Beta-57 and Dyn-B compared

[PB+J]

Ok, here's a clip, with all the intonation horrors and tempo screwups, of me hacking through a B-flat blues. I recorded the Schertler Dyn-B and the Shure Beta-57 simultaneously, direct into a Mackie Onyx satellite and then into Logic Pro--no eq or anything else. The Shure is set up Chris Fitzgerald-style.

Forgive the playing.

First the Dyn B

http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/magic/dyn-b.mp4

Then the Shure Beta 57

http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/magic/beta-57.mp4

The Shure has more "air" and sounds sweeter overall, but the Dyn-B has more bass response, and in some ways is closer to what I want to sound like. A little judicious eq could get some air into that Dyn-B signal, maybe

[Ale]

Great test , the Beta 57 just sounds amazing.
Ive been using it lately , and i definetly think its comperable to many good condenser mics. It is very defined and really detailed sounding. Sweet tone.

[bolo]

Originally Posted by PB+J

The Shure has more "air" and sounds sweeter overall, but the Dyn-B has more bass response, and in some ways is closer to what I want to sound like. A little judicious eq could get some air into that Dyn-B signal, maybe

Hey bro. When the DYN-B track started off, I thought "Whoa, that's pretty nice." You definitely have it working better on your bass than I did on mine during my little trial.

Like I think you were saying, it does sound better to me in the lower register than up high. In the upper register, it does start to sound more like a pickup, but still with a somewhat more resonant sound than I typically think of from a p/u.

Where did you have the Shure placed? It sounds more natural, but a maybe little thin to me.

I am not sure you can inject "air" into the sound via EQ, but if you figger it out, lemme know pal.

[PB+J]

I sometimes think bass players would be better off with one of the DYN series made for other instruments, like the one for guitar, which rolls off the low frequencies. I think it sounds pretty dern good on my bass, but like you noticed the weakness is in the highs. I still like the highs better than any piezo I've ever used, but the beta-57 is much better than either. I actually liked the standard SM-57 a little better than the beta, but the beta has a tighter cardioid pattern

[bolo]

Okay Chief, but if you're gonna mimic me, it's "durn," not "dern."

Where did you have the Shure placed? The rubber band bridge thing, or on a mic stand maybe?

[PB+J]

rubber band bridge, a la Chris Fitzgerald. Mic stand might be a better idea--I have to crank the gain pretty high. I have a gig tomorrow and I think I'll bring the mic, see if it works

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Without any EQ, I'd rate them about even, altough the Beta was a little bright. When I rolled back the mids and highs a bit (my computer is hooked up to a Yamaha mixer with 3 band EQ), I liked the Beta much better. I only thought to do this because that's the way I set the EQ on the Focus with the mic. When I tried to roll of some of the "zing" from the Dyn-B, it kind of hollowed out the sound. Either way, both sound pretty good. Wish I could have gotten a clean signal out of the Dyn-B on my bass.

[bolo]

Yup, well said. In my case, I tend to try moving the mic around looking for the most balanced and natural sound instead of turning EQ knobs. That's why I asked about mic placement. Easy to do with the AMT or the H-clamp - hard to do with rubber bands 'tween the legs.

I know - turning EQ knobs is probably much easier. But I am fascinated sometimes by how many differents tonal variances you can pick up with a mic (no pun intended) by trying different locations, distances from the table, angle of the head to the table, on and on. Probably a combination of the two approaches makes the most sense.

Thanks for taking the time to create and post the A/B test PB+J.