Best mics for picking ONLY voice, with no or minimum background noise?

[TrafalgarLaw]

Hi there, first post here.

I've been using Shure SM58 dynamic mic for my home recording for years. It was good, but it's time for upgrading.

My recordings are at home, mixed between recording tutorials on laptop and interviews by dslr. I need only 1 mic so all of my recordings will have similar warmth voice. An XRL connector mic preferred since I've already have an XLR-USB preamp interface. I need something that pick up ONLY my voice in a very narrow radius from the mic, and don't pick up background noise such as air conditioning, CFL light hums, keyboard typing, mouse clicks, or someone snoring a few feet away. My budget is $300.

The category I'm looking into right now is the lavs mic. Maybe the Rode lav or Sennheiser ME2. Are they good for my uses? Or is there anything better in my aplications than the lavs? Any recommendations are welcomed. Thanks in advance

[Elton123]

Shure SM-7b

[Steenamaroo]

You think elton?
Sm58 let's you get much closer to the cartridge. I'd guess it'd be better for the job than the 7b.

[TrafalgarLaw]

Thanks both for quick reply. Shure SM58 is good, but it still picking CLF hums and snoring. The worst part is, the snoring noise was from me, while others are recording.

[Steenamaroo]

Unfortunately the only real solution is to deal with the noise.
The lighting and aircon are easy. You just have to turn them off during recording. I know..i know...that's not what you asked, but it really is the best advice.

As far as keyboard tapping and that kind of thing, I'm not sure I've ever seen a happy conclusion to a thread about that.
It's just not an easy thing to completely eliminate.
For commentaries and the likes a headset is probably a good idea, but the real best bet is not to type while you're recording, if at all possible.


Have a look at the related threads at the bottom, or do a search for keyboard tapping noise.
There were a few detailed threads quite recently.

PS. The closer you are to any mic, the louder your voice will be relative to the background noises.
Half and inch or an inch really does make a massive difference. The low end will probably boom a little but that's what a HPF is for.

[TrafalgarLaw]

Thanks. So you're recommending that I would spend the budget into upgrading the studio than buying new mic? That is a lot harder than buying a new mic because there are scenes that I need to record video and audio from DSLR at the same time. When doing this, I will need sufficient lighting. My primary lighting is from CFL bulbs, and the closer they are to the talent, the softer they are. The conflict part is, the closer they are, the louder they hum. Or, maybe I need a low noise lightning such as LED lights?

[Steenamaroo]

If it's feasible and you think it's a worthwhile investment, I'd definitely work on the studio rather than buying new equipment.

LED lighting isn't a bad suggestion at all. Maybe you could look into that?

I have tubes in my place and they are SOOO loud it's unreal. I just fitted a few old style bulbs for when I'm working, but of course lighting isn't important to me for video.

[arcaxis]

Perhaps in your recording software you might have an expander/gate plugin you could try applying to the recording. It isn't the best substitute for getting a room quiet, but may help in your situation.
Using an Expander on Vocals
Intro to Gates and Expanders

I do have a couple mic pres with an expander/gate and they do help with background noise if used carefully so as not to affect the material I'm trying to record.

A mic I'll suggest that may be an improvement over the SM58, but won't necessarily reduce background noise is the Electro-Voice N/D767a Premium Dynamic Vocal Microphone . It is a supercardioid pickup pattern which is tighter than the SM58 and may pickup less off axis sounds.

[TrafalgarLaw]

Thanks all for quick responses. I'm impressed with you all. The software I'm currently using is Sony Vegas, but I'm looking for hardware that basically gives high quality and doesn't need much post processing. I don't think that I'll stick with only Sony Vegas for a long time.

I'm doing a research about Shure SM7B and shocking that the local sole distributor in my country is selling it for $990. Holy $hit!

[arcaxis]

What wasn't mentioned about the SM7B is that it needs a lot of clean gain, so depending on what you're feeding it into, you may need a decent mic pre or an inline CloudLifter amplifier or similar to make it work with your system. From the price it doesn't sound likely you'll be headed for an SM7B anyhow.