c-ducer capacitive transducer (tape microphone)

[ST]

Okay folks

Let's see what you think.

C-ducer Test Compared to Microphone

You have to actually hit the Play button to hear it.

You are hearing the C-ducer compared to a Neumann KM184  aimed at the 14th fret about 12" from the guitar.

I won't tell you which is which. I'm really interested in which you prefer... One or Two

Thanks!

[rockstar_not]

OK, I can hear slight differences, but I do not have a preference.  Both 1 and 2 sound great to my ears.  Both are just slightly heavy on the bass - but man it's hard to tell which is which.  There's string squeak (an appropriate amount) in both 1 and 2, which often doesn't come through on plugged in solutions.

No preference.  You have a winning solution!

Your first set of recordings was night and day - but these, back to back, I just can't tell which is which and both sound 'acoustic' without severe nasal character like in the first set of C-ducer recordings.

I'm impressed.

[ST]

Here's another quickie comparison.

No tweaking - I just put the C-ducer on a Taylor and switched back and forth between the microphone and the C-ducer.

Not as refined a test - but this was just a proof of concept thing - would it work.

C-ducer Compared to Microphone on a Taylor

Note: The strings on the Taylor are completely dead because this guitar gets virtually no air time.

[L07 Shooting Star]

Hey, ST.

I just listened to your latest comparison test  3 times, then got the missus to listen just to make sure.  We both say they are so close that the differences are negligible.  More important, both examples sound very natural and acoustic.  Assuming one of the two is the C-ducer, then you've nailed it and have a solution to your objective.

Kurt (not a sound repo expert, just a listener who knows a good sound when he hears it). 

[ST]

Hi Kurt,

Thanks to you and the Missus for listening and commenting.

I'm pretty pleased with this outcome. I have something I can slap onto a guitar in seconds that is considerably more resistant to feedback than a microphone.

Thanks again for listening in.

I'll write up some notes and take some pictures so that there's a record in case anyone else wants to give this a shot.

[ST]

Hi rockstar_not (Scott)

Thanks for this encouragement.  I hadn't expected to get this close and I'm really glad that you don't have a preference.

There will always be some tweaking at the gig, and most likely - I would need to pull back on the bass when I get into a live sound situation.  But speaking of that, I can get (bordering on stupid) loud with the C-ducer before I get into trouble with feedback.


That is - measuring sound pressure level (c-weighted)  from my PA/monitor from where I'm standing as I play...

I can get up to about 96 dB with the C-ducer compared to just about 90 dB with the microphone. That's 6 dB more gain-before-feedback without the troublesome microphone bleed and phase issues I could encounter when I add my vocal and other players on the stage. In other words, I really doubt that I could realistically get up to 90 dB with a microphone in a live music situation. Maybe if I was doing a solo concert but I'd still have to deal with microphone bleed and phase issues with the vocals.

I measured 30 feet away from my playing position and I'm still getting hitting 80-85 dB.  That's about as loud as I would want or need to be for most acoustic oriented music.

Thanks for listening and being part of this.

OK, I can hear slight differences, but I do not have a preference.  Both 1 and 2 sound great to my ears.  Both are just slightly heavy on the bass - but man it's hard to tell which is which.  There's string squeak (an appropriate amount) in both 1 and 2, which often doesn't come through on plugged in solutions.

No preference.  You have a winning solution!

Your first set of recordings was night and day - but these, back to back, I just can't tell which is which and both sound 'acoustic' without severe nasal character like in the first set of C-ducer recordings.

I'm impressed.

[ST]

Just for laughs - this is what it takes for me to run the C-ducer wireless.

I'm looking for a Batman style utility belt to hold all the stuff.

[rockstar_not]

Here's another quickie comparison.

No tweaking - I just put the C-ducer on a Taylor and switched back and forth between the microphone and the C-ducer.

Not as refined a test - but this was just a proof of concept thing - would it work.

C-ducer Compared to Microphone on a Taylor

Note: The strings on the Taylor are completely dead because this guitar gets virtually no air time.

OK, with this one, I would say the C-ducer is #2, but again, not bad at all my friend!!!  Too bad that the guitar doesn't get much use.  You should do something about that!  Now listening to all of the 1/2 samples, I would say that the C-ducer could be #1 on some of the samples - so mission accomplished.

I'd like to see some pix of how you have chosen to mount the transducer.  Such a huge difference compared to the first set of comparisons.

[ST]

Hi Scott,

Pictures as requested.

OK, with this one, I would say the C-ducer is #2, but again, not bad at all my friend!!!  Too bad that the guitar doesn't get much use.  You should do something about that!  Now listening to all of the 1/2 samples, I would say that the C-ducer could be #1 on some of the samples - so mission accomplished.

I'd like to see some pix of how you have chosen to mount the transducer.  Such a huge difference compared to the first set of comparisons.

You are right - The C-ducer is "two".

[JF]

Thank you, ST, for this great demonstration. I don't know why I've never heard of the C- Ducer until now. You've done a great job of EQ-ing it to sound extremely close to the mic recording. I'm very impressed. I wonder what it would sound like combined with something like the miniflex 2 or some other in-guitar mic.

JF

[tadol]

Yes - Thanks ST for presenting all this - very informative, and eye-opening for me. Just did my very first "gig", showing up to play with some buddies at a reunion show for a restaurant that closed about 15 years ago but used to have lots of local music.

I didn't know what to expect, but showed up with my little acoustic amp and OM w/K&K, only to discover that one of the "alums" of the shows brought a HUGE professional sound package - towers at each side of the stage, 6 monitors, 10 mics, Yikes!  very intimidating -  Especially when other musicians with 20 to 30 years of professional experience started setting up. Lots of very nice electrics - and me acoustic. Then when they started playing lots of old-school rock and roll, well - I felt like I'd shown up at a knife fight with a colander - Not being able to crank up very high worked for me this time -

So now I am much more aware of the issues of amplifying acoustics and getting good sound. I like your wireless rig, and think the c-ducer a very interesting option. You should contact the company and help them refine their product - especially the wireless belt rig - you've done some good work for them -  Tad