Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In A Microphone? 

paypal.me/JimLill So happy to have this video out there. Hope you enjoy it.

This man is singlehandedly demistifying every myth in the audio industry and deserves a spot in music history. Thank you Jim.

I'm a musician and middle school science teacher and your videos have gotten my toughest students to actually care about science. They hate school and love music and these videos are straight science. They are designing their own experiments around music and are getting awesome grades, getting lots of positive attention, and crushing real science. Thanks man!

Considering the SM57 as a standard for measurement as well as a standard for expected usage is a great move, and a testament to how grounded this approach is.

Jim. I work at a 17,000 seat venue called The Budweiser Stage, in Toronto Canada (4th largest city in North America, apparently). Its an outdoor venue that runs May thru October. I've been at this game since 1979, as a preteen. Between my crew and the touring crews that drop into the venue, your videos have been the most discussed topics in Audio that I can remember. Thanks for your hard work. I makes my work, a lot easier.

This guy . . . CMA, do yourself a massive favor and just hire him for a series. The amount of problem-solving, engineering, and artistry is mind-blowing. Keep up the great work Jim!

I'm speechless. The cinematography, the humor, the testing, the playing, the results, the DIY... all flawless. you've outdone yourself again, Jim. it's unbelievable how much mythology you've managed to shatter and explain just by taking things and wondering if they've ever been truly, fairly compared before. and on top of that, the video documentation is entertaining. Cheers, man.

This guy is helping me build the cheapest but highest fidelity recording setup

I just watched a musician conduct a scientific experiment with more rigor than most engineering student I know and even some researchers... Plus your ability to practically apply your electric circuits knowledge exceeds that of some people I know who somehow graduated as engineers. Well done Jim, glad RU-vid sent your video my way!

This was so exceedingly well-produced! I’m a former audio engineer and your very scientific and technical approach, right down to the electrical engineering (and soldering a new mic into existence) was just awesome.

Gotta say the indiana jones bit with the SM57 was so good. I cackled.

I liked it when you rolled your window down to open your driver's door. That shows true dedication. You definitely have your priorities in order!

Back when I worked at Electro Voice we had 2 anechoic chambers. One for measuring speakers - a super flat mic with known calibration curve and a specific test sequence measures the speakers. But there is another chamber. This one for measuring microphones. It is everything in reverse. A super flat speaker with known calibration curve and a specific test sequence measures the microphones.

That Lewitt FET vs Tube comparison reminds me of something every sound engineer has done... When you adjust the EQ and get something sounding way better; only to realize the EQ is in bypass mode. 😂 Thanks for taking the time to make this video!

I think this proves we should just be making music on whatever we have, working on better songs instead of buying better gear. Nice job.

I cant believe that what i just saw is free ,i dont get it ,this dude just ...i m hooked on without even getting bored as i usually do,and this dude just makes something that in my university of music technology felt so boring although i wanted to learn ,he made it feel fresh ,because HE JUST DID IT ,he took the theory only to help him do the things you are supposed to experience and learn and showed the result to us .This is just beautiful, thank you so much ,thank you

I am a scientific (physics) and have a passion for acoustics. And microphones as well. Some parts of your tests have already been done (I think you know that), but not revealed to the public, because it would just break down the marketing hype. Most of what you did can be applied to many many electronic devices. Marketing leads the world, not science :-D I am so glad you made this video for everybody.

The “SM-57 = flat” is actually such a good idea. I always see frequency curves for monitors, microphones, amplifier circuits, pickups, and I always end up listening with my eyes and guessing which I’m going to like more. Having a flat reference is such a good idea. I would kill for a pickup comparison with a stock Fender single coil as flat, or any kind of music gear comparison like this. Keep up the good work :)

You continue to be the most important music “gear RU-vidr” in existence. Please never stop! You single-handedly can save us from wasting time obsessing over gear and focus on MAKING MUSIC! YOU ARE INVALUABLE!!!

