$1.99 microphone experiment

[PseudoComplexity]

Would love to hear your comments on the quality here. These three pieces were recorded w/o a preamp with just a little touch of mastering added afterwards. My question is... is that something you would expect from a $1.99 mic? Thanks.

P.S. Sure I work with better gear normally =)

[PseudoComplexity]

Thanks for your feedback! Well, you may be surprised, but the one I used on all of the above records is, in fact, a simple headset/computer directional microphone... it says "Chateau CM-001" on it, and I doubt you could find the exact same model anywhere for it is something clearly non-brand, all the way from China. Instead, for your purpose, go for any similar dollar store mic, it would do just as well. When editing, first normalize the signal and apply noise cancelling. Then follow one of the two mastering methods described here and you should be just fine.

P.S. By no means this can compete with a Rode NT-1A thru some Great River preamp, but it's all about gaining recording experience and testing different gear/techniques.

[brandondrury]

is that something you would expect from a $1.99 mic?

Well, I would probably expect this sound from a $30 mic. The upper midrange chracter is a dead giveaway that it is a cheap mic. Then again, it does have character and that may be worth something. I wonder what it sounds like on a snare.

Brandon

[PseudoComplexity]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I wonder what it sounds like on a snare.

Sorry, ain't got any drums here. Maybe I will end up sending the little sucker to you for such tests =) This last piece went through the tons of software compression and equalization plus some phase tricks, IMHO came out best of all. Again, no preamping. What would you say? I'm done with it now.

[thesilentdrummer]

I think that your playing/pre mic setup is excellent. If it weren't, you'd be 2 feet deep in shit with this mic. This is kinda like analogies that of Michael Wagner could make a kick ass album using just an SM57, a toothbrush, and a small stick of celery, or any insert X badass person could even sound awesome using Y suckass gear. But as Brandon said, the upper mid (I perceived it overbrightness) gives away the el cheapo ness of the mic. Its usable, but I wouldn't reach for this mic unless it was the last one left on earth and there were no more sheep.

[PseudoComplexity]

Originally Posted by thesilentdrummer

This is kinda like analogies that of Michael Wagner could make a kick ass album using just an SM57, a toothbrush, and a small stick of celery, or any insert X badass person could even sound awesome using Y suckass gear.

Well said =)
Thanks for all your constructive comments, guys. I really appreciate your insight on this.

[brandondrury]

Guitars sound pretty damn good to me. They've got some bite, but in the right song this mic could be great. I'm not hearing too much fizz on my stereo so this mic could work well.

Hell, today I tracked some distorted guitars in a very dense mix for a band that has piano, a very midrange heavy bass, and vocals that need to be way out in front. Basically everyone wants to sound big. YUCK! I intentionally made the guitars much thinner than I normally would by pulling my Royer R121 almost 12" off the speaker and dead center. I wouldn't say my tracks sounded drastically different than the tracks you've posted. These were the thinnest tracks I've ever recorded with my Royer R121 and maybe at all. I think they'll work well in this mix though. So it appears your robo cheap mic may have its place. I love the idea of putting robo cheaper gear to the test, really listening without bias (easier said than done), and maybe learning something along the way.

Brandon

[toryst]

ap---very muffled. How did the bare recording sound with no enhancements?
This is a very interesting experiment, particularly how pseudo's recording
came out not bad at all! Makes me want dig out my RS cheapie and see
what I can do with it.

[thesilentdrummer]

Interesting. Inspired by this, I pulled out my version of the 1.99 microphone. since you can't do drums, I mic'ed my snare. First is a microphone (probably $10) called the "Deluxe Stereo Microphone" (ironically, its not a stereo mic). The seconded is the wireless body mic from a $50 radio shack package that included the mic and body pack and a receiver for the mic. The third mic in the clip is the trusty, standard SM57. They were all placed roughly in the same place, 3-6 inches from the snare pointed more or less towards center.

Only A limiter was applied to equalize the levels.

[ferguson66]

Wow, what a difference. #2 sounds like total hell, #3 was my favorite.