Mic Shootout

[Deaf Ear]

I was ramping a track for Gon08 when I started feeling froggy. So I decided to throw up a few other mics and see what came of it all. I feel like I'm always wishing there was "something better than a 57". Pick your favorite and I'll reveal what was actually used later. All mics where tracked through an API, and I swept each one for the most vivid spot. I know it's not as controlled as it could be, but moving on.

I put all the .wav files in a folder so download away.

http://rapidshare.com/files/132279876/Mic_Test.rar.html

 

[The Shrink]

To me 1,2 and 3 sound like the same mic... my pick.

4, 5 and 6 sound like very fizzy and harsh condensor mics....nothing I would use.

Thanks for the shootout!

 

[Melodeath]

I will listen tonight. Thanks!

 

[FalseMessiah Mike]

I would agree that 1, 2 and 3 sound similar. but I can hear the difference. 2 and 3 are very similar but 3 has more resonance.

My guess is that the first 3 are dynamic mics. I would say 1 is a SM57, 1 is a SM57 beta and the other is a SM58. But one of them is on axis. Those are just guesses, I'm probably really wrong.

I like 3 and 4. I'd like to hear them blended together, or 3 plus 5 or 6.

 

[Wolfeman]

I think one of the ones that sound similar, yet different, is a i5, and probably a 58

 

[Deaf Ear]

I probably should have just done mp3's and made it easy to click and see. I always hate mp3's though when I'm listening for anything critical. I hate 5 and 6, mics which sound great on other sources. I'll post the answers tonight, just in case anyone else wants to play.

 

[Melodeath]

2 and 3 sound very similar. 3 just a tiny bit fuller. 1 has more lows or maybe low mids than 2 and 3. I prefer 1 - at least by itself. I have no idea which i would prefer in a mix.

4 sounds much more scooped than 1, 2, and 3. And it has this fizz on top. 5 also sounds scooped, yet fizzy. It's got a boost a bit lower than 4 though. Like boosting at 3kHz, whereas 4 is boosting at 4 kHz. and then 6 has a boost at 6k or something 6 sounds very thin

 

[Deaf Ear]

Interesting results. Almost everyone picked out that the first three were the same mic.

1. SM7b with the HP engaged.
2. SM7b HP and Mid boost engaged.
3. SM7b no HP, Mid boost still engaged.
4. SM57
5. Heil PR 30
6. Heil PR 40

I too preferred the SM7b on this test. I tried to get the best tone out of each mic. All of them ended up right around where the dust cap meets the cone. If anyone wants to give me a couple of really well played DI tracks, I'll do another SM7b vs. SM57 in the morning. Just upload me a short clip to work with. I have a Krank Rev. 1 set up now and this SM7 thing has me really intrigued.

 

[The Shrink]

Interesting results. Almost everyone picked out that the first three were the same mic.

1. SM7b with the HP engaged.
2. SM7b HP and Mid boost engaged.
3. SM7b no HP, Mid boost still engaged.
4. SM57
5. Heil PR 30
6. Heil PR 40

I didn't know SM7b could sound so cool on gtr. For sure I will pick one up soon. 57 sounds like crap on this test.

Thanks!!

 

[Deaf Ear]

I think it was because of how the capsule is back about 2 inches into the body. I took the cover off and rigged the sm7 where I could get them both close to the grill and did another test. They sounded VERY similar when both were placed super close. The sm7 was still a touch more middy, but once I got them both sounding their best, I liked the 57 a touch better.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't care for the overall tone itself, but I do appreciate the effort & the number of variations.

The 57 sounds a little spitty, whereas the sm7 is pretty cool. Did I read this correctly? Did you remove the metal grille from the sm7?

I also really liked #5... nice grind on that one.



For shits & giggles, I tried out my own sm7 on a cabinet & really liked the results: It's a very, very dark mic, but placing it dead center produces some really nice results on a guitar tuned to a "b." I'll experiement further.

-0z-

 

[Deaf Ear]

Cool man, no problem with the honesty at all. The SM7 in this example is still in the metal grill. I took it off today, and miced up a Krank rev1 with it. Today they sounded almost identical because I could get both capsules right on the grill. Oh, and the tone was quite better today in the first place.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

So how did you pull off the metal grille without damaging it?

 

[Deaf Ear]

Kinda hard to explain. I'd take a pic of it real quick, but I can't find the camera at the moment. What I did was unscrew the grill, which makes the floating capsule try to fall out of the body. Then I put the but of the mic where the HP switch is next to the grill that I pulled off and tied it to the swivel screws. I know that probably doesn't make a lick of sense without seeing it, but it really wasn't that complicated.

 

[Melodeath]

So taking the grill off the SM7 makes it sound like a 57?

 

[Deaf Ear]

Not exactly, but pretty close. With the mid hump turned on of course.