I'm not sure that you've addressed this, but dynamic mics are truly varied to the point where testing from a single point source will not reveal the good or bad points of said mics. The difference among them is the proximity affect, which differs from mic to mic, even the same mics with sequential serial numbers, based upon the various factors that affect the compliance in the diaphragm. And of course the pickup pattern, often something that is the physical reverse of what you would call a phase plug in a dynamic transducers "horn" driver. The elements are identical, but practical uses are opposite. However the Beatles' engineer, Mal, finding the bass pickup characteristics of proximal or "tight miking" a bass drum to be abysmal, so he actually placed a 12" woofer in front of the bass drum, making the world's first large diaphragm dynamic bass drum transducer. The AKG D12e followed closely behind this revelation... and everyone has one of those little EV omni mics for miking snare drums, because being omni, they pick up less of the proximal ring and more surface than other mics at the same proximity. Another well balanced mic from AKG was the D19, which was rebadged as several other brands sold them as their own, such as EV, NEUMAN, AND EVEN NORELCO! Not sure who dreamed this first, but both the D19 and SM57 are rear ported, allowing for full phase representation of the low bass frequencies, and able to produce them accurately at ridiculous sound pressures because of this design! That's why you never ever buy a '57 that's had the wind screen taped. Because if you sing through it, it sounds like you're holding your nose, in fact, the act of holding your nose is an example of the same physioacoustic phenomenon. Condensers are another thing altogether... and PZM mics are a favorite of mine. Ribbon mics can also beat out most if they are high quality... but every mic has their strong and weak points... and potential purpose! Also the grateful dead had an interesting take using custom sennheiser microphones during the days they used "the wall of sound" their engineer (in more than one way, as he provided most of the LSD in the free world for all of the 60s) had an idea that inspired most noise rejecting phone mics used today, but he used it as a feedback eliminator. In theory it worked. In practice it worked a little... But what was done was to have two identical microphone elements... Facing an opposite directions on the same microphone barrel... One is sung into while the other cancels out all of axis noises... So something like feedback would be off axis... As it will be coming from a very large speaker system that was uniquely set behind a microphone's and the backline.... This would never fly in scenarios today... But they were thinking outside the box... Way outside... And as long as they weren't playing at deafening levels it actually did work... Mostly... The singer would sing into the front of the Mike, which would pick them up exclusively. And the back of the mic would not pick them up... Or at least would not pick them up to any great degree. So with an out of phase relationship, the only thing that would make it to the board would be the out of phase signals.... Anything that was going into both microphones. Equally would be equally canceled ...out or nothing. Theoretically zero dB. This same thing is used on modern cell phones as they are often used in loud environments. It allows the user to be heard and for the outside noises to be canceled. I only mention these things because of the great marriage of experiments that have gone before this, and the reason that many of these microphones were conceived of. It's interesting to note that the SM58 and the SM57. Were in production for a long time before they really caught on. Microphones at the time were considered slightly vulgar... That is you wouldn't see a singer with a microphone. Pressed up against his face as you so often do today... They were mostly held below and at chest level four announcers and singers alike. Supposedly this took advantage of the chest tones and also nasal tones that are often not picked up by microphones used as intimately as they are today. And the s m fifty seven and fifty eight were microphones that were close proximal microphones. If you look at the footage from Woodstock, you will see that there is a modified. SM56 if memory serves right. Not a very good mic or even very good at resisting feedback... I short time after Woodstock. You would only see these microphones used in dispatch or four line cooks in fast food restaurants... Which was where the SM58s and SM57 were before this. But as things quickly changed and got much louder, those microphones were the desirable ones, resisting the most feedback. You have to also consider that in the world of dynamic TRANSDUCERS, (including the classic RIAA approved phono cartridges) that the Shure company was way ahead of the game and still remains so. Up there with AKG, for sure.

I AM BLOWN AWAY AT THE CONCLUSION 😱🤯😵 Pre-amps are next!!! This is Soooo empowering to us all Jim!!! Thank you!!! You are directly responsible for us having a clear and definitive understanding of what we're doing and how to achieve our musical and tonal objectives. Your videos are the single greatest contribution to the improvement of our craft in our time. Thank you friend

Another absolute winner from the biggest mythbuster in the music space on RU-vid. Well done, Jim.

Amazing how you condensed (pun intended) this crazy amount of research into 30mins of video. Legendary work.

