$60 Microphone vs $700 Microphone (with and without plugins) - RecordingRevolution.com 

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You have cured my "it is not the fault of my skills, it is the fault of my gear" syndrom and pushed me to just work harder. Precious content.

Moral of the story, a great song recorded well on cheap gear will outshine a not so great song recorded on expensive gear with less skill. End of the day, the average consumer of music doesn’t care what was used to get the end result. All they know is they either like your music or they don’t. Great content as usual Graham.

I'm using the C1 right now on an EP. It's honestly serving me just fine!

Behringer C1: the first condenser mic I ever bought back in 2006. What an amazing mic for the price! Still a workhorse till today.

I'd love to hear the whole song. Got a great groove.

I feel like the Neumann has a flatter, more natural EQ curve, but that doesn't mean that is the best thing for every vocalist in every track.

I have the C1. Haven't used it yet, but it will have to come out of the box now and play.

I used to work for Sennheiser. In the shop we had a jig that we put the shotgun (condenser) mics in to test them. We’d run a frequency sweep and display a chart on a screen (like the response chart you’d get packed with the mic). They were never exactly the same but if the capsule was too far off or the electronics were defective we’d replace parts until the trace was within normal limits (of course we’d keep the best ones for ourselves and our friends). The transducer we used in the jig was nothing more than a headphone capsule from an HD 414 headphone (if you remember those). The jig kept it a constant distance from the mic, and then we just swept the frequency with an oscillator. I don’t see why no one does that today - and eliminate all the guess work over which mics sounds better. Even when we mix with EQ we’re only seeing how much gain or boost we apply - not the effective (modified) frequency response curve we are creating. That would be a lot more useful.

You can get the Behringer used for 20 bucks. Insane.

If it was a blind test I would have the C1 ahead of the game - it's brighter and I prefer it. Lovely track and I really like your voice - a wee touch of Sting, which is high praise indeed.

The brightness of the C1 makes it very hard to tuck it in a mix even after saturation. It sticks out like a sore thumb. The TLM is on another level, not 10 times better but gives something that the C1 can't

I brought 2 several years ago and got them right before a gig! I used 1 as a over hang and the other on guitar amp!! OMG they I got for these mics made me go buy 8 more! Perfect for snare, hi hats Toms and horns!!! The best 60 bucks that you can spend!!!!! Hands down!!!!

There isn't huge difference between microphones anymore. If they are, a simple eq tweak can change that.

The Neumann gives a noticeably more intimate and personal sound to the vocal to my ears. But for $60 as a getting started mic... it certainly can work for new people starting out. I think that point if this video is to prove that there are no excuses for not being able to record good music and good vocals on your own with a very limited budget. Thanks!

The c1 was my first mic. It's a good mic and it can sound even better than the tlm for some purposes, especially when you are working on moderate volumes. For very loud music it might fall over the place. I remembered working with the tlm in a commercial studio and saying "I can get this result in my studio", and I was right.

Actually liked the sound of the Behringer C1 better after you eq'd it. Just prefered the brightness of it cutting through the mix without having to side chain at all.

I just learned that the frequency response charts are even more important than I had ever realized. Also important is the self-noise level of the mic.

He is very likable, and his info and tips are really inspiring. It's refreshing to see someone talk recording without adding a gear tax on it. Spend this to sound better.

I use C1 in my home studio and its been wonderful. But TLM102 means less work on the DAW. Even so, the vocalist should be great first and the engineer should know what they are looking for. Great Video!

There's no way I'd spend $700 on a mic that a $60 mic with a little tweaking sounds as good as. Thanks for doing this comparison.

Just a de esser and the behringer is golden! I’ve been looking at a c1. Excellent video! Just a little work you can make lower price points work incredibly well!

Well, as far as I can see the difference between those is about as much as a large diaphragm condenser can differ. The TLM is not only different in eq but far superior considering transient clarity as far as one can tell via youtube. If that kind of quality difference is worth your hard earned money is a complete different story for sure.

I preferred the raw sound of the Neumann, but I always thought you could make up a lot in post. And you proved it. As I am purely an amateur, and a dub one at that, I appreciate that. Thanks.

