Shootouts - how do you do it?

[Mark Bassett]

Hi all, I am very curious as to how folks perform these mic shootouts.

Specifically how do YOU compare two microphones, and only the microphones, and account for (ie control) variables like performance and placement?

Thanks in advance.

[Wiz]

I put a mic up, listen, move it around, listen repeat till I get a sound I like if I don't get a sound I like, then I try a different mic, then if that doesn't work...I typically sit and sulk, read gearslutz and ponder which organs I can hock and buy something else for...(insert the word neumann here usually ) 8)

Seriously, I try and do my mic shoot outs, when I am not doing anything creative in the studio.

When I buy a new mic, at some point after it arrives, I will have a good look listen and muck around with it.

Listen to how it behaves, proximity effect, off axis rejection/coloration, output... try it on all sorts of different things I have here, acoustic, bass, cymbals, shaker, voice, kick, snare , tom even if the mic isn't designed for it, as long as its safe to do so (say SPL).

Then it kinda goes into my memory bank, and I use that to make decisions.

I find the preamps I pair it with, have a large impact as well. Then there is the variable impedance thingy, on the preamps, which again does another colour change to the mic, but I must admit I don't use that very much.

I find this sort of thing difficult as the talent/engineer/coffee boy all in one. I am sure if I were recording others day in and day out, this would be handled differently by me. Same with setting up outboard compression and EQ its a little fiddly when you are laying down one thing at a time, and being the player engineer, you end up being conservative (not necessarily a bad thing) with your settings.

If I am doing the anal retentive white coat type A shoot out thing, which I do sometimes, more for amusement really, then I try and get them as physically close to each other as I can, get them a fair bit away from the sound source, and use matched preamps, and set gain so that the peak level of them is at least reading the same level in logic (which means at best inside a dB)

Some of the most fun I have in the studio, discounting watching hours of kitten and puppy movies on you tube, and Rescue Me repeats on net flix....is the times I spend mucking around trying out gear.

[jkhuri44]

a proper "mic" shoot out is near impossible imo. you can never line up enough mics on axis to capture the same performance...if you ask a singer to sing several times into a diff mic (with all else equal) and he accidentally gets 2 cm closer to one mic (thinking he's still equal distances apart from every mic) and accidentally hits the mic's sweet spot...you'd think a possibly better mic is worse than another lesser mic which was used properly... (i hope that made sense...its not even 9am).

I've heard of engineers taping dynamic or SDC mics together to make their placement as near identical as possible (which is still not the same placement) to the source...

thats enough outta me.

[Chris H]

The unscientific method I use when wanting an idea of how different mics compare is to set them up first for vox and use a standard phrase and the old test one two, first close to the mic, eg a closed fist away then at a distance, one foot away. I also move to the side, three inches or so for close and six for far, of the mic to hear how it changes off axis so i can hear the mics that have an even response over a wider area or a narrower focus spot. I repeat for each mic, leaving the mic stand in the same position and changing the mic. This minimizes the variables, is not scientific but gives a good idea of how each mic behaves compared to the other.
For acoustic guitar i have the player work out a strum pattern and melody and repeat as close as possible pick style and position, volume etc for each mic, leaving the stand in exactly the same position for each mic. So I use the same recording chain for each mic and make sure valves etc are well warmed up.
I have done this with all my mics to get initial impressions and it gives a starting point only. Then over time, as everyone does, i have taken note of the strengths/ weakness of each mic in different situations, as I have put them up in the course of my work. Some mics that were lesser quality in the listening sessions proved to be better choices under other different circumstances.