After watching this guy for a while, I have come to the conclusion that as a guitar player, I need a guitar with pick ups and that I should plug it into an amplifier. I should then purchase a microphone, and learn where in front of the amplifier cabinet that microphone needs to go. I can get killer tone this way! I mean all this as a compliment, I have spent so much time, money, and research effort trying to get a sound that nobody is likely to care about but me. And I'm not saying everything sounds exactly the same, but when I plug more or less straight in to my little orange amp in front of my 2 x 12 and make it up with an SM 57, it sounds just fine… … Jim, are we married to the same woman somehow? Because that is exactly how my wife would react to that exact situation L O L

This series is truly a service to the world. The dedication and follow-through on some pretty tedious work is impressive. Happy to see you get sponsored in a way that doesn't interfere with your goals!

My _man,_ that was some nice work. Jim Lill out here just _evaporating_ tonal and gear related hype, myths, misconceptions and confirmation bias one excellent video investigation at a time. Also, *HUGE* props to the Country Music Association for recognizing, appreciating and supporting such a worthy young content creator in his endeavors to experiment, learn and and share his results in a _free_ format that is a fantastic resource to musicians. _THAT'S_ what's up, CMA. Way to be. Matching - dead to nuts - the sound of Ocean Way's vintage ELA M 251 with a $499 DIY _kit_ microphone you built yourself without any prior mic building experience. _THEN_ just to match it *AGAIN* using the same capsule, the circuit electronics of a used, $49 MXL condenser and a mic body and head basket made out of a soda can and some window screen???? This is the Lord's work. 5 stars, two thumbs up and a few bucks to the PayPal tip jar as a small thanks.

Excellent work! Thank you for confirming what I've always preached: "Do they sound different? Yes. Enough to make a bad song good? No -- Get back to practice."

Single-handedly this is the most important musical channel when it comes to equipment that I have come across, Jim is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest,

I love the improvement in the production quality of these videos, you obviously are super passionate about these videos

Gotta say, those Mic Parts kits sound freaking great. If this took 6 months, the mic pre video will be out next October! Thank, Jim!

You have seriously done something here, I am just blown away. Job well done, what a service you have provided to musicians and engineers everywhere. Everyone should see this video. I’ll be recommending this to any of my friends with GAS 😂 thank you for your hard work, this is a great thing.

This was super interesting, unique and helpful! Thanks for taking the time to do these experiments!

I'm shocked that it took this long for someone to take the time to demystify all of this stuff. You're doing God's work, buddy, keep it up.

You are the most important audio technology youtuber to ever grace the site. These tests you do have the potential to save people so much money, and to make it so much easier to the get the sounds we're looking for. Thank you.

The amount of work that goes into every one of these videos just baffles me. I watch them a lot, they are comfortable and soothing. Besides the rigorous testing and no bullshit approach I always notice that the editing, and camera work improves on every single video and it makes them so sattisfying to watch. Great work!!

What insane amount of effort for the music community. Thank you Jim! 🙏🙏 In the grand scheme of things, perhaps these do not affect the overall character of the microphone as much, but there are other factors to consider, such as transient response (affected by circuitry and capacitors) and harmonics (contributed by transformers/tubes). Difficult to hear unless we have a longer duration of the track being played.

Your "Searching for Tone" series is the best stuff I've seen on RU-vid, and I'm not even a musician

Damn.. I can't believe that Popcan mic rivaled the Telefunken, you're answering all the questions I've had in my head about tone, can't wait for the mic pre video!

Dude this video is insane! The amount of work you put into this video is nuts and I love how far in detail you went to figure this out!!

Dude this was fantastic! I enjoyed this so much, the ins and outs of everything. Just incredible. So much detailed work. Honestly the most insightful video I've seen in a while. Thanks for this!

Incredible work Jim! As a live audio engineer for 25 years, the real world application of mics is also dependent on many unrelenting rules of physics where things like off axis tone, noise floor, transient response, off axis rejection, (heck, even durability in my line of work), etc also matter quite a bit. That said, this video is significant and shows the methodology that anyone who's serious about finding the right gear should emulate. Well done!

I'm not a microphone engineer, so a lot of this surprised me. All your guitar amp/cab stuff on the other hand, didn't shock me and it was so refreshing to smell the searing sacred cows. What's hard for me to wrap my brain around, is that there's no way most microphone engineers don't know all what was discovered through this video's journey, yet truth somehow gets held close to the chest as though keeping the consumer ignorant is somehow a better reality. Thank you Jim. These videos are so fantastic. Keep those sacred cows burning on the alters, so that the people can be empowered to make their own fate.

