Fun, accessible festival in the first year at it's new location at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, CA. Very, very taper friendly. I took the opportunity to run a variety of comparisons over the 3 days that I attended (Thurs - Sat), shout out to BLee and Patrick P. for the loaner gear!
All recordings were from performances at the Main Stage. Posting links so that y'all can have a blind listen, lmk your thoughts and guesses. Each link provided is to an individual source from the respective comparison.
Comp 1: Location, location, location.
Lebo & Friends (Thur 7/2)
2 sources:
- FOB, DFC: 481(DIN)-Oade HiDef mod Tascam HD-P2, mics @ 6'
- @FOH, 2' LOC (approx. 30' further back from FOB position): 481(PAS spaced approx. 50cm)-m148-F8n Pro, mics at 12'
Not identical rigs, but close enough to make this worthwhile. The important thing here is that each pair of mics was configured to fit the recording location vis-a-vis the P.A.
1.a @FOH vs FOB.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQCgSAUl_Hn3RaSLEc5-dqDwASvfpBY3g_7aqVJsqi0ID40?e=W68Qpg)
1.b @FOH vs FOB.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQDg66jHIZ5URIsdObCvtdqEASMMdgyn499KuwXWruDM5qs?e=s25aN9)
Comp 2: 481 vs B&K4011
Moga Family Band (Fri 7/3)
2 sources, @FOH, 2' LOC. Mics in the same mount, 42cm@65deg, at 12':
- 481-F8n Pro
- 4011-F8n Pro
2.a 481 vs 4011 (-zoom).flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQBQWFC2HyrpRIpYY2LIc_zbAbn9p-Rj4iCHWOlv2j20_gg?e=4fvhUN)
2.b 481 vs 4011 (-zoom).flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQCVjF__1UEEQbLigKovZ9rbAe93BdIIzhMNLZvosyCEj4c?e=X8GM0V)
Comps 3 (River Eckert) & 4 (Steel Pulse) - two double comps
(from Fri 7/3)
3 sources for each comp, @FOH, 2' LOC. All mics on the same stand, configured the same, 42cm@65deg, at 12'; approx. 8'vertical difference from the top pair to the bottom pair.
- 481-148
- 4011-148
- 481-psp2
I.e. one comp from each band/set is different mics (481 and B&K4011) into same preamp, and the second comp is same mics (481) into different external transformer-based preamps (m148 & psp-2). Widely divergent types of music and mixes across the 2 sets. The bass for Steel Pulse was 'vibrate my bone marrow' loud.
3.a 481-148 vs 4011-148 vs 481-psp2.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQCGtjPs1gFcQYrx8rKl7wXXARZII4fAOOqVrbhL2WgpCd0?e=TL9kTe)
3.b 481-148 vs 4011-148 vs 481-psp2.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQASWgRjiHuQRppcTKiDk4XFAXsaKZ_rFWvqlB4kUzDLp3A?e=4LkAf9)
3.c 481-148 vs 4011-148 vs 481-psp2.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQAu_BeHvmUeRr5SeFuNJ_ujAT2u2aWDs3O6sHjT9vXOu8Q?e=ia1nCm)
4.a 481-148 vs 4011-148 vs 481-psp2.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQAzNlS30PlMR4HFHkBsJm5UAYknOGM6TIewQM93wTLyYDw?e=lpuJQj)
4.b 481-148 vs 4011-148 vs 481-psp2.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQB6I9i-B5ULRI_AyzUkBI4WAfp3P0P2NoJ4VTL7hmDbVt4?e=QTWOuX)
4.c 481-148 vs 4011-148 vs 481-psp2.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQAbRh5syhvjT4CcglNkdcOIAfFtQAx1QgKbcbTfFgmWIik?e=sCult1)
Comp 5: minimalist rigs
2 sources, both @FOH, 2' LOC. Mics on same stand, at ~12', both spaced 42cm@65deg
- 481-Oade HiDef mod HD-P2
- cmc122-F6
Just for fun, a comp for when I want to run a smaller footprint / simpler rig and just 1 pair of mics.
5.a 481-hdp2 vs cmc122-F6.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQDZZ9K3DpwCSIk2IFfjvoWjAVheGRSlQr7xXWkz8EMUmj8?e=oNBKN9)
5.b 481-hdp2 vs cmc122-F6.flac (https://1drv.ms/u/c/6b77fa6dfd24db92/IQBQFe0MzkCOSpIunGMvtmg7Admx6IY287OCtbXAtqDcLqU?e=ffoob0)
For all recordings, the only processing done in post- was to adjust levels so that they were as matched as possible. I have a couple of pics that show the mic setups for comps 3 & 4 and 5 respectively, but have never been able to figure out how to upload pics to a post so...
LMK if you have trouble accessing the files.
I just had to listen to the FOB FOH comp and it sounds like track A is the FOB (closer to the stage) rig. Location location location!
-Also I'm hearing some clipping on some of the kick hits starting around the 4:40 mark, sounds like it's from the PA as I'm hearing it on both sources.
I quickly grabbed the minimalist rig comp and I think track B is the Schoeps open cardioids: they sound sooo nice and full. Those mini CMC amplifiers are great, I think I'm gonna get those and forego any of the active boxes, as cool as those are.
My computer is wonky so I'm gonna wait to look at those other comps, B&K's are older DPA's right? Also my dumbass doesn't understand the 3rd comp...
Sweet. Posting to follow the discussion. Will listen when I can.
Quote from: Billy Mumphrey on Today at 12:55:19 AMB&K's are older DPA's right?
B&K is the original company, focused primarily on professional measurement mics and equipment. DPA came later, formed as an outshoot from B&K with a focus on microphones for performance and recording. Originally the standard size mics offered by DPA were all former B&K models. The 4011 cardioid is in that category, and can be found branded both ways. I think the miniature mics started with DPA. Later DPA started developing new standard size models. B&K may well have been involved in the development of those later models, but DPA produces them. AFAIK.