iRig Acoustic Stage comparison with condenser mic

[FrankHudson]

They seem to be shipping now, and I got one this week. There are a few demos out there, but I thought it'd be interesting how it compared back to back with a classic cost-effective small diaphragm condenser microphone for recording.

So right of the box I clipped it in the sound hole of my Martin 00-15 and recorded a simple progression that covered a bit of the neck.
https://youtu.be/k2BJR-eyP60



This is a real quick and dirty demo. I made no attempt to treat this in any way other than roughly normalizing the levels and using the default three EQ settings on the iRig Acoustic Stage belt/strap back box (Natural, Warm, and Bright). The microphone I used is an Octava MK-102 which I've had and used for a number of years. I aimed it from about 20" away a the neck body join.

I tried another comparison this time strumming.

https://youtu.be/QO3hKDxNCtg


For this one I kept it shorter by not including the identical passage played at the same time and recorded by the Octava condenser for each of the iRig EQ presets.

[LSemmens]

Thanks for that demo- I've just started looking at a replacement pickup for my Maton as the contact mike in it has died. After listening to some demos of the iRig, I considers the sound too warm for my liking, but it had occurred to me that placement may have a bearing on that and your demo certainly sounds cleaner than the others. The portability of the iRig has its attraction, given that I am also Gassing for a 12 string which may, or may not have some form of pickup in it.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by LSemmens

Thanks for that demo- I've just started looking at a replacement pickup for my Maton as the contact mike in it has died. After listening to some demos of the iRig, I considers the sound too warm for my liking, but it had occurred to me that placement may have a bearing on that and your demo certainly sounds cleaner than the others. The portability of the iRig has its attraction, given that I am also Gassing for a 12 string which may, or may not have some form of pickup in it.

Even without any EQ, on first listen I found only the strumming (and that's leaning heavily on root position E and A chords) with the warm EQ iRig preset too dark. Some of the bright setting stuff seems a bit too bright solo, but might sit in a mix well.

What do others think?

While the 00-15 is not a bright guitar, it is smaller bodied and 'hog backed, so overwhelming bass is not an issue. I may try it on rosewood dreadnaught to see if gets boomy there. There's also supposed to be a calibrate function to make it adjust to the guitar, but I just hooked it up straight out of the box.

What I tried to do with my demo--as opposed to others I listened to--was give an exact before and after with the same guitar with no processing in the recording chain. I wasn't trying to make it sound good, I was trying to get a level playing field.

Even though it's early days for me with the iRig, it seems a neat tool for the price.