[1]

Battle of the cheap, awesome mics! There are a few comparisons out there like this one, and ever since I borrowed Drew's for like, two years, I'd been meaning to pick up another i5. Right now I have a few 57s, and they're reliable and can take a beating, but now that it's in my head, I do believe another i5 is in order.

Opinions, go!

 

[Kim]

røde nt1a?

 

[jaxadam]

I've liked just about everything I've heard with a SM57, not too familiar with the i5.

Noodles.

 

[105]

I always vote noodles.

I wouldn't bother with the i5.

 

[Drew]

I like the i5, but for damned near everything I seem to end up preferring the SM57.

The SM57 is sort of a staple of rock guitar - so many classic guitar sounds have been done with it. Treble reproduction sucks, and the low end is a bit weak, but then again if you look at this:

...it's flat everywhere you want a guitar, and cuts off more or less where you stop wanting it. IT's almost perfect.

That said, I can see the i5 working for you. It's a little brighter and slightly more scooped than a SM57 to my ears, which is a pretty fair description of how your preferred tone compares to mine.

EDIT - i5, for comparison:

IT seems it's not scooped as much as the bass and treble are just boosted.

 

[Max]

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røde nt1a?

For cabs? WTF? No.

I luuuurv running a 57 with either one or both of the nt55s though

 

[1]

The i5 seemed to work better at louder volumes for me than the 57 does. The 2101 would start to break up before the i5 would give out, so I'm extremely anxious to let it rip with the Roadster and see which one can take a bigger beating.

If there's one thing that helps you play better, it's tone at volume.

 

[Kim]

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For cabs? WTF? No.

I luuuurv running a 57 with either one or both of the nt55s though

yeah because deviating from the standard is WRONG!

 

[Max]

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I was shooting les for that and more for "overdriving the fuck out of your mic and pre, and a frequency response pattern that just doesn't mesh with a gain ladden guitar sound at all no matter how you position it in the off chance you get the signal level useable" is wrong, but if you wanna take it that way, sure, go ahead :lol:

 

[Joey]

I freaking love the i5. I'm always bothering people about trying it instead of the 57. It just does so many things better.

 

[jaxadam]

I freaking love the i5. I'm always bothering people about trying it instead of the 57. It just does so many things better.

Do tell.

 

[Joey]

I don't know. I've just had a few really enlightening moments where we A/B'd the two and every time, the i5 just comes out as the winner with identical placement, cabs, volumes, etc. It takes out the brittle qualities in the high-midrange that the 57 can sometimes bring out, but doesn't make it smooth or mushy. It just tames the harsh qualities of a 57, but still has the basic character. Works great as a snare mic too.

 

[1]

t takes out the brittle qualities in the high-midrange that the 57 can sometimes bring out, but doesn't make it smooth or mushy. It just tames the harsh qualities of a 57, but still has the basic character.

This was my experience as well.

 

[Joey]

Yeah. When we did our last EP, I had my SG with a JB into a Marshall JCM (boosted with a flat non-TS boost) into a V30 cab. As you can see, it's mids city. But I LOVE that tone when you can pull it off. So we mic'd it up with a 57 like one normally would and it was just sooooo harsh and bad-crunchy (like crushing a coke can haha). Then we just swapped out the 57 for an i5 and didn't change a single thing and it was INCREDIBLE.

For reference, listen to "Untitled Secret" here (apologize for unmastered and uber compressed recordings) http://www.reverbnation.com/theopposed

 

[Kim]

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but if you wanna take it that way, sure, go ahead :lol:

take it what way? it was you taking it as a 12 yo counter strike bitch

 

[Ror3h]

The i5 is great, as someone showed earlier it is a little more 'scooped' sounding than a 57, but that's the only difference really. For more extreme metal they are good on guitars, though I prefer the 57 on snares myself.

There's not a massive difference between them, but there's enough to have one to prefer for different sounds etc, so all I can recommend is that you try it.

 

[105]

Chris -

You want to keep things as simple as possible, no? Don't fuck with the i5, use the 57 and just play your guitar.

 

[bulletbass man]

I5 is a good mic but 57s tend to sit in the mix better in my opinion. I do dig using them in combination with one another more than one by itself entirely.

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

the 57 has recorded more of your favorite tones than it hasn't i bet.

 

[eleven59]

Yeah, it's hard to fuck up a 57, both in use, and physically :lol: the SM57 and SM58 are damn near indestructible, and while they might not be the "best" mics in the world, they'll get "that sound" instantly, and thankfully "that sound" is on every fucking album :lol: