Amp demos recorded with cell phones are worse than useless

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheGreatGreen
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Techdeth said:
Hermansson makes it his sound amazing through a phone . So I guess says a lot about his amps . It still sounds amazing even that way
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I think he mainly records with a Tascam DR field recorder (or at the very least he used to). I love my DR-44WL for in-the-room recordings tbh
 
Bxlxaxkxe said:
Blanket statements never hold up. There’s a place for both types of recording for sure. Here’s an iPhone clip I did for a friend that came out fine

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Anddddd I would argue that tells me absolutely nothing at all about what that setup sounds like, in the least.
 
Bxlxaxkxe said:
Blanket statements never hold up. There’s a place for both types of recording for sure. Here’s an iPhone clip I did for a friend that came out fine

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Or should I say, whatever you did on your JMP-1 clip was much much better if my memory is correct. But even still, I personally would never go by an iPhone video to get an idea of an amps sound at all really.
 
VESmedic said:
Anddddd I would argue that tells me absolutely nothing at all about what that setup sounds like, in the least.
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Well I wouldn’t advise buying or not buying something based off of a clip like this, but you can still very much hear the character the synergy SLO- that is what it sounds like in the room. It’s muffled and distant sounding with the iPhone, but the vibe is there if you know what I mean
 
I don't see what's so difficult with placing an SM57 a few feet away from the speaker. Position it for clear sound with minimum echo. Send that to a mixer to balance out the gain/volume and then to recording device of choice. BAM!! instant decent recording that's pretty close to what it sounds like in person. No need to run it through all kinds of post processing programs. Start off with a decent mic and K.I.S.S. Used to do it that way all the time for garage band recordings.
 
VESmedic said:
Or should I say, whatever you did on your JMP-1 clip was much much better if my memory is correct. But even still, I personally would never go by an iPhone video to get an idea of an amps sound at all really.
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This is why I trust and value forum opinions best, when it comes to amp review/opinion. As good as Blake’s vids are, and I feel they are very good, there’s just no way of getting the full experience and tone by ANY clip period. Doesn’t matter how amateur or professional it is. Yes I know, clips are all we can go by BUT then add in some real opinions from guys who own/have owned these amps. I value that more than any clip.
I haven’t been misled once, on any expensive gear purchase.
 
Racerxrated said:
This is why I trust and value forum opinions best, when it comes to amp review/opinion. As good as Blake’s vids are, and I feel they are very good, there’s just no way of getting the full experience and tone by ANY clip period. Doesn’t matter how amateur or professional it is. Yes I know, clips are all we can go by BUT then add in some real opinions from guys who own/have owned these amps. I value that more than any clip.
I haven’t been misled once, on any expensive gear purchase.
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The only clips I’ve found remotely helpful when it comes to deciding on gear to go with are comparison clips. Obviously though clips still can only tell you so much. This is where iPhone mic’s are really not adequate in getting that job done. Nowhere near enough detail. Even if the guy uses legit mics and doesn’t get a pleasant sound (like Segeborn or Reza) at least the mics pick up some detail and you have a comparison, so it’s all relative as to which amp, pedal, speaker or whatever sounds better under the overall unpleasant sounding recording lol
 
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MadAsAHatter said:
At least they're attempting to use a mic. I'm well past being done with the cab IRs for demos
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Exactly.

As a dude that only records silently with load boxes n shit I know how much better my amps actually sound thru a cab vs IR's... and some amps just don't sound right thru an IR period.
 
braintheory said:
The only clips I’ve found remotely helpful when it comes to deciding on gear to go with are comparison clips. Obviously though clips still can only tell you so much. This is where iPhone mic’s are really not adequate in getting that job done. Nowhere near enough detail. Even if the guy uses legit mics and doesn’t get a pleasant sound (like Segeborn or Reza) at least the mics pick up some detail and you have a comparison, so it’s all relative as to which amp, pedal, speaker or whatever sounds better under the overall unpleasant sounding recording lol
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You don’t think Segeborns videos sound good? Hmmm. I’d have to strongly disagree.
 
gtrwun said:
You don’t think Segeborns videos sound good? Hmmm. I’d have to strongly disagree.
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I love his channel and learned a lot from him, definitely my favorite gear channel, but the overall recorded sound he gets I don’t typically like much. Not talking about the actual gear he demoes (he demos some pretty legendary stuff), just the recording. Often I am just focused on the gear he demos and listening carefully how they compare, but then I take a step back and realize wow the overall sound though is not good despite the great comparison demo he just did
 
Bxlxaxkxe said:
Blanket statements never hold up. There’s a place for both types of recording for sure. Here’s an iPhone clip I did for a friend that came out fine

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This is a great example of what I talked about in the OP. I agree with you that that yes this specific tone is pleasing to the ear and sounds fat and aggressive and sharp and all that, but it still brings out all the cell-phone-centric mud and woofiness I'm talking about and I almost guarantee it sounds nothing like what it would sound like in the room or recorded.

Also, I'd argue that we're hearing more "room" than "amp" in this clip. The cell phone's mic isn't actually pointing at the cab, so the only thing being directly mic'd are the sound reflections coming off the floor. And there's a TON of natural reverb and room ambience here also. I'd say this clip is equivalent to about a 70% Room Reverb mix.

