After 6 months of testing mics, here's what I learned. All of the stars aligned to make this video possible.

The link to CMA's youtube channel (they will think I'm cool if you click it):

https://countrymusicassociation.link/...

0:00 - How do you compare mics?
1:53 - What mics should I test?
3:04 - How do you make useful graphs?
4:55 - Mics vs 57
5:28 - But why do mics sound different?
6:50 - Tube vs Solid State
7:36 - Cool vs uncool tubes
8:05 - Transformer vs no transformer
8:33 - Why is volume matching important?
9:11 - EQ in the circuit
9:39 - When do mics distort?
11:54 - Something very exciting
12:48 - Happy learned how to putt
13:19 - Circuits vs capsules vs grilles
14:05 - Messing up a capsule
15:07 - Preston White, capsule maker
16:50 - Capsule tests
18:03 - Only one option left
18:28 - This is Station West
20:19 - The "DB" Solid Tube
20:57 - But some questions were unanswered
21:18 - This is Ocean Way
22:07 - Every test I did
24:44 - The real reason I did all of this
25:25 - How do my mics compare?
26:43 - The Popcan
29:02 - Jam

paypal.me/jimlill

my site is jimlillmusic.com

@jimlill on instagram

Preston White's site is ptwaudio.com

All music in this video was played by me, with love.
___

This was the biggest I've ever dreamed for a video, and somehow all of the dreams came true.

I'm doing tests and comparisons because I love listening to music that sounds good, and I want to be prepared in all situations to make music that sounds good. Microphones were a blind spot for me. I didn't know how big the gap was between the tone of the mics that were used on my favorite records and the tone of the mics I use every day, and I was hoping to find a way to shorten that gap.

I'm very, very happy with where I ended up.

Hopefully you will be, too.

-Jim, 10/2/2023