Royer R121 vs World - Interrogator Sessions: Electric Guitar

[brandondrury]

[YOUTUBE]wUq-9sEKhOs[/YOUTUBE]


We compare the SM57, R121, MD421, FatheadII, and SM7b in The Interrogator Sessions: Electric Guitar, a part of the Killer Home Recording series at RecordingReview.com

• Shure SM57
• Royer R121
• Sennheiser MD421
• Cascade Fathead II
• Shure SM7b

Electric Guitar Recording: SM57, R121, MD421, FatheadII, SM7b


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[dante]

i liked the cascade the most and then the sennheiser. the sennheiser sounded very adequate for agression. the cascade and the royer have some common grounds but in it's original position, the cascade's midrange seemed to punch more while the royer was darker. not worse, not better, just... darker. and certainly not manifold better than any mic in the list. didn't really like the sound of the sm7b much. i found the clip of the sm57 kinda nasal (?) but actually quite close to most sm57 sounds.

[Diastro]

The Cascade Fathead II sounds incredible! Even without the EQ'ing. What is it, like 230 dollars? I might get one.

Anyways, it surprised me how relatively small the difference between the fancy mics and the good ol' SM57 can be. Clearly an expensive mic doesn't mean it sounds INSANE right off the bat!

[brandondrury]

Yeah, the Cascade was definitely fun! However, I've tried it on other sessions for electric guitar and it wasn't right. Maybe it was the tone I had. I think I ended up with a Audix I5 or something on that particular gig.

The main thing I wanted to get across here is sometimes you nail it with a particular mic, but in most cases you've got to play around. Where you put the mic is more important than which mic you use in most cases. Looking back, I wish I would have tossed a condenser on here.

Brandon

[West00]

waaa funny for me the sm57 is the best tone easy to cut in a mix with that tone

[doug941]

Wow!
It's so weird to hear your voice for the first time after reading your words for so long! Damn dude... you sound kind of feminine.
Haha.... naw bro,I'm just messin' wit ya'!
Great shootout.. great website.. Thanks Brandon... Keep it Rockin'!

[brandondrury]

Damn dude... you sound kind of feminine.

HAHAHAHA! Where I come from, them's fight'n words!

waaa funny for me the sm57 is the best tone easy to cut in a mix with that tone

How about this one? Take a week and then listen to them on another stereo and see if you still end up liking the same one. I find I change my mind all the time!

Brandon

[jamie78]

Personally, with what you have done here, I like Clip 9 the best. Just goes to show that you don't have to spend turbo cash to get wicked tone. Great job. Makes me wonder if just taking some time and getting creative with what I have instead of always wanting more is the way to go.... but then what would I spend my money on?

Wicked job dude!

[brandondrury]

Makes me wonder if just taking some time and getting creative with what I have instead of always wanting more is the way to go

Awesome! That's a big part of it!

but then what would I spend my money on?

What a HUGE problem to have! I know a guy who takes free money, believe it or not!

Brandon

[West00]

must be that the sm57 tracking guitars he heard so many time that is a safe bet for me . but i admit its seem the weaker sound of all more distant

[dante]

I think I ended up with a Audix I5 or something on that particular gig (...) Looking back, I wish I would have tossed a condenser on here.

Brandon

i wish you'd tossed both condenser and an audix I5 in this shootout.

must be that the sm57 tracking guitars he heard so many time that is a safe bet for me . but i admit its seem the weaker sound of all more distant

it's also the one with the quickest setup of them all. and off axis. i liked the 7b even less though.

[frameloss]

Man, when I saw your email about this I thought you were giving one of your Royer's away. I was like damn, I gotta get in on that! Thanks for the shootout, good stuff.

[brandondrury]

i wish you'd tossed both condenser and an audix I5 in this shootout.

There's an old expression.....somewhere: Always leave 'em wanting more.

Of course, I do have a mic shootout in The Interrogator Sessions that has closer to 30 mics on it....including all of these, condensers, etc.

Man, when I saw your email about this I thought you were giving one of your Royer's away

Ha! I only have one!....and you can't have it!

Brandon

[Danny Danzi]

This was killer, Brandon! Thanks for sharing. If you listen to all of them long enough, they all start to grow on you and then you don't like the ones you originally liked. LOL!!

For example, on my very first listen (and this is after recording and mixing for about 15 hours now) I liked 1, 3, 5 and 7 and felt that though different, they were all very useful and useable sounds. The more I listened, the more my taste changed a bit and 9 started to tap me on the shoulder. So after extensive listening, the winners for me were 1, 7, and 9 believe it or not.

The only one's I felt I would either not use or perform surgery on would be 2, 4, 10 and 11. Great review!

[Kurtly]

Interesting stuff.