REAL MIC vs IMPULSE RESPONSE

Which of these takes sounds more real or better to you?

  • The first take on the SoundCloud clip and TEST A in the high quality files.

  • The second take on the SoundCloud clip and TEST B in the high quality files.

  • The sound the same.


Results are only viewable after voting.
I must say I'm really proud to have removed the option to change your vote and see other people's votes before voting. We have quite a nice spread. :)
 
To my ears the differences is mostly on the bass side of the story and a little bit on air frequency!, so I prefer B just because it's fuller I can hear those extra but important bass frequency around 80-120 Hz, but both are extremely close together and impossible to recognize them in the whole mix.

Great Job! :)
 
I think it all comes down to people expecting to be some difference there. Once the phase inversion test is so incredibly silent, it means it is identical within margin of error. Put your mic in front of the cab tomorrow and you will not get absolutely indentical sound as today, because of tiny positioning differences.
btw: Mikko, would you ming sharing wav of this particular impulse?
 
I think it all comes down to people expecting to be some difference there. Once the phase inversion test is so incredibly silent, it means it is identical within margin of error. Put your mic in front of the cab tomorrow and you will not get absolutely indentical sound as today, because of tiny positioning differences.
btw: Mikko, would you ming sharing wav of this particular impulse?
This +10000 times. If you've ever done phase inversion tests you'll know that even adding something like a different cable or using a different mic preamp will be close to impossible to get this quiet. Like you said, they are identical within margin of error. If you can't hear phase inversion in the mix like you can't in this case = it's the same thing as there not being and audible difference for you in the mix. The votes are pretty even that also supports the theory.
 
I couldn't hear a difference, that's what my first listen and instinct told me. I know that my ears, perception, and mind are flawed. I have often listened to one thing over and over and have talked myself into "hearing" something that isn't there. When I'm mixing, and I get to that point, I stop and give my ears a rest. After repetitive listening to this, I started to convince myself there was a difference. I took a break, came back, and I couldn't hear the difference. But this is just one opinion from one guy who gets ringing in his ears and can't see things up close anymore. lol Bottom line, I would not bet money on picking which is which, and I would not hesitate using either one in a professional recording.
 
I think it all comes down to people expecting to be some difference there. Once the phase inversion test is so incredibly silent, it means it is identical within margin of error. Put your mic in front of the cab tomorrow and you will not get absolutely indentical sound as today, because of tiny positioning differences.
btw: Mikko, would you ming sharing wav of this particular impulse?

I liked A because it sounds the way i like it, B sounds like when i start with the Amp Block with out moving any advanced parameter.
 
I like A better personally, but I think B is the real mic. Only reason I think it is the real mic is because the high end more raspy. But No one would be able to tell the difference in a mix. Both clips are super close.
 
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Now the Question is could you
Get the same sound removing the amp same IR everything but using the Fractal Mesa Model
Nothing is impossible but that would take a lot of time. I actually did this kind of a comparison in different phases by comparing the Mesa Mark V preamp to all the preamps in the Axe-Fx and the Friedman preamp was closer to my Mark V than any of the USA Lead amp sims.
 
This is a very strange, but all the more interesting test. I first listened to the two clips (wav versions of course!) on my laptop via its speakers. Of course crappy, but well, there was nothing at hand the first moment. My first impression was, that they were totally different. Of course I realized that this cannot be the case, so I listened a second time. Now they seemed closer, but I still prefered version B. Listening a third time I couldn't really hear a difference anymore.

So I got up, took my headphones for a more precise comparison. Still thought I hear some difference. But the problem was: I knew which file was playing and since I've already chosen version B to be my favourite, I still thought B was better.

What finally made the difference was an ABX test. It really is the only method that we should use in such cases. When I did this double blind test, I still got 62% right, but this also means that in many cases I was wrong.

So, my conclusion: They are not 100% identical, which we know is the truth, so nothing new here. BUT it's possible to hear the difference. It's not easy, some with better hearing than me could definitely go to 70-90% accuracy on an ABX test. BUT ALSO I'm very certain that in a mix it's completely impossible to hear any difference.
 
This is a very strange, but all the more interesting test. I first listened to the two clips (wav versions of course!) on my laptop via its speakers. Of course crappy, but well, there was nothing at hand the first moment. My first impression was, that they were totally different. Of course I realized that this cannot be the case, so I listened a second time. Now they seemed closer, but I still prefered version B. Listening a third time I couldn't really hear a difference anymore.

So I got up, took my headphones for a more precise comparison. Still thought I hear some difference. But the problem was: I knew which file was playing and since I've already chosen version B to be my favourite, I still thought B was better.

What finally made the difference was an ABX test. It really is the only method that we should use in such cases. When I did this double blind test, I still got 62% right, but this also means that in many cases I was wrong.

So, my conclusion: They are not 100% identical, which we know is the truth, so nothing new here. BUT it's possible to hear the difference. It's not easy, some with better hearing than me could definitely go to 70-90% accuracy on an ABX test. BUT ALSO I'm very certain that in a mix it's completely impossible to hear any difference.
Damn I always forget about the ABX test!! 50/50 odds kind suck because you could go fully randomly and still it's very likely that you'll guess correctly. Next time I will do it!
 
Okay guys I'm doing the reveal tomorrow so if you still want to play the game and vote, now is the last chance. :)
 
Listening only to the SoundCloud version, and on laptop speakers, I found I liked B a tad more because it came across as more "wooly" so to speak when played on its own so I voted that way. Have to say though the mix sounded slightly better with A just cause it seemed a tad clearer. Went in thinking I wouldn't actually hear a difference
 
It's reveal time! I can't lock the voting but I'll post the final results here: (votes made after this will not be counted for obvious reasons)

CLIP A: 15 votes 37.5%
CLIP B: 15 votes 37.5%
THEY SOUND THE SAME: 10 votes 25%

CLIP A = ML Sound Lab IR
CLIP B = Real mic

You can hear the click track at the end of CLIP B when over-compressed if you need proof. This should tell you how quick and dirty this comparison was. :D

May the speculation begin. Votes are even with 50/50 chances so I know I'm pleased. Placebo or not, neither sounds more or less real than the other. That's the result of the test at least. :) No need to feel good or bad no matter what you voted for. Thanks to everyone for voting!
 
I knew it, Mikko!
This final result is what my ears have drawn in conclusion and what I assumed later.
That being the case, I prefer to work with a ML Sound Lab Cab Pack than having to work with a real cab and real microphones.
These Ir already sound like I like them to sound.
For a guitar player like me, without any experience in the world of parameters configuration of Amp and Cab with Axe Edit 3 / FracPad 3 to get a good sound to your liking...
It's a big advantage and a headache less!
This is how I can work and go straight to the point.
Definitely a great job Mikko!
 
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I was too late to vote but I would have guessed A as the real cab only because I found it more pleasing to my ears, the palm mutes sounded more full and "whoompy", it generally just sounded more alive to me.

I'm not too surprised at this point though which I think says a lot for how far things have progressed and, not to mention, Mikko's skill and great ear :)
 
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