First time with GTD mics

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sawdust123

sawdust123

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We went out last night with a few of our friends for live band karaoke. Some of my friends commented on how "weird" the singers sounded. One described it as if people were singing through a paper cup. I asked the band what kind of wireless they were using and it turns out they were GTD mics. My wife asked me if my karaoke system sounded better because I had much more expensive mics. The answer is no. The mics I use for home karaoke were $50 run of the mill wired dynamic handhelds I purchased 20 years ago. However, the manufacturing cost of the mic is probably closer to $10.

There are a lot of variables here. First and foremost is the model #. I know the mic was acquired within the last year so I assume that the model is still current. Looking at their current lineup, I think these were the U-502H mics.

It was clear to me that the two mics sounded very different. This was their first gig with these mics but it is possible that one may have been damaged before the show. However, I am more suspicious of the GTD production quality and tolerances. To maintain their price point, production testing must be absolutely minimal, if there is any at all. These wireless mics cost the same as my wired mics but they have A LOT more circuitry. That means they took a lot of cost out in other areas such as the mic elements themselves.

There are many other possible variables in play too. Fir instance, they could have had different effect processing on each channel. Nevertheless, I would be very cautious about using such cheap gear for karaoke.
 
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sawdust123 said:
We went out last night with a few of our friends for live band karaoke. Some of my friends commented on how "weird" the singers sounded. One described it as if people were singing through a paper cup. I asked the band what kind of wireless they were using and it turns out they were GTD mics. My wife asked me if my karaoke system sounded better because I had much more expensive mics. The answer is no. The mics I use for home karaoke were $50 run of the mill wired dynamic handhelds I purchased 20 years ago. However, the manufacturing cost of the mic is probably closer to $10.

There are a lot of variables here. First and foremost is the model #. I know the mic was acquired within the last year so I assume that the model is still current. Looking at their current lineup, I think these were the U-502H mics.

It was clear to me that the two mics sounded very different. This was their first gig with these mics but it is possible that one may have been damaged before the show. However, I am more suspicious of the GTD production quality and tolerances. To maintain their price point, production testing must be absolutely minimal, if there is any at all. These wireless mics cost the same as my wired mics but they have A LOT more circuitry. That means they took a lot of cost out in other areas such as the mic elements themselves.

There are many other possible variables in play too. Fir instance, they could have had different effect processing on each channel. Nevertheless, I would be very cautious about using such cheap gear for karaoke.
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There are SO many variables to consider. It could be the mics were not good, but what were they being transmitted through? What kind of mixer? Any EQ? What kind of speakers? I was gonna post a side by side comparison of me singing (Karaoke) with my own GTD wireless mic, and a wired Sennheiser e 965 I use for my DJ mic. When both are played through my Denon DN-410X mixer, and my RCF-EVOX8’s, the difference in the sound quality is insignificant. In fact, some people prefer the the GTD’s. One of these days I’ll post that comparison.
 
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While I didn't look closely at their rig last night, they had used a 16 channel analog mixer previously so that usually rules out a lot of processing. The hardwire mics being used sounded just fine so that puts the PA out of the variables. The biggest problem to me was the difference in sound between the two mics of a dual mic system. In low cost systems, vendors accept greater production variability and defects. They may have negotiated return credits with their factory or just accept a certain level of returns as the cost for selling at that price point.
 
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sawdust123 said:
While I didn't look closely at their rig last night, they had used a 16 channel analog mixer previously so that usually rules out a lot of processing. The hardwire mics being used sounded just fine so that puts the PA out of the variables. The biggest problem to me was the difference in sound between the two mics of a dual mic system. In low cost systems, vendors accept greater production variability and defects. They may have negotiated return credits with their factory or just accept a certain level of returns as the cost for selling at that price point.
Click to expand...

I used a GTD at a gig a couple of years ago it was a rental I gave my Sure to another DJ not expecting I'd need wireless than night and a few hours before the show I got asked for it. I found it a fair bit harsher than the Sure but I was able to make it sound ok with some equalization. If I were to buy a new wireless it would be Sennheiser or Sure it would have to be dirt cheap to buy a GTD but I would use them if provided
 
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sawdust123 said:
We went out last night with a few of our friends for live band karaoke. Some of my friends commented on how "weird" the singers sounded. One described it as if people were singing through a paper cup. I asked the band what kind of wireless they were using and it turns out they were GTD mics. My wife asked me if my karaoke system sounded better because I had much more expensive mics. The answer is no. The mics I use for home karaoke were $50 run of the mill wired dynamic handhelds I purchased 20 years ago. However, the manufacturing cost of the mic is probably closer to $10.

