Friday, February 10, 2012

Shure Green Bullet Demo - Round Two

Some of the feedback that I received on the previous installment was quite interesting including: 

"It would be better if you didn't announce what mic you were playing and obscured them so bias couldn't enter in.

"If you hadn't said which was which I don't think many players could tell the difference."

"Joe is playing through a Tweed Champ clone. Like other small amps it adds a lot of its own breakup and color, which tends to make mics sound more alike...  Played through a bigger amp you will hear the differences more." 

"However to create a test to get people to choose which mic they think sounds best, or indeed to identify a particular element. The only real way to do that is to perform a blind test."

I decided to heed the advice that I was given.  
  1. The second round is audio only.  That way, no one could see the microphones.  (You'll have to trust my honesty and integrity.)  
  2. In this round, I used a Super Sonny.  It's a bigger amp.  There were no changes to the volume or tone settings when I changed microphones.
  3. I set up a Zoom H2 about 15 feet away from the amp.
  4. I tried to play the same thing each time and the same thing from the first test.
On with the fun.  The microphones being tested are a:
  • Shure Controlled Magnetic (99A86) in a vintage JT-30 shell.
  • Shure Controlled Magnetic (99A86) in a Hohner Blues Blaster shell.
  • Shure 520D with a Mexican made element.
  • Shure 520DX with the modern dynamic element.
Clip of Microphone #1
Clip of Microphone #2
Clip of Microphone #3
Clip of Microphone #4

What do you think?  Which microphone is which? 

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