Kind of tricky to compare them in light of the different mic positions and especially the discrepency of gain levels. Sure -- the u87 sticks out (we have a very strong tendency to hear higher gain as superior quality), but even if one manually tries to adjust the volume setting on this video to try and compensate for the differences in gain, other mics come to the fore. In such a case, the u87 comes across a bit boom-y (not really a good thing) and the Microtech Gefell is the winner for pure tone. But first you have to get them on an even playing field in terms of gain. (Incidentally, I usually use a Sony c800G or a Neumann m149 in the studios, but these are probably less available.)
Thanks for this! A great resource. I'd be curious to hear them setup closer to the same location and compensated for gain differences. as is...I'm a fan of the U87 and the Gefell.
@@billduris464 interestingly, part of the goal of this video was to demonstrate that the gaping price difference between the everyday iPhone SE and the U87 does not necessarily map to perceived sound quality. Don't get me wrong. I will still probably use the U87 or 414 for my next bass recording.
I favor the U87 overall; however would consider the UMT70, 414, Kiwi depending on the recording requirements. Would love to have heard an AEA R84 in the mix.
Blue Kiwi, sensational dynamics and quickness. No boomy lows as in the u87 I thought. The Gefell and the AKG 3003 and the 414 too, was also nice correct, but not with the character. Thanks a lot!
I think I was surprised the most by the Neumann 184, a nice balance for a small mic. It and the large Neumann U87 had my favourite mid-range. Several others I was surprised by how much top end they lost, like the AKG 414 I sometimes have in front of me on recordings. No more!
Would have liked to have heard some ribbon mics, will look at your channel to see if any are there. For me they add “shape’ to the sound that is not as easy to obtain on most microphones.
I believe I liked the U87 the most, but then again the positioning is so important that others may have sounded as good in their optimal position. I don't know, it's hard to say.
Wonderful playing and great video. Do you remember what polar pattern the U87 and 414 were set to? Thanks for sharing this and would be great to see more.
Nice comparison! To set a common level is not easy, and the mics are not in the same positions(which is nearly impossible). Especially the Zoom H2 seems not to have the same amount of level as the iPhone... Thank you very much for your effort!
U87 ! Médiums are very cool and the dynamic is very pleasant ;) I like it very much . Gefell 2 nd position. I hate the tlm 103 ... The électret of the iPhone works surprisingly good ...not very hot but good enough to have an idea of the sound of this bass .
AKG 414/U87 seem the best but it is very difficult to get an opinion because we should know the REAL sound of the bass to know which microphone has the most faithful rendering. But thank you this is very helpfull
about a foot off of the floor, about the same distance away from the bass as the B.L.U.E. Kiwi. I'm amazed at the tech that is packed into a simple SE phone. The iPhone does sound decent, although I would still never do any kind of formal recording with it.
Great video. A few comments: 1) If possible, he could've recorded a single time while turning on all mikes. Or maybe 3~4 mikes at a time so that the sound we hear can be kept consistent. 2) Kiwi and se Electronics 4400a were the best at capturing the bass. I'm listening with high quality studio headphones, and the bass coming from those were just levels beyond the rest. 3) The shotgun mike sucks at capturing the bass. It cut so much of it out lol.
The posititioning of the microphones affects the sound a lot. E.g imho, the 414 would've sounded better if you placed on the opposite (G string side) aiming at the strings. Coincidentally more or less the position the Neumanns are in.
You're very right about the 414. I gave it short shrift, in my desire to control for the same performance for each mic. If I had to do it again, I would switch the position of the 414 with the 103 or the Kiwi.
Thank you for making videos like this, could you please tell me what settings you use on the Zoom H2N? I am trying to set it up but when recording, it does not record as direct but has some echo. Thank you very much.
I liked the Neumann u87 the most, although the blue kiwi and Neuman 103 come quite close. The worst was the iphone and neuman 184, very thin sounding. The rest kind of in the middle, a bit muffled bu not terrible. I personally use zoom H2N for normal videos and iphone for shorts, but I consider changing the device for the shorts beacuse it seems that it is not good enough. I was listening through audio technica headphones, forgot which model. Big thanks for the comparison :)
There's no best.. they all have their character and what matters most is using a mic, its placement and the most important is the player's technique.. I will rule out the iphone and the zoom from my choice other than that any mic ( even cheap options) is better than the most expensive pickup or DI/Piezo solution imho...
![Kontrabass Pickup-Vergleich [ Pickup comparison ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eNKHoHTPP1U/mqdefault.jpg)
The mic placement makes a bigger difference than the mic in this case
i like the Neumann u87 the best. at least to my ear, it sounds the most detailed without adding a color of its own.
U87 for me, but even the iPhone SE sounded good. I think your quality bass playing helped for sure also!!
Kind of tricky to compare them in light of the different mic positions and especially the discrepency of gain levels. Sure -- the u87 sticks out (we have a very strong tendency to hear higher gain as superior quality), but even if one manually tries to adjust the volume setting on this video to try and compensate for the differences in gain, other mics come to the fore. In such a case, the u87 comes across a bit boom-y (not really a good thing) and the Microtech Gefell is the winner for pure tone. But first you have to get them on an even playing field in terms of gain. (Incidentally, I usually use a Sony c800G or a Neumann m149 in the studios, but these are probably less available.)
Thanks for this! A great resource. I'd be curious to hear them setup closer to the same location and compensated for gain differences. as is...I'm a fan of the U87 and the Gefell.
The Neumann had the most classic sound but the iPhone SE had the best overall sound. Masterful bass playing, thank you!
The iPhone sounds about as good as the $3,200 Neuman U87! Interesting.
