let me know, pm me, and i'll get you some if you want.  peace.

matt

[jpschust]

here's the fundamental problem with this- all the scientific stuff is available online, but beyond that- its all subjective.  i can make a neumann m149 (one of my fav mics of all time) sound like total junk, but i can also make it sound really nice.

[sexymexi]

this may be true, and it might be hard to compare shows, cause who knows exactly where the taper was.  i have some tapes that are from the same room, in the same position, cause we always set up in the same place.  that might be the best for comparison, although different bands might make it harder. but i'd just say listen to people's opinions, and their tapes. see what you like from each. whether you like increadible detail, or natural warm sound. just experiment, and if you can use other gear then do it, get a feel for it, and find what you like.  good luck.

matt

[stvgray]

The idea of trying to figure out the sound of different mics by comparing recordings made by different people in different places sounds hopeless to me.  Best would be recordings made the same person in the same place. Next best, I guess, and pretty darn good, would be the comments of somebody who owns or has owned several of the highly regarded mics over time and has a sense of their sound.

Any ideas on where to find that kind of knowledge?

[Ed.]

i think going to the archive and just listening to lots of samples of all the different mics and making your own judgements might be the best idea.  thats what i do, if i'm wondering how a mic would sound with a certain setup.

[Tim]

Listen, a lot... to a lot of different mics in a lot of different venues by a lot of different tapers. the sonic signatures of each piece of gear will slowly become more apparent.

it takes a while and you have to listen a lot but it's the best way....

[nickgregory]

I agree with most of what is said here....the one thing I will add is listen not only to mics/pre/A/d combos, but also to the types of music you are looking to record.  There are some mics that are better suited to the bluegrass, more acoustic sound in my opinion, while some perform better for loud brash rock and roll.

It took me about 3 years of running entry level mics and getting to understand what I liked and did not like about that for me to really understand what I wanted to hear from my tapes.  The funny thing is that when I started I had a rough time picking one piece of gear from another, after my experience, once I heard what I wanted, I knew it at that moment.

The best advice is dont buy mics because of (1) what everyone runs, (2) it is cheap, or (3) without having some idea of what you are going to get from it sound wise.  This will quickly become an expensive proposition, and quite honestly, you will find that just because folks like a certain mic that you will...

my .02