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Pop Can Microphone? Or Pop Can't Microphone?

Emmett…Have you seen the video? https://youtu.be/4Bma2TE-x6M What do you think? The pop can mic sounds just like that vintage mic that’s, like, $30k.

 

Yep, I have seen it. I think it’s very thorough, and very cool. But I also think there’s very little info that applies to voiceover.


I’ll address the mic made from the soda can later. I want to begin by stressing, as thorough as these tests are, as much effort and thought went into them, and as well laid out as the explanations are, these tests are deeply flawed, in a number of ways. 


It sounds like I’m being critical, but I’m really not. I think the creator went to great lengths to create the tests, and he did a phenomenal job of breaking down exactly what he was doing, and why. I’d go so far as to say, I could not have done better, unless I had months to work on it, and very deep pockets. In a home setting, I don’t really think anyone, myself included, could have done it as well as he did.


However, sound laboratories and anechoic chambers exist for a reason. A home setting is not suitable for critical testing. All of the data is inherently flawed, and that’s simply unavoidable. Moreover, the tests excluded information that wasn’t relevant for this specific demonstration, but is very relevant to mic choice for VO. 


Let me bring in one of my car analogies. Imagine getting a bunch of cars together to test their performance. But the road isn’t flat, straight, or smooth, the cars don’t have the same type or condition of tires, they aren’t using the same fuel, and instead of miles or kilometers per hour, speed is measured in gazordniks per flafhapen. Even though the road curves, we aren’t going to measure handling characteristics, only speed. And we won’t factor in downforce or other aerodynamic characteristics, speed only. Our control/baseline car will be a 2004 Toyota Corolla, which has 140,000 miles on the odometer, mismatched tires, and a questionable suspension. Without going any deeper into the analogy, you can see that it might be interesting to watch, and it might give us some information about performance under those specific circumstances, but the data wouldn’t be very relevant to learning all about how the other cars perform, only how they perform on that exact road, in one specific way, compared to an old Corolla. No matter how meticulous the tests are, they cannot overcome the inherent flaws. The mic tests are similar. Entertaining, but not a good source of information for decision-making.


I promised I would revisit the soda can mic. You'll notice that particular part of the video presents the audio samples differently than the rest, and without measurements or detailed comparisons. Why is that? Well, really, it's kind of a parlor trick. The human brain constantly searches for patterns, and fills in gaps where it thinks it recognizes a pattern. By repeating the same recording in a short, seamless loop, the brain is tricked into believing the second sample sounds the same as the first. It does not. if you break up the samples with a short silence in between them, it becomes very easy to identify the soda can. I expect the presentation was deliberate. So, can a soda can sound like a five-figure vintage tube mic? No, that's absurd. The only thing to take away from the soda can mic, is that a soda can with decent components can create a somewhat novel mic that doesn't sound like complete garbage. It's interesting, but in a real shootout, I suspect any popular budget condenser would win in a landslide.


If there is something to be taken away from the demonstration, it's that each mic sounds different -- even those that share a model number. And along those same lines, it's worth noting how similar different mics can sound, when they use similar components. All of that amounts to almost nothing useful. The thing to know, is that more expensive mics usually sound better, but not that much better. You won't book more work with a five-figure mic, than a low four-figure mic. You might appreciate the differences, but for the most part, your clients won't much care. Low-noise, low-distortion, high-fidelity sound is rather affordable. Most of the rest comes down to taste. But don't make a mic from a soda can and expect good results,


Emmett

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