@@billduris464 interestingly, part of the goal of this video was to demonstrate that the gaping price difference between the everyday iPhone SE and the U87 does not necessarily map to perceived sound quality. Don't get me wrong. I will still probably use the U87 or 414 for my next bass recording.
@@UNOdoublebass Sounded like the IPhone was on an auto gain that's why it had so much presences..
I favor the U87 overall; however would consider the UMT70, 414, Kiwi depending on the recording requirements. Would love to have heard an AEA R84 in the mix.
It's impressive how good the recording sounds on the iPhone! U87 is my favorite though
Neumann U87 was my top pick. Surprised I didn't find the AKG 414 as good as I had expected. Blue Kiwi and Microtech were decent too.
Blue Kiwi, sensational dynamics and quickness. No boomy lows as in the u87 I thought. The Gefell and the AKG 3003 and the 414 too, was also nice correct, but not with the character. Thanks a lot!
I think I was surprised the most by the Neumann 184, a nice balance for a small mic. It and the large Neumann U87 had my favourite mid-range. Several others I was surprised by how much top end they lost, like the AKG 414 I sometimes have in front of me on recordings. No more!
This video was really helpful, thank you!
Would have liked to have heard some ribbon mics, will look at your channel to see if any are there. For me they add “shape’ to the sound that is not as easy to obtain on most microphones.
I believe I liked the U87 the most, but then again the positioning is so important that others may have sounded as good in their optimal position. I don't know, it's hard to say.
This, absolutely. True test would have been to have each mic in the same position.. But, I appreciate the effort for what it is. Good playing!
Wonderful playing and great video. Do you remember what polar pattern the U87 and 414 were set to?
Thanks for sharing this and would be great to see more.
184. A little fizzy on its own but would be very present in a mix. U87 sounds great solo. Glad I’ve got both.
Thank you for wonderful vidos!
Nice comparison! To set a common level is not easy, and the mics are not in the same positions(which is nearly impossible). Especially the Zoom H2 seems not to have the same amount of level as the iPhone... Thank you very much for your effort!
Damn good sounding board.. They all sound good.
U87 ! Médiums are very cool and the dynamic is very pleasant ;) I like it very much .
Gefell 2 nd position.
I hate the tlm 103 ...
The électret of the iPhone works surprisingly good ...not very hot but good enough to have an idea of the sound of this bass .
AKG 414/U87 seem the best but it is very difficult to get an opinion because we should know the REAL sound of the bass to know which microphone has the most faithful rendering. But thank you this is very helpfull
Where was located the iphone, its sounds very decent...
about a foot off of the floor, about the same distance away from the bass as the B.L.U.E. Kiwi. I'm amazed at the tech that is packed into a simple SE phone. The iPhone does sound decent, although I would still never do any kind of formal recording with it.
U87 perfect tone!! And iphone do a loud and good job ;-)
Great video. A few comments:
1) If possible, he could've recorded a single time while turning on all mikes. Or maybe 3~4 mikes at a time so that the sound we hear can be kept consistent.
2) Kiwi and se Electronics 4400a were the best at capturing the bass. I'm listening with high quality studio headphones, and the bass coming from those were just levels beyond the rest.
3) The shotgun mike sucks at capturing the bass. It cut so much of it out lol.
The posititioning of the microphones affects the sound a lot. E.g imho, the 414 would've sounded better if you placed on the opposite (G string side) aiming at the strings. Coincidentally more or less the position the Neumanns are in.
You're very right about the 414. I gave it short shrift, in my desire to control for the same performance for each mic. If I had to do it again, I would switch the position of the 414 with the 103 or the Kiwi.
They all sound really good, but if I had to choose it would probably be the u87 😅
Wonderful video and impeccable playing! Would you mind telling us the strings used on this Double Bass? Thanks!
Thanks! I use d'Addario Kaplans (mediums).
@@UNOdoublebass Thanks!
What exactly were the settings on the AKG 414. Sounded like figure 8 to me. Please check.
Quite interesting how good the iphone is. Did you use Voice Memos to record on it?
AKG 414/U87 sounds best
My man!! Your playing is too good for a bass like that you need yourself something fancy!! Still sounded great of course;)
Thank you for making videos like this, could you please tell me what settings you use on the Zoom H2N? I am trying to set it up but when recording, it does not record as direct but has some echo.
Thank you very much.
AKG 414
Yeah this is the one you want for instruments.
It's most very popular for good reason.
Thank you!
neumann 103!
And you UNOdoublebass which one do you prefer?
Thank you make this Video! I like Neumann and Iphone, Iphone is really not bad, if concern the price
how far is B.L.U.E. Kiwi distance away from the bass ? Thank you!
I’m listening on my iPhone. No headphones. I liked the AKG 3000B the best, but I was incredibly surprised by the quality of the iPhone sound.
Zoom H2, the best !
the u87 sound PHATTTT
I liked the Neumann u87 the most, although the blue kiwi and Neuman 103 come quite close.
The worst was the iphone and neuman 184, very thin sounding.
The rest kind of in the middle, a bit muffled bu not terrible.
I personally use zoom H2N for normal videos and iphone for shorts, but I consider changing the device for the shorts beacuse it seems that it is not good enough.
I was listening through audio technica headphones, forgot which model.
Big thanks for the comparison :)
There's no best.. they all have their character and what matters most is using a mic, its placement and the most important is the player's technique.. I will rule out the iphone and the zoom from my choice other than that any mic ( even cheap options) is better than the most expensive pickup or DI/Piezo solution imho...
0:29 1:11
Lol the iPhone sounds the best
You can't compare microphones properly when they're all positioned so differently.