At first i liked the $60 Behringer but after the EQ i think i preferred the $700 because it seems more full and richer. But once again it is amazing how good inexpensive Mics can be. I bought your recommendation the Samson C1 and it has been doing well. Your vids have really blessed me with info and experiential knowledge! Thanks my friend

Love to see that i am not only person whose fighting with harshness in beheringer microphones But thanks to you now i have solution from my favourite teacher ❤️❤️ Love from india ❤️

Ive used the C1 for almost 10 years now and it has never let me down. There are times where it sounds really cheap but with a quick fix I can make it sound hella clean

I thought the c1 was nice but I began to feel that my eardrums were going to burst. If I hadcto choose though I'd go with the c1

Thank you so much for this video, you helped me decide for the C1, which is the one I'm able to buy. thank you!

Brilliant insight. I think this video really highlights the “start with the source” mentality we all should have, great vocal performance 👍

Tenor, soprano, base, acoustics in the room etc... there are many variables that plays and difference between these 2 cardiod microphones. Great video.

Good comparison. 😊 And thanx again, that you put in focus, that it's performance and work that makes the sound - not the gear! 🙏

Great comparison. Actually personally i prefer the mics that are warmer and fuller because i see most of them when you process them they sound kinda cheap in comparison with a more expensive mic that it is more durable to processing.

To me, TLM sounds better for lead vocals (clarity), C1 for background (warmer)...but the C1 gets the job done, I have the C1 myself...I think it can be subjective depending on what sound you going for

Thanks man. This video helped me a lot. I have the C-1 and was debating on spending more money for a better mic before I get started. For sure not gonna stress it anymore and just jump right in and do work.

Both sound better than my scarlet 2i2 mic so a guess amma buy that Beringer for the $60

The Neumann gives more options and has a larger spectrum. The Behringer just sounds a bit plasticky. In my opinion it really lacks low end. I listened on my wireless Sony headphones. If the Behringer's imperfections (after processing) compared to the Neumann are so audible on such cheap headphones, I'm afraid they will stick out quite a bit on my studio monitors. If you are in a pinch the C1 can be useful, however if I had to choose between the two I'll always choose the TLM 102.

The Neumann still sound smoother even after you've done a lof of processing on the Behringer.

The expensive mic is definitely more neutral allowing you to dial the sound exactly how you want. However the cheap mic isn't bad after tweaking and still got good results!

15 minute mark you nailed it. Sounds like a great tune on the way!

Love the video, and didn’t realize you could sing so well!! I finally got a $900 microphone, I still love using my $60 MXL because I know exactly where it’s weaknesses are!

I genuinely loved my Behringer C1, which I bought in 2008 and lasted me until last year before suddenly dying after years of being battered about in studios and in bags n stuff. Replaced it with an Audio Technica AT2020 which I blagged for £72 with a sale coupon. Both are absolute bargains for bedroom producers like myself that just like to knock up home demo stuff or record band rehearsals. The C1 sounds really nice recording piano btw. I thought it was a great vocal mic, but not great at spoken word stuff because of it's brightness. I love how you demonstrated that the harshness can be mixed nice with a few plug ins. The C-1 and/or a cheap SM57 copy from Pyle or Stagg for around £15-£20, a free daw like CakeWalk or Reaper and a USB XLR interface are all you really need these days to record a decent sounding demo/home tape. It's amazing, int it? 20 years ago, the equipment these free VSTs and DAWs offer and decent mics would have cost an absolute fortune.

The TLM 102 just gives you so much more to work with

I like your videos, Graham, although this shootout suffers from the same thing almost every test or comparison suffers; knowing in advance. I like the blind test, where you play recordings from both contestants in random order and blind, so you don't know which is which. Then let your public decide what they think is the best or whatever. The results are amazing.

I like the sound of the C-1, but I may be biased since I have a C-3 (which I also bought from Sweetwater). I'm glad you did this comparison as it shows once again that expensive mics shouldn't be as expensive as they are. There is not a whole lot of difference between the C-1 and TLM.

