VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Jason Huggins · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:58 pm Post subject:

Good snag! That mic is stellar on your voice. YMMV indeed. But at $250 one can afford to risk it.

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Hey graeme,
So I'm assuming the processing, record levels, distance from the mic etc. was all the same......(?)

Bish · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:10 pm Post subject:

Late to the party, but I listened before I looked at the answers Smile

I definitely preferred #1 on your voice and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was the CAD E100s. I've been extolling the virtues of this mic since I purchased mine, and it was interesting to hear it head-to-head with the Neumann. Of course, I accept that it's all about matching mic to voice, but a lot of people are very happy with the CAD.

... and we all like having our own purchasing decisions ratified Smile

BTW, what pre-amp?
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Bruce · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:12 pm Post subject:

I'm not a mic technician, nor have I played one on TV, but I'm thinking the U87 ought to be looked at by Neumann. It sounds blah and a tad crunchy to me for the mic it's supposed to be.

B
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graemespicer · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:18 pm Post subject:

Both takes were recorded within 5 minutes of each other in the same booth with the mics the same distance from my mouth - between 6-8".

Same preamp - a Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5015 with the high pass filter engaged at about 90Hz. A little bit of hardware compression on the way in (about 2:1 at -8dB). The only processing in ProTools was to apply a clean limiter at -5dB to knock the peaks off and then normalized to -3dB (to try and even out the levels for comparison). The output of the mics seems to be about the same, so the gain level on the preamp wasn't touched.

It would have been better if I had been able to record both mics at the same time on the same take, but I don't have two channels on my Neve preamp.

Btw, this is pretty typical of how I record and deliver audition files ...
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graemespicer · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:28 pm Post subject:

Bruce - it's funny - I was talking to George Whittam earlier today and we spoke about that possibility. I've put my U87 up against other U87s though, and the sound is pretty much on. People either really like the U87 sound, or complain about the "midrange honk" Smile

The consensus on this board seems to lean towards honkiness Smile

I have to say, though, I kinda like the little bit of transformer grain in the U87's midrange, even if the CAD is clearly the cleaner sounding mic.

Being the gear acquisition syndrome sufferer that I am, I'll probably keep both and use the appropriate tool as determined by the type of read I'm doing.
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graemespicer · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:35 pm Post subject:

One last comment - I'm not convinced that the pairing of the Rupert Neve Designs preamp and the U87ai is a match made in heaven. There's a lot of transformer iron in that chain - maybe too much.

For vocals, the U87ai seems to be often matched with a tube pre (like the Avalon 737 or UA 610), or a really clean solid state preamp like a Great River or the Avalon M5. These tend to soften up the sound a bit. The RND pre is fantastic - I love it - but it certainly adds a character all on its own.
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Love it! The CAD sounds great on your voice.

I used to think I needed a U87 to sound like everyone else...now everyone else is using my mic! Wink

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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

I was in a pretty high end lab the other day (they had me on a Soundelux elux 251) and the engineer there stated how shocked they were at how the Shure KSM 32 stood up against the U87. FWIW
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm Post subject:

I would be curious to hear how the different hipass filters sound. The CAD has an 80hz filter, so there is a potential difference in sound. Although, I don't know that you need anymore low end if you are using that CAD. It had plenty of balls in that regard.

kgenus · Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 6:37 am Post subject:

I liked the second mic better, it wasn't as harsh.

You really gotta go clean without any adjustments to the audio. The room, breathing, kids playing down the hall, the A/C, whatever, it's all part of the audio you're recording and should be present for this type of comparison. Once you start cutting things back, like a high pass filter, it's no longer a mic comparison, as you're definitely gimping the tools. Limiting, an entirely different ball game.

Can you record two more samples with fixed gain settings and put those wav files up?
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Zach Meissner · Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:46 am Post subject:

For anyone interested in the e100s..

Musicians Friend has it for $499, they do a 150% price match.

Front End Audio has it for $359.

You end up buying it new for $359, then 45 days later, you will get a $70 credit to musicians friend, which in effect the mic costs you $289.

So if you know you need something to feed your G.A.S. from MF in the near future, might be a good route to check out.
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:29 am Post subject:

Yer killin' me Smalls....

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

Musicians Friend doesn't do any other promotional offers (except shipping) if they honor a Price Match.. I've been thru this before
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