Guitar Gear Forum

Got a new mic. The SEX1R!


Getting it out of the box it's a hefty sumbitch. Heavy duty metal housing, sturdy as hell. Comes with a clip for a stand, but they do make a full-blown basket mount for it plus a soundproof surround/shield to go around the back side of it if you're grabbing vocs with it or other "not so loud" things where you don't want reflections and other noises popping through.

So I ran through some mic tests this morning to get a baseline for comparison. The amp was set up to sound acceptable for the 609 so when the x1R comes into play it sounds a little flubby, which is basically what sounds like in the room right now. Excited to reset the amp to the way I actually enjoy it sounding when I'm sitting in front of it and then recording some other things with the new mic.

It's a quiet mic. I can crank gain on the preamp all the way to hell and back and get zero noise out of it. The 609 and 58 both get really hissy with that kind of gain behind them. Surprisingly, after all the warnings about how much gain it needs to pick up sound, I actually had to roll preamp gain back a little from what the 58 needed to get the same level when it was in the same place on the speaker.

Poximity all up in this bisch. It would sound fuckballs amazing on violin or some other naturally thin source as it's really round on the bottom and not even a little top enhanced on its own. BUT, you can push EQ all you want in post and still get no weird noise out of its tracks, which is really gonna be sweet come mix time.

So on with the comparisons. No post EQ used except for a high-pass at 80hz and in the clip specifically marked as EQed, preamp used for gain only and no EQ or compression used on it. The pics are all taken from different angles, but I tried to line the mics up as close as I could to the same place taking into consideration their different sizes and shapes. All of these have the same bass and drums under them, tried to level match as best as I could, two guitars one hard left, one hard right.

Contender #1 - e609


Clip

Contender #2 - SM58


Clip

Contender #3 - X1R on the grill


Clip

Contender #4 - X1R 6" or so back


Clip

And finally that same sample getting pushed with a high-shelf 3dbs from 800hz on up just to see that there's no huge noise introduced pushing high-end.

Clip

In conclusion:
FUCK THE 609. I think this makes it pretty clear it's got a HARD rasp in the high-mids that just makes the guitars sound like a buzzy mess. The 58 is better (woulda been the 57, but I lent that out). The X1R is fairly close to what I have in the room when pulled back a bit not even messing around with impedance or anything. If I were to set the impedance correctly to match the mic it would probably be dead-on accurate, but I was trying to keep things fair for the comparison. According to the manual it's supposed to run 2,000 ohms and I had it set to 600 this morning. That would likely brighten it up quite a bit if past experiments are any indication. It's got some massive proximity effect going on if you've got it tight on the grill (that's the flubs for those that don't know). Supposed to be able to handle 137db so there's no real fear of damage from the levels I usually can push recording. Should be a good mic once I've had some time to really dial it in properly.

Half tempted to break out the old shitty violin with the tinfoil tone and see what it does for that.

DIdnt listen to clips yet..

But yeah man, an e609 is boosting 4-5khz region pretty significant.. I always find that thin and harshes up distorted guitars.. Ive gotten it to work out sometimes, but overall its always grating to me..

And for sure you'll have to back off the ribbon mic.. I was at least 6 inches away from the grill before I found it captured things right, but then you are picking up room sounds.. So, if you are in the room and you arent cranking the amp, you'll prolly pick up some actual guitar strumming/picking..

Also, you must have a fairly bright amp setting to run those mics that far on the edge..

Cool comparison - honestly I like the 58 the best but the ribbon has potential (the 6" off the grill + high shelf sounded good). That sex mic could be cool on vocals right out of the gate.

You could also go down the multi mic rabbit hole mixing a 57/8 with it to see if you can get a blend going. That can either be fun or an absolute pain in the ass

Yeah, just messing around the 58 + the X1R sounded really good together.

And EndTime, the amp really isn't bright at all in the room. And the mics are actually right off the edge of the dust-cap. My photos are from fuck-awful angles.

nightflameauto wrote:Yeah, just messing around the 58 + the X1R sounded really good together.

And EndTime, the amp really isn't bright at all in the room. And the mics are actually right off the edge of the dust-cap. My photos are from fuck-awful angles.

Damn you angles!!!

They all sound the same on my shitty computer speakers.

No, i can hear a little of the differences but will have to listen again in some headphones or my monitors at home.

The 609 and the EX1 backed off 6" were my favorites. The 58 sounded too "meh" for tones I like. I think combining the EX and 609 would sound rad but that's just me.

JerEvil wrote:The 609 and the EX1 backed off 6" were my favorites. The 58 sounded too "meh" for tones I like. I think combining the EX and 609 would sound rad but that's just me.

I think my ears have officially burnt out on the 609 so I can't hear the good in it. Have to have the amp set so dark to compensate for it that it's basically like being blasted with a shotgun full of low mids while you're playing.

