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< Welcome! ~ The $60,000 Ribbon Mic Shootout |
| Mike Sommer |
 Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:30 am |
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Joined: 14 Dec 2007
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Location: Los Angeles
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| Mike Sommer |
| Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:47 pm |
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Location: Los Angeles
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CB this is one of the best ribbon mic shootout I think I've heard. Matt McGlynn has told me they tentatively planning a unidirectional ribbon shootout, 'part deux', this Fall, that would include some straight narration. I'm looking forward to this one too.
I've read your immediate thoughts on these mics. Now that some time has passed, can you tell us about any disappointments in this group of mics?
If you wanted to add another ribbon or two to your locker, which of these would you add and why? |
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| CB |
| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:41 pm |
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Mike Sommer wrote: ...planning a unidirectional ribbon shootout, 'part deux', this Fall, that would include some straight narration. Quote: Now that some time has passed, can you tell us about any disappointments in this group of mics? Quote: If you wanted to add another ribbon or two to your locker, which of these would you add and why?
...And the Samar Audio MF65. Not that I'd have any practical use for it in my work; but just because it sounds "simply gorgeous", no matter what you hear through it. The most exquisitely complimentary, universally-capable sound-capturing device I've ever had the pleasure of "knowing". A microphone that finally fills the bill, as that single all-you'd-ever-need "Desert Island Choice", as far as I'm concerned. |
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| Mike Sommer |
| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:06 am |
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Location: Los Angeles
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I too was disappointed by the Neve mic, as well as the others you mentioned. I had high hopes when the Neve first came out. It seemed like such a good idea.
The Samar MF65 is . . . well . . . awesome. It's so well balanced and yeah lovely. I wish I could afford one at the moment- from what I understand serial numbers 1-50 are being offered at $1,799.00 - such a deal. Even at its full retail price I would rather have the Samar Audio MF65 over the AEA KU4.
And not being a fanboy yes man, you are right about the Royer R101 too.
I purchased the shootout session files and have listened to them over and over. I've mixed up the order and sample again, and I'm drawn to the same mics almost ever time.
And your constancy delivery on the takes is just amazing CB, I think they do want you back. 
The one thing I would like to hear is a shootout with the classic animation mics that are still available:
44Bx
KU2A
KU3A
Electro-Voice 668
Neumann U87
Sennheiser MD 421
Brauner VM1-K.H.E or VM1
After you introduced me here this board to the Brauner VM1 microphone, I've discovered that Disney was buyer of the Klaus Heyne Edition of this mic. How would you stack the VM1 up against the KU3A?
Thank you for your wisdom. |
Last edited by Mike Sommer on Tue Aug 30, 2011 5:35 pm; edited 2 times in total
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| CB |
| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:19 am |
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Far too flattering. I'm just an old-fashioned voice man and audio geek (and increasingly cranky about the new and thoughtless ways of our business)...
We used to use Brauners on the Superman and Batman series at that independent studio next to Paty's in Burbank (not sure if anything remains of it, since WB Animation went "in house" for recording many years back). And yes, they have at least two types of Brauner at WDI studios, and maybe elsewhere around the company as well. They tend to be on the "dark" side of the condenser scale: Rather "chocolate"-sounding compared to a classic Neumann U87 - one being awfully similar to a vintage tube U47 (can't remember which model number). They sound, well, "brawny": rich and complex, with good midrange "snap", but seem to be missing a bit of that magical character-enhancing upper-mid "presence" emphasis that makes the KU-3A/10001 and U87 so desirable for animation work. For the announcing work I've done there, it's usually a toss-up between a Brauner and a Gefell UMT-70S: While the Brauner is more impressively "big" and "warm", the Gefell's more "forward" and muscular profile always wins out (on my particular voice, anyway).
I don't think WDI has their own KU-3A, but would usually opt for a condenser for their general purpose announcing work; outdoor/horn loudspeaker systems tend to bring out too much of the ribbon's midrange density to convey warmth, once amplified to crowd-dominating loudness - and can make the recording sound "pinched". A touch of condenser "sparkle" can also be helpful, once blasted through sometimes tweeter-less full-range speaker units, with a touch of sibilance to ride over environmental hubbub. Different presentation applications should always be considered when choosing the "right" mic for the job. |
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| Lucien |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:48 am |
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| If a multi-voice talent were to be in the position to try out a variety of different microphones like you were here, what types of voices or styles would you recommend they use to get the full picture of how a microphone sounds and performs? |
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| CB |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:19 am |
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What you'd want to do is first settle on your strongest, most commercially viable basic vocal persona(s) to determine which among the assortment will provide the best value, purposed towards practical career goals. Most microphones will perform best for closeup intimate delivery, so you'll also want to back off and project a bit to hear which models still have "presence", without becoming thin and "hollow". Tasty, recording pantry utensils for individually-themed production pieces can be collected along the way - those will be mostly "obsolete", obscure, or retired classic models with distinctive built-in "character", which won't be deemed "acceptable" by the majority of production engineeers or project session directors who are indeed "trained" to reject creative use of recording tools, in favor of starkly "clean", raw/unfiltered "dead studio" standards for sound design/mix teams to fiddle with later - so's not to "lock anyone into any predetermined sound profile" - "just in case..." they might upset those with mistaken beliefs in an illusion of "natural-sounding" purity always being the most desirable way to present spoken word performance.
Next, you should explore how the various candidates handle the extremes of tone, placement, and texture over your full usable spectrum of characterization, to make sure that a model which suits your "bread & butter" range doesn't make an unappealing shrill or muddy mess of the more severely "affected" types of voices you're likely to try out in an audition or creatively open recording session. Listen for dramatic peaks and dives in volume or sense of "intensity" as vocal timbre shifts within phrases. If a particular note or resonance "spikes" above basic levels, or seems to be "swallowed" beneath dull and muddy tones - or simply drops away as if momentarily strangulated: Those models should be eliminated out-of-hand from consideration.
While it's good to get a mental snapshot of a wide assortment of commonly encountered mikes, a multi-voice talent would be best served in targeting those few that most effectively convey your full range in a flattering way. |
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