How to do a mic pre shoot out?

[paul999]

I did a sctratch vox/ acoustic for an upcoming song this morning. I did one pass with the Shadow hills and the other with the API. I will post as I get these and keep track of what is what if you want to give blind feedback.

This is an AKG 414 Gold XLII sitting on its side( no Stand).

[Bigduggieface]

This is a tough pickle, Paul. You may need to try several A/B tests on different sources and at different gain settings in order to get a feel for each preamp.

I listened to both clips, and they are very similar. The second clip perhaps was slightly more present and clear, but it's really hard to tell with only one such test. Especially since they are also two different performances.

Testing for noise floor at higher gain settings is about as scientific as you can get in your situation, but of course this is only part of the story. There are some super-quiet pre's out there, but they may not sound any better than a slightly noisier pre with some attractive 'color'.

Double-blind testing on multiple audio sources seems to me to be the most practical way of weighing the +/- benefits of each unit. At least from my perspective.

[paul999]

I will submitting several clips as days go buy. Would you prefer I wait and post all at once?

[Bigduggieface]

To be honest, I'm not sure whether we at the forum could provide a lot of help with your decision.

It seems to me that there are just so many personal variables, that the decision must ultimately be left up to you.

It's like a shoot out with Stratocasters VS Les Pauls. Why do we choose one piece of gear over another?

[paul999]

Oh yeah I will make up my own mind. If I post some clips and you guys are blind that could provide interesting info to all of us. Especially when you hear a RNP against an API.

[Husky Band]

Im listening with a laptop and a pr of Sennheiser PXC 300'S. So I'm probably getting a pretty good listen to the file. On my systme clip #2 sounds louder as though it was recorded with more gain. I'm sure you did your best to match gain so this may be something to do with the encoding/decoding process. As far as tone and or color of each. It's a crap shoot from here. It's like looking at freshly mowed lawns cut with different brands of expensive mowers and trying to decide which one looks the best.