This is incredible. Thanks you for putting so much effort into testing these things.

Such an amazing video. So well edited and so well paced. I can't imagine the amount of work that would have taken, and it's perfect. Thank you

You are doing something I have dreamed about for 30 years of playing music, and destroying some of the most pernicious bullshit I've heard musicians say....and I love it!!!

Jim, you are bringing a before and after to all the entry level musicians starting to get into recording. Please, keep blowing everyone's minds!

All your videos are amazing and yet you are still improving your video quality. Well done 👏👏👏 So cool to learn more about what actually changes the sound, thank you!

Utterly fascinating, love the detail and your obvious passion for finding out ! I need to watch this a good few times - and listen on my ‘proper’ system

I feel like this is the only content left on this planet to which I'm exactly the target audience for. So thank you for these absolutely wonderful 29 minutes and 50 seconds. Your videos are mesmerizing.

The video production quality is getting insane, props for being some of the best content on youtube.

Just amazing work ! Jim , what you do in these videos, is special , great entertainment and very thought provoking to say the least …..

I can't imagine the work that went into this and other videos, but I'm so grateful for what you've done. Your videos are some of the most interesting and informative things I've ever seen about sound, and they're really entertaining as well. Keep it up, you're doing something really special and amazing!

I have genuine gut-busting laugh out loud moments when Jim makes those huge price disparity comparisons that sound almost identical! :D

This has been the most useful and revealing video about mic's I have ever seen. This is top tier educational content and I can't express how much I appreciate all the work you put into this. Absolutely brilliant!

Thanks Jim for this video and all your hard work! You are doing a great service to the music community!

One of the all time best videos out there, hands down. Thank you Jim !

This is so incredible. Thanks for spending your time and money producing such an informative video! Keep up the fantastic work

As a sound engineer I can say that you’re a legend for doing this! Thanks !

absolutely incredible, again. Also one of the best sponsor plugs I've seen in youtube in a while. Not heavy handed at all but still managing to find a way to make them look good. Wow. Keep doing what your'e doing!

First video I've seen from your channel and this was incredible!

As a musician and someone who sells microphones for a living, I ADORE this video. Amazing work!!

I can’t even imagine the amount of work that went into this incredible project. Thank you!

Super video man! 👏🏻👏🏻 congrats for the effort!

Dude you've done it again!! I've been checking RU-vid every so often, was getting worried! Been following since day 1, can't wait to see the next one

So glad I never went deep enough with my gear to replace working tubes or transformers with fancier ones, they for sure sounded identical in your comparison. Great video, looking forward to the next one!

Wowww. This is beautiful work, your guitar videos were already some of my favourites ever - truely revealing stuff - but as an engineer I can’t convey how much I appreciate what you’re doing. Bring on the mic pres!!!

Super job as always, Jim. It’s been amazing to watch your journey as all of your skills have evolved! The first video of yours that I stumbled on was for the paisley drive deluxe and that sent me on a tone quest, but more importantly, a quest to improve my playing. You are a true artist and engineer. A super rare combo. I’m happy to see the well deserved sponsorship as well! Thanks!!!

The amount of quality on your videos is awesome!, in ALL aspects: editing, research, testing, results, etc., These are also the best videos demystifying all the snake-oil in audio world!

Since you treated the SM57 as flat, In theory could you deconvolve your samples against the SM57 to make Impulse responses of all the mics. Then anyone with an SM57 can approximate the sound of any other microphone by throwing on your impulse response. You could sell those impulse responses and make quite a bit of money I bet.

You are doin the loards work good sir! I bout fell out of my chair twice and I'm only halfway through the video! I work at Sweetwater and whether they like it or not ALL my coworkers are seeing this. Bravo Jim, Bravo!

I am so glad I came across this video, the amount of information packed into 30 minutes is amazing. THANK YOU!!!

Beautifully produced and explained. Bravo!

Consistently, every time you release one, I tell everyone I know in the music production industry about the new Coolest Video of All Time. This is nothing short of genius. I was thinking about the question "what's a mic everyone can agree is neutral?" and you answering that with "the SM57." is a stroke of brilliance. And of course, the more I played the video, the more I realized that is actually the truth: anything not an SM57 is considered a "more colorful" or "altered" sound; all the weirdness in the response of the SM57 is just, what we come to expect by putting a microphone on something. There is a reason you can get away with great sound by just putting an SM57 on everything in the room. And then the revealing of what the actual differences are between mics, their capsules, and the technology therein... wow, Jim. Incredible work. And a huge thanks to the CMA to making this possible. This is just amazing, real, actionable results. Thank you so much.

