mic CD revisted

[Richard]

after many questions on this and GMs forum and many demos and purchases I have finally found some vocal mics I really like - soundelux e47 and elux251 (big surprise eh?)though I like the ADK51, AT4040 and AT4060 a lot too...)

Most of these I would not have come across if it hadn't been for the forums and Lyn's Cds so thank you all. Ultimately I have to say most of the mics I tried, with the definite exception of the M147, did sound very similar to those on the mic CD - so it is definitely a really useful guide - two years ago I had never heard a tele251, or U47 and never heard of soundelux - now I'm using the soundeluxe versions of both - out in the UK where nobody much is interested in new mics, without the mic CD it might have taken me 10 years to come across them

However, I did have an interesting learning experience with the soundeluxes which is pretty obvious, but worth restating I think. When matching a singer to a mic I think it is absolutely essential to be working with backing tracks and with more than one song. The trouble with accapellas and the limitation of any comparison CD is that what really makes a great vocal mic is not just how well it captures and translates a voice and song but also how it positions the indivual voice in a mix. For example demoing the 47 against the 251 on an accapella voice the 251 wins every time on just about every singer - basically it is a better mic. But in the context of a mix it is completely different - the e47 sometimes positions a voice exactly where you want it which seems magical to me.

Some acapellas just plain lie: the TLM103 always sounds great to me on its own and on the mic CD, in the real world I think it is useless as a vocal mic - it never gels with the mix - and actually I've come to hate this mic. I also LOVE the sound of a TLM170 on a solo voice - but in a mix it is hopeless. The opposite is true of the AT4033, it can sound a bit crap on its own because the top end is so false, but on the right voice in a mix - wow!

I'm sure you all know that...

happy hols!

Richard

[3daudioinc]

Originally posted by Richard:
<STRONG>However, I did have an interesting learning experience with the soundeluxes which is pretty obvious, but worth restating I think. When matching a singer to a mic I think it is absolutely essential to be working with backing tracks and with more than one song. The trouble with accapellas and the limitation of any comparison CD is that what really makes a great vocal mic is not just how well it captures and translates a voice and song but also how it positions the indivual voice in a mix. </STRONG>

This is absolutely right. And one of the reasons that I recommend people only use the CDs as a starting point and not to base purchasing decisions on what they hear on the CD. I've lined up mics before and been shocked when the one I expected to like least sounds the best on that singer on that song on that day. There is no universally best mic or any one mic that will sound better on everyone than anything else. Mics are as different as the people's voices that stand in front of them.