So guys, I just bought the C-1 for home recording, got my little rig set up, guitar, mic and looking for a cheapish weighted 49key midi keys, but I can say that the C-1 is fantastic, I use Reaper for my recording and found that reaper has some great tools to mellow te sound of the mic, before hand I was using a USB mic which wasn't anywhere near as good as this and found that the quality of the C-1 is by far the best quality I have used over my friends studio mic there is hardly if any difference to the sound.... Honest opinion my C-1 vs my friends NW-800...... The C-1 out performs, maybe its my vocals but I feel that I get a better performance. PS I use for music vocal recording and also Voice over as an Actor and Musician. Hope this helps anyone who is new to the game

Graham whenever I have doubts I always refer to your inspiring videos.. You have time and time again demonstrated it not about the price of the gear. It is your ability to manipulate it to accomplish what u need. 👍👍👍👍👍

I agree. Good recording result is highly related to personal skills. For high quality microphones we pay for the build quality and features as well as the sound quality. Thank you for the great and very useful video.

At 60$ ... Behringer win by far. One more proof that the key element of any recording is the quality of the actual performance, be a vocalist, an instrument, a sound fx, whatever. And then, the knowledge and expertise of the engineer capturing that performance.

I really like the brightness of the c-1. The nuemann for such a drastic price difference isn't justifiable to drop $700 on, especially if you aren't a professional in a legit studio, it the end the c-1 is the over all winner cause the main consumer of that Mic is going to be hobbyist and bedroom studio musicians, now what if somebody like yourself as a professional, record a full record on this Mic? And released the record through sony or whatever, a professional engineer is going to make the c-1 sound like a million bucks and in the end people don't really care, as long as the music is good.

I love the TLM102!!!

Your voice is so good , man ! The song is amazing , congrats !!!

dude, the track and your vocals are amazing!

I'm so frustrated, because everyone seems to hear a difference expect me.

I always say this and this proof was the confirmation. Best video I have come across in a long time. 💓🔥

Great video Graham! As always everything defaults to the performance first, then you can throw the glitter on the tracks. Of course, the more expensive mic sounds better but my budget won't allow it. Still using my 30 years old SM 58 and 57.

Those drums are amazing

A ‘better’ mic is relative to whatever the job or creative vision is. Some mics can get you there closer and faster, but it still depends on what you’re working towards

I remember when I got the Antares mic modeller. By and large, I was ridiculed for thinking that it was actually able to model those high-end mics. A couple years later I saw Todd Rungren used it on one of his cds. Now plug ins for everything is all the rage. Shows you how wrong common thought can be.

Getting a great preamp will do the trick to any mic is something that I've learned recently but when you record you have to preform your lyrics and imagine how you want them to sound then make that happen.

Really well done. Fantastic job with this. Not just a head-to-head, but a short class in vocal processing.

The C1 was pretty close but felt it needed maybe some dynamic Eq in upper mids or some BX Refinement.. I guess the moral of the story is the more expensive mic needs less work to get it to sound more “polished”.. some EQ and compression and the Neumann was on point .. C1 needed some Stephen Slate on there (i was wondering if you’d pull out some VTM on the C1)

I'm mixing and mastering those "c1" recordings quite a lot. The problem is that it's very hard to make it cut through the loud instrumental (i'm mostly work with edm) without making mid/high super harsh. You just have a lot more room to boost the vocals the way you need with Neumann. but...ofc if you on a budget - get c1 and keep your eye on the peaks cuz it can distort quite bad on high peaks

From the jump i liked the $60 mic for the brightness and even with the plugins but The $700 has warmer sound to it. Also, tho its not my style of music at all. Great sounding voice.

C1 is killing it

I love it when you cant hold the mask: "So what's the point of all this? (giggles) the point is as usual...." It must be hard to hear yourself say the same thing so many times, just to give us a clear message :D It's working though. Havent bought new gear in about 3 years now, and now I'm finally getting a little acoustic treatment set up, instead of buying new monitors, pedals and gear in general. You can really get far on very limited budgets nowadays! Just like your videos show us again and again! :) Thank you teaching me stuff the last 5-6 years.

I just finished to record my voice on the C-1, what are the odds xD Thanks man, i will take some tips :)

Concept of the test was cool. Actually really enjoyed the vox takes, great job man

I definitely prefer the cheaper one on your vocal in this test (key part there). LOL. Thanks for sharing!

AWESOME VID GRAHAM! Much success to you brother!

Behringer C1 is better i just ordered last couple days for budget and quality is almost similar with the neumann.. good to go with behhringer for starting. It's about skills We love you Sir. From INDIAN

You just taught me how to EQ and Compress. You are a genius dude. Nice work. God bless.