Again, this clip in particular does sound fairly pleasing to the ear, but I don't think it's in any way representative of what the rig actually sounds like, either in the room or in front of a well-placed mic.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
This is a great example of what I talked about in the OP. I agree with you that that yes this tone happens to be pleasing to the ear and sounds aggressive and sharp and all that, but it still brings out all the cell-phone-centric mud and woofiness I'm talking about and I almost guarantee it sounds nothing like what it would sound like in the room or recorded. Also, I'd argue that we're hearing more "room" than "amp" in this clip. The cell phone's mic isn't actually pointing at the cab, so the only thing being directly mic'd are the sound reflections coming off the floor. And there's a TON of natural reverb from the room here. I'd say this clip is equivalent to about a 70% Room Reverb mix.

Again, this clip in particular does sound fairly pleasing to the ear, but I don't think it's in any way at all representative of what the rig actually sounds like, either in the room or in front of a well-placed mic.
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I hear you. But being that I just finished playing this rig…in this room…it does sound like this. I mean I don’t want my guitar to sound like this on a record or anything, but it’s got the essentials of what’s happening in the room, just a bit muffled and distant. You wouldn’t listen to the clip, come over to my house and play the rig, and wonder if it’s the same rig as the clip. It would just sound a lot more immediate and alive.
 
I have an Apogee HypeMic here. If I feel the motivation, I will record a clip with it and then A/B with iPhone mic.

But I get your overall sentiment, which is that the room sound is not the best indicator of how an amp itself sounds, only how it sounds in that particular situation. But the argument that the iPhone can't capture that room sound...I don't if I agree with. Is it the best - of course not.
 
braintheory said:
I love his channel and learned a lot from him, definitely my favorite gear channel, but the overall recorded sound he gets I don’t typically like much. Not talking about the actual gear he demoes (he demos some pretty legendary stuff), just the recording. Often I am just focused on the gear he demos and listening carefully how they compare, but then I take a step back and realize wow the overall sound though is not good despite the great comparison demo he just did
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I admit I do get caught up in the gear he has. It’s easy to let your EYES influence your ears sometimes.

I will say this regarding the OP……….
I see a lot of amp for sale both here and Reverb/EBay, and the seller can’t be bothered to put ANY kind of clip in the sale ad. I’d rather hear an iPhone clip than nothing at all if it’s an amp I’m not familiar with.
 
VESmedic said:
Anddddd I would argue that tells me absolutely nothing at all about what that setup sounds like, in the least.
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I think that is the crux of the issue - phone clips can only give you a rough idea of what something sounds like, but for some people that seems to be enough to gauge it.

I personally, am more used to close miced stuff, and getting more raw data from the sound sample.

Like, this raw phone clip of the Larry sounds "good" to me, but it doesn't come close to revealing all the detail in the tone that's actually THERE

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CYPAJNoq-6e/?utm_medium=copy_link
Something like this clip, even though it's close miced, seems to have more detail of what is actually happening "in the room"

Listen to Adventures in micing the larry by Daniel Travis on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/1SVW7
 
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gtrwun said:
I admit I do get caught up in the gear he has. It’s easy to let your EYES influence your ears sometimes.

I will say this regarding the OP……….
I see a lot of amp for sale both here and Reverb/EBay, and the seller can’t be bothered to put ANY kind of clip in the sale ad. I’d rather hear an iPhone clip than nothing at all if it’s an amp I’m not familiar with.
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Exactly what I meant. Our ears adapt to the recorded sound he goes for (whether good or bad) and we just focus on the gear and comparisons, but imho it could be a lot better, but plenty other channels less good with that

Gearheads like us can hear an iPhone clip of a Gjika and be able to tell its great, but when I show clips like that to my friend who’s not a guitarist (but a really good musician/composer) he’ll always be like “that sounds horrible, this not acceptable, how can you even hear anything from this. This sounds worse than a line 6”
 
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Bxlxaxkxe said:
I hear you. But being that I just finished playing this rig…in this room…it does sound like this. I mean I don’t want my guitar to sound like this on a record or anything, but it’s got the essentials of what’s happening in the room, just a bit muffled and distant. You wouldn’t listen to the clip, come over to my house and play the rig, and wonder if it’s the same rig as the clip. It would just sound a lot more immediate and alive.
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Exactly. Most people have enough reference points and have made enough of their own cell phone clips to have an understanding of: “If it sounds like X with the iPhone, then it probably sounds close to Y in my room.” You don’t have that reference listening to processed clips through a long recording chain.

It’s the same principle as engineers keeping the same monitors for years and mixing on them because they understand how what they’re hearing translates to other mediums.

No one loves cell phone clips, or thinks they sound amazing, or wants to track an album with a phone. It’s a low quality mic making a low quality recording. But just like the engineer still using the monitors he bought on a budget 15 years ago, you listen to them because you understand how what you’re hearing translates to the room.

But as alluded to above, it all becomes pointless anyway when the end result is someone is going to play back whatever clip you made on a 1/2”, 3W speaker and listen to it with the phone pointing at their head while the TV is blasting in the background :D
 
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