Please make a video on the transient response with different microphone capsules and circuitry!!!! I feel like that's also a huge difference when I compare condensers vs dynamics vs ribbons, or SDCs vs LDCs, and even FET vs Tube. As an audio guy and a teacher, I wholeheartedly appreciate this video as well as the other ones on guitar tone. Your dedication really shines through your content and I love it!

This videos are so awesome. Incredible research, testing and curiosity

What an incredible amount of effort you put into this video. Thank you for peeling back the myths and getting to the heart of what actually makes a difference.

How in the hell does this channel not have like 1m+ subs. These videos are the most quintessential info about gear and sound. These will save hundreds of yours of discussion and arguing, thousands of dollars worth of gear, and make music more accessible and less "velvety", "creamy" and "sparkly". Thank you so much for your work and dedication, you definitely have left your mark on music and recording already. So f'n good.

The blind test at the end was unreal. I was expecting them to sound close given what was shown throughout the video but didn't expect them to be that close. Another amazing video

It seems like I've been looking for this channel my whole life) Thanks for your videos!

What an insane amount of effort you put into this! So many variables, variations and experiments. I would have gone nuts just doing all the tests, but the editing would put me in a psych ward.

Really nice playing in that end acoustic pop can section. However, every mic goes into a desk where an engineer/producer tweaks the eq. You are going to end up noticing it was someone else's "human ear" that decided what you heard on those tracks you love, which is probably how it should be.Great work, so much fun and totally interesting. Thanks

Ok, so I don't really care for most country music. But I completely adore these videos. There's way to much mystique around things that don't matter or make a difference when creating sounds, whether recorded or performed in a live situation. I appreciate the effort you're putting into these experiments, man. Thank you so much for all your work.

This is probably the best video I've seen talking about mics. Love the content!

The work you did was outstanding. You answered all the questions I have wondered about. Thank you for your dedication and effort. The Pop Can though 🔥👍

Jim thanks for being the mythbuster of tone and timbre. You’ve helped me save so much money and time when wanting to get new equipment.

This is an incredible work of art, thank you so much for the amount of effort put into this video! It'd be amazing to have a download for the EQ curves or samples for use in plugins

Earned my subscription in a single vid! Great work, Jim!

Thank you, sir! You have single handedly once again shown how much we hear with our eyes. You have saved many people $$ they don’t need to spend.

Same thing i have always told everyone...its all about EQ because its sound...lol I argued with many people about the electric guitars construction as well. Seems this man is proving me right, i love it. Something to be said though...different mics do make acheiving a specific sound easier or harder. If you find a mic that works best for what you want to hear vocally, instrumentally etc... it makes the process of getting the music out of your head and into others ears, quicker.

Jim you are by far my favourite RU-vidr period. Your videos are informative, funny, incredibly well thought out and ridiculously entertaining. Thank you man for all your hard work putting these together

I literally got chills during the final comparison. Incredible. Thanks so much for doing this and sharing your work in such a fun and informational way.

Thank you for taking us all on this incredible, informative quest.

Amazing, thanks for doing these videos , thoroughly enjoy them

bro you are one of the best detailed audiophile channel here on youtube

wow, two genius videos back to back! The SM57 as the standard reference is absolutely brilliant

Bravo Jim! Truly excellent work. This was an incredible undertaking, made even more laborious by filming it all to share it with us - and I'm very glad you did, thank you!

Entertained and informed doesn't get much better thanks!

Another great video Jim. Brilliant AND entertaining!

Brother! I just learned of your channel and I cannot be happier!!! Very cool stuff and not knowing how many videos you have posted, I may never see my family again! I'm sooooo obsessed!

Awesome video! There is so much mystique and opinion around the gear we use and often value given to an object based on what we see vs what we hear that we stop trying to perfect our craft; believing only a $30,000 mic or $6,000 pedal or $175,000 amp will allow us to create good art. Thank you for reinforcing that I need to use what I have, and really consider before buying what do I actually need to get a sound I want.