I'd take TLM. Anytime. So I can EQ the hell out of it in order to make it sound like C1... 🤓 😂

I prefer the Behringer C1 I had that microphone and someone borrowed it and didn’t return it. It sounds good enough to cut through the mix with similar Eq processing, I like the brightness. Thanks for sharing.

The C1 seems to have like a grit to it. The Neumann sounds smoother and n natural. Both would work😁

At my studio, the main TLM 102 microphone, an excellent microphone, the tracks recorded on it through Focusrite Scralett 2Gen several times hit the Russian top 10 Apple Music, and the total advances exceeded $ 50K. Today I already work with RME Babyface Pro FS, a terrific interface, I recommend it. P.S. I apologize, there may be problems with my English.

Noticed the C1 is on the mixbus channel and that normally would have effects on it already if im not mistaken

Honestly the comments are correct what makes the TLM way more worthy is the fullness because it’s more room to work with in the EQ process, where as the C1 Forces a harsh brightness almost artificially into the mix

for this recording the b1 is definately better sounding since it cut through the beat quite nicely, but both mics are good its not about the price its about the textures you get with them.

It's not the gear, it's the music. Good video!

I liked the more expensive before and after. I would’ve tamed the highs even more on the Behringer that may’ve done the trick for me. Nonetheless we’ll executed video!

Really great song, first of all I've been using C1 and I really love it. The problem is that I've seen I few of them with noise problems (mine included) due its construction

I always prefer the warmer mic to start with, but with plugins and a good engineer, you bridge the gap really well.

I recording in headphones and tapes from 98-2006 then cheaper mics 30$ for like 5 years now I have a rode nt1a I paid 100 for and I wont need anything else. Love when people just show you can make music for passion.thanks

This reminds me of a test I did in a music store once. $300 Taylor, $1200 Taylor, and $3000 Taylor. The $300 sounded better than the $1200; and while the $3000 sounded "better", it sure didn't sound $2700 better. I know there's a ton a variables, but basically "better" equipment isn't "worth it" to most musicians; especially with all the option on mixers, pedals, and software. Good vid.

I record myself on my $10 earphones. I use it for everything. Producing, sound design, mixing, mastering and all those stuff.

Awesome lesson Graham

Reseña en español personal por si quieres comprarte el micrófono: El behringer tiene demasiado brillo molesto, podría decirse que es su contra pero el Neumann tiene un poco de frecuencias medias bajas que hace que suene un poco a caja, la mezcla seria un poco difícil para que encaje en un instrumental . Si no tuviera el dinero suficiente compraria el Behringer y lo estudiaria mas a fondo para poder controlar sus frecuencias molestas y evitar problemas en la mezcla, para sacarle todo el provecho ya que tiene mucho potencial.

Great video! I have been trying out all the mics at the studio I work at to see what sounds best on my voice. So far the Neumann U87 is winning. The Manley is next up, and the Sony C800 is last which I know a lot of people like this mic, but it is too bright for my vocals, almost sounds brittle sometimes.

There is more of a difference with a higher end mic pre. That low end on the TLM 102 will have a more noticeable fullness.

I almost boughy behringer c1. But audio technica At2020v made its way in my decision as my first condenser mic! Amazing c1 in its small , affordable package!

For a while I was feeling bad about my Rode NT2A, thinking those step-up Neumanns (102/103) were probably much better. Then I did a blind test of those mics and several others at Audio Test Kitchen, and the Rode sounded noticeably better to my ears, on vocals and instruments alike. Felt better after that!

those lyrics is hitting bro dope sound

Your vocal melodies and phrasing are so cool they're on fire. LOVE your falsetto. Production amazing too. I'm a big fan of your music. Following on Spotify and hearted some songs.

loved the super objective comparison.

c1 sounds more plug n play. throw Nectar on it and be done .

Great video. The $700 Mic sounded really good from the beginning. You made a really good discussion. The difference is the expensive mic is more ready to go without any plugins. Which means more in an analog studio. A DAW environment it means a lot less which mic you used and is more about the performance and just setting the gain correctly.

I’ve been using Behringer equipment for years now and for the money it’s tough to beat, especially now that software in post can make up a lot of the shortcomings.

if you record pink noise of both mics and use a matching eq software to match the C1 pink noise to the Neuman's. I'm pretty sure you will get a crazy result.

Hey. Those vox takes were pretty darn good. I am impressed. Great takes Gram you make it easy for the engineer. Props