There are a lot of variables here. First and foremost is the model #. I know the mic was acquired within the last year so I assume that the model is still current. Looking at their current lineup, I think these were the U-502H mics.

It was clear to me that the two mics sounded very different. This was their first gig with these mics but it is possible that one may have been damaged before the show. However, I am more suspicious of the GTD production quality and tolerances. To maintain their price point, production testing must be absolutely minimal, if there is any at all. These wireless mics cost the same as my wired mics but they have A LOT more circuitry. That means they took a lot of cost out in other areas such as the mic elements themselves.

There are many other possible variables in play too. Fir instance, they could have had different effect processing on each channel. Nevertheless, I would be very cautious about using such cheap gear for karaoke.
Click to expand...
There's only one variable and it should be obvious: They're JUNK.

They're cheap because they're toys - built for K-pop fans doing karaoke at home (hence, dual and quad standard for your girl or boy group)
They have a destructive proximity effect and are easily overloaded (paper cup sound)
The heavy companding tries to compensate for the crap element and transducer
The dynamic range is identical to most $12 cabled mics from China (which BTW also sound better than a GTD)

I've seen videos online posted by DJs who demo and rave about how the GTD sounds so much better than their previous mic and I think: "WTF were you using before?"

I have 4 Chinese counterfeit SM58s that I use for amateur karaoke. (There are thousands of these all over the place BTW being used by local bands who don't know they've been punked.) The counterfeits are equivalent to $15 (wholesale) Chinese mics I used to buy in bulk. No shock mount, and a stated frequency response 70Hz -10KHz which in reality is more like 90Hz - 8KHz. It's acceptable with poor karaoke singers because it's where I would put a Low-cut and HIgh-shelf anyway if I was using a real console instead of a DJ system.
 
sawdust123 said:
. . . they had used a 16 channel analog mixer . . . The biggest problem to me was the difference in sound between the two mics of a dual mic system.
Click to expand...

The XLR inputs on analog consoles are mic level only. If the GTD output was set to line level then a "paper cup" sound would have resulted from the mismatched inputs, and this would happen even with a good mic. (Same applies to DJ mixers.) It can also happen with an impedance mismatch when using Hi-Z 1/4" TS connectors on a fully balanced Low-Z TRS input.

Cheap dual receivers often have both separate and a mixed output which quadruples the likelihood of someone setting different levels or gain somewhere between the mic and channel strip.
 
Proformance said:
The XLR inputs on analog consoles are mic level only. If the GTD output was set to line level then a "paper cup" sound would have resulted from the mismatched inputs, and this would happen even with a good mic. (Same applies to DJ mixers.) It can also happen with an impedance mismatch when using Hi-Z 1/4" TS connectors on a fully balanced Low-Z TRS input.
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The leader of this band is a pro-audio industry veteran. I doubt he would make such an amateurish mistake. Then again, I have done some pretty dumb things when working in haste.
 
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sawdust123 said:
I doubt he would make such an amateurish mistake. Then again, I have done some pretty dumb things when working in haste.
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It's not about being a pro or amateur. It's simply something that can easily get overlooked - and if you don't hear it or recognize what causes it - the issue persists.

I had this very issue at the opening of a theater rehearsal this past weekend. My first reaction was to check my gain levels, which had no impact. Then I decided to see if the mic/line switch was properly set and voila! That mic rack had been previously used with a digital console's AUX inputs at line level and needed to be set for my analog mic level input.

With that one change the sound went from a bad GTD impersonation to a warm, rich, crisp, and crystal clear voice.
 
Jeff Romard said:
I used a GTD at a gig a couple of years ago it was a rental I gave my Sure to another DJ not expecting I'd need wireless than night and a few hours before the show I got asked for it. I found it a fair bit harsher than the Sure but I was able to make it sound ok with some equalization. If I were to buy a new wireless it would be Sennheiser or Sure it would have to be dirt cheap to buy a GTD but I would use them if provided
Click to expand...

FWIW, I replaced my Sennheiser and AT mics with GTD. The cheap mic out-performed the more expensive ones and by a long shot. Are they cheap? Certainly. For me however, I know what sounds and works well and that's all that matters. The fact that it was cheap is just an added bonus.
 
rickryan.com said:
FWIW, I replaced my Sennheiser and AT mics with GTD. The cheap mic out-performed the more expensive ones and by a long shot. Are they cheap? Certainly. For me however, I know what sounds and works well and that's all that matters. The fact that it was cheap is just an added bonus.
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Honestly for what we do with them GTD is more than enough. I am picky with mic sound most (read 99.9%) would not be able to tell a difference between GTD and Sure or Sennheiser except in a side by side and even then 75% wouldn't hear a discernable difference. Sometimes it comes down to what your ears like more than actual specs
 
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