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Archive for the ‘Microphones’ Category
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Last year JJ Blair posted a shootout of 5 pop filters over on the PSW Acid Test forum. The topic came up in the latest HRS episode, I thought it was interesting as it’s one of those things you don’t really think about. You likely use a pop filter for vocals as a rule without thinking about the effect on the sound. There is a subtle difference in coloration with each one. Download the file to hear for yourself below.
This is a listening test. I used 4 commercial pop filters, and Terry’s foam method. This is a blind listening test for the first number of days. All you need to know is that the first sample of my terrible singing is me, a Manley Gold, a Vac Rac pre, and no filter. The file is 44.1/16 aiff.
The filters used were the Pauly, the Pete’s Place, the Steadman (round one) and the Popper Stopper.
Answers
ɹǝʌoɔ ɯɐoɟ (9#
ʎןnɐd ǝɥʇ (5#
ǝɔɐןd s,ǝʇǝd (4#
ɹǝddoʇs ɹǝddod (3#
uɐɯpɐǝʇs (2#
ɹǝʇןıɟ ou (1#
I for one will not stop using a pop filter (I have far better things to do than edit out pops from vocals) but I’m more aware than ever that this choice affects the sound in a negative way.
What do you guys like for pop filters?
Posted in Accessories, Gear, Microphones, Recording, Shootout, Techniques | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Every mic stand I’ve used in the past month, new and old, ranging in price from $30-$80 all have failed at the simple task of holding a mic in the position I need. They all sag with the weight of a condenser mic. In one 3-hour session I had to go into the live room 5 times to tighten the stand for the vocal mic that kept sagging. VERY annoying.
What’s in common with the common boom mic stand made by countless brands? They all use rubber in the boom arm adjustment. The rubber dries out, slips or just doesn’t grip well enough.
Ya know what kind of stands don’t ever sag? Cymbal stands. Why? Because of the metal teeth that lock together. Mic stands should use this type of adjustment! But they don’t! Perhaps they do in very expensive designs, but the majority of stand designs use the stupid rubber junk that just does. not. work.
What the world needs is a revolution in affordable mic stand design. Metal Teeth!!
Does anyone have recommendations for great, affordable, and well designed stands? Please let me know.
PS. I honestly spent close to an hour looking for pictures for this post. I can not find a picture of the inside teeth of a cymbal tilt.
Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Gear, Gear Lust, Microphones | 7 Comments »
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
As part of the Home Recording 101 class at Revolution Audio, this past Thursday we did a shootout of 6 vocal mics. The mics selected were some of the top sellers at the store and ranged in price from the M-Audio Nova at $119 to the AT4060 at $1905.
You may wonder why there are so many M-Audio mics in this shoot out. Well that’s because they make good mics for the price, we had a variety on hand, and it seems like these mics don’t get a lot of attention.
The mics:
- M-Audio Nova
- Audio Technica AT2035
- M-Audio Solaris
- M-Audio Sputnik
- AKG C 414 B-XL II
- Audio-Technica AT4060
The source was Kate singing the first line of ’9 Crimes’ by Damien Rice. Each recording is a separate take, though she is very consistent. No processing has been done. Drop all the files into your DAW, keep the piano track active if you like. Scroll down to the bottom to get the files. The order of the files has been changed so you’ll need to guess which is which.
Leave a comment with which mic sounds like the best fit for her voice and I’ll email you the answers.
Other things to think about:
Which mic sounds like it’s the cheapest?
Which mic sounds the most expensive?
Which 2 mics are the tube mics?
(more…)
Posted in Gear, Microphones, Music, Shootout | 51 Comments »
Sunday, May 17th, 2009
I finally found a good use for a D112.
click to find out
Posted in Commentary; Rants and Jokes, Gear, Microphones | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
The SE Electronics Reflexion Filter is a good product. It’s designed to block room noise and reflections from getting into your microphone and it does a decent job, not as good as a proper vocal booth, but it does make an audible improvement.
My only real complaint about the product is the way it mounts to a stand. It’s trying to defy the basic physics concepts, namely leverage and gravity. Look at the picture above and try to disagree. One of my favorite sections of Sound On Sound Magazine is the Studio S.O.S. articles. Quite often they bring in the Reflexion Filters to home studios and they mention that they usually modify the mounting bracket. I’ve yet to see just what they do, but just knowing that it can be improved got me experimenting.
(more…)
Posted in Accessories, Gear, Microphones, Tutorial | 3 Comments »