I love your riffs/playing/writing but there's always been something about your tone that I thought was lacking. I agree with your assessment after listening to the clips, it was DEFINITELY the 609. The top end of it reminds me of a cheap tabletop computer mic in a way. The other mics sound a million times better. The tones with the other mics are perhaps a little dark for the mix, but tweaks in mic placement and maybe a little bit of high shelving will surely brighten them up without sounding like the screechy mess the 609 seems to be.

Markdude wrote:I love your riffs/playing/writing but there's always been something about your tone that I thought was lacking. I agree with your assessment after listening to the clips, it was DEFINITELY the 609. The top end of it reminds me of a cheap tabletop computer mic in a way. The other mics sound a million times better. The tones with the other mics are perhaps a little dark for the mix, but tweaks in mic placement and maybe a little bit of high shelving will surely brighten them up without sounding like the screechy mess the 609 seems to be.

I'll actually be able to turn the treble up past 9 o'clock on the amp itself using the other mics.

I really like the e609 and it's big brother, the e906. All guitars on here were recorded with them:

https://soundcloud.com/echocollider/echo-collider-home-2014-demo

https://soundcloud.com/echocollider/rewind-2015-demo

Post to remind me to check out after work.
I never recorded with a ribbon mic before. Can't wait to hear the clips!

I liked the 58 the best overall. But I'll bet the X1R and the 58 mixed together would sound great! The X1R has a lot more thickness and body in the mids, and the 58 has the presence.

nightflameauto wrote: And the mics are actually right off the edge of the dust-cap. My photos are from fuck-awful angles.

Fair enough, but ime, you are still going to want to move the ribbon mic closer to center, if not dead center... It'll lack a lot of highs and cut otherwise.. Its a whole different ballgame as far as mic placement..

nakedzen wrote:I liked the 58 the best overall. But I'll bet the X1R and the 58 mixed together would sound great! The X1R has a lot more thickness and body in the mids, and the 58 has the presence.

Yep. I'm really thinking I tweak the preamp to match the X1R, and it will sound pretty damn epic. But right now the 58+X1R mix is about the best I can get out of what I recorded this morning.

I'll have to experiment with placement, EndTime.

Hope I get more time with it this weekend.

Blended 58 + X1R distant tracks. For science.

Guitars almost sound too thick there. I'm thinking with some careful EQ I could get it sounding a little more real and stop them from stomping all over the mix. But I think my next experiment is gonna be mic placement and messing with preamp settings. Did a bunch of reading on ribbon mics with guitar amps and some dudes swear on sticking it right in the grill and lowering the impedance to help roll off the bass from proximity, while others say pull way back and point at the center of the cab with the impedance way the hell up. So I'll have some serious experimenting to do.

Also, my new fire hazard amp is at the UPS center in town, but it's looking like I can't get it until Monday.

I'm still looking for something reasonably priced to go along with my 57/609

These are still showing up around $199.

JerEvil wrote:I'm still looking for something reasonably priced to go along with my 57/609

These are still showing up around $199.

I dig it pretty well. Center it on your dust cap and pull it back anywhere from eight to twelve inches. Does much better with more volume, but even at moderate volumes it blends really nicely with a 57 or 58. Like the 57 helps counter the low-end throb the 1R introduces and the 1R counters some of the fizz the 57 brings along if you can get them locked in phase.

Does great on vocs too, but I need to find my damn pop filter. Right now I'm side-blasting it to avoid spitting at it. No idea where my pop filters went.

nightflameauto wrote:Blended 58 + X1R distant tracks. For science.

Guitars almost sound too thick there. I'm thinking with some careful EQ I could get it sounding a little more real and stop them from stomping all over the mix. But I think my next experiment is gonna be mic placement and messing with preamp settings. Did a bunch of reading on ribbon mics with guitar amps and some dudes swear on sticking it right in the grill and lowering the impedance to help roll off the bass from proximity, while others say pull way back and point at the center of the cab with the impedance way the hell up. So I'll have some serious experimenting to do.

Also, my new fire hazard amp is at the UPS center in town, but it's looking like I can't get it until Monday.

That's one of the best tones I've heard from your recordings imo. I'd still try working on getting a little more cut, but that sounds ace to me.

I gotta say, I think the X1R and 609 would sound awesome together. The 58 for me feels very muddy. Maybe it can be EQ'd more in post but the 609, while a little sizzley stands out in the mix better to my old ass ears.

JerEvil wrote:I gotta say, I think the X1R and 609 would sound awesome together. The 58 for me feels very muddy. Maybe it can be EQ'd more in post but the 609, while a little sizzley stands out in the mix better to my old ass ears.

It would be worth a try. For science.

Modest wrote:

JerEvil wrote:I gotta say, I think the X1R and 609 would sound awesome together. The 58 for me feels very muddy. Maybe it can be EQ'd more in post but the 609, while a little sizzley stands out in the mix better to my old ass ears.

It would be worth a try. For science.

I'm saying...

I'll have to see about that at some point. Been spending most of my music time just writing and throwing down scratch tracks so real toanz hasn't been a huge priority. Been way too busy to do more than doodle scratches.