Need help Choosing a Microphone and Preamp.

E

ethic

New member
Hi, I'm new to the forum and i understand that the mics i will be asking about have kind of been covered by other posts and such but I have sat here hours of reading post after post for about 2 weeks now and although i have narrowed my selection of mics down I still am completely not sure what to purchase especially the Preamp.

Basically I have about 1000 total to spend on a Microphone and Preamp. I will be recording Vocals on it for HipHop and could care less if it could do anything else as this mic will be mine and specifically purchased just for vocals.

I will be recording in a small bed room 10X12 or so which I will be doing some acoustic treatments pretty soon. It is an apartment so there is some random noise here and there that you can hear coming from neighbors but not that bad. Can't really hear traffic unless someone is peeling out or something.

My voice is Loud but not deep, it's more mid-tonish. Kanye West-ish/Evidence from Dialted peoples.. I guess I mean can't think of too many artists with a voice like mine most are deeper or too bright. I'd say my voice is louder than them I'm one of those people who is loud all the time w/o really trying. ( just trying to give all the information I can to help get better advice)

The mics that I have narrowed down my search to ( but not restricted to I am super open minded) and in no particular order.

1. SM7B - Pre amp? GOlden age pre73? OR RNP w/ CLoud LIfter? or a Neva? - Really having trouble figuring out what preamp would go well with enough gain seen so many different posts from people saying you need 55+ db to 75+ db.

2. EV RE 20 - No idea on Preamp. Maybe a RNP or presonius firestudio? I hear it is very much like the SM7b but I can't seem to be finding very many people recommending this mic for hiphop/rap vocals.

3. EV RE320 - Preamp same as evre20? I hear it is the condenser of dynamic microphones and although the idea sounds great. I was wondering if It would be too responsive for a apartment studio with random noises.

4. Avantone C12 - Preamp No idea? I have found virtually no info on anyone using this for Rap/hiphop vocals but I find that lots of other rap/hiphop artists saying they like the sound of recording on a tube mic. and supposedly the CV-12 is the best tube mic for the price. Except the examples always given are microphones worth over 1000$. Also worried this mic might be to responsive.

Sorry it was so long, I just want to give as much info to make this easier on everyone. If you would like any other information to help make a better decision feel free to ask. Thanx ahead of time everyone!
 
Hey man, welcome to the boards. Sorry be a pain in the arse, but just to help everyone out what audio interface are you using/planning to use?
 
I record hip hop and R&B vocals and I use the presonus studio channel for the preamp and a rode nt2a for the mic. I would suggest these for you also. To hear some of the product, go to kayflow.bandcamp.com and listen to some of the songs.
 
Cool, just wanted to check that you weren't confusing audio interface and preamp (it happens alot. When you said you'd been looking at the presonus firestudio as a "preamp" i just had to check). The Maudio looks cool and pluggin external preamps into the line in's on the back would avoid some of the problems that sometimes occur when audio interfaces have combo mic+line inputs :)

In terms of mic/preamp combo for rap, i'm afraid to say it's out of my depth slightly. I am a massive fan of the Avantone CV12 but have only used it for pop and folk style singing. It's very detailed and very smooth sounding and would require less gain from a preamp to get comfortable levels so it would open up a lot more avenues for preamp selection, but, as i said, i'm really not the expert on rap and hip hop.

It also depends what you want from your preamp. The GAP Pre-73 is wonderful (after trying one it's near the very top of my "to buy" list) but does have it's own colour, whereas the FMR RNP and Focusrite ISA one have a cleaner sound to the them.
 
Here's another tack- I'd consider Joemeek threeQ ($250). You only need one channel, you say? Well, on the RNP, you're paying for 2. And- the threeQ gives you light compression going in, which is useful on some rap vocals. I'd say don't use the EQ on the Joemeek. You can do better. Pair that with SM7b, which is a very good choice in a dynamic, or Rode NTK. I find the later Studio Projects version of Joemeek with the Burr-Brown design is pretty clean, and rap vocalists appear to love that. The aggressive Joemeek optical compression works well with tube mics. My Joemeek twinQ loves the NTK. The SM7b is easier to sing into, more forgiving when the talent isn't that good. The NTK is versatile, and works on a lot of voices.
 
I always forget about the Rode NTK. Not because it's bad, on the contrary, it's just that i use it so often i've just gotten used to it as a vocal mic. The one thing i will say about the Avantone stuff is that is does have a distinctive character which you will either love or loath, whereas the Rode NTK covers pretty much all the bases admirably. It's never been a mic that's "wow'ed" me but that's mainly just my tastes.

Then again, as you said yourself, with a loud voice you may be better off with the SM7b and, if your voice is really loud anyway then you shouldn't need to crank the gain too high.
 
Ok I'm not a rap and hip hop guy but here it goes...

MICROPHONES:
Like Mixtape Meeko, I have a Rode NT2a that I've had for around 4 or 5 years now. It might be a good option for you as it does offer up a 0, -5db and -10db cut, so if you tend to be loud, that could help prevent overloading. Plus when I bought mine it was $399. Now for that same price you get the shockmount, and pop filter as well. Not too shabby.

In addition the Rode as a switchable low cut/HPF at 40hz and 80hz (or off). With this you would have a few options in cutting out low end rumble, by going with the 40hz to get rid of the really low stuff while keeping the rest, or just go from 80Hz on down. I don't know how much you'd need this, but then again having the options allows for flexibility.

I know that ribbon mics are considered the "delicate" choice, but I've heard/read that they offer up a nice warmth, which was something you sounded concerned about. MXL has two that I'm aware of that are quite affordable (and now that I'm researching them for this post I'm thinkin' I may have to pick one up)

Both the 860 and the R114 ribbon mics are side address Figure 8's and go from 20Hz to 17kHz, and handle 130db. I haven't really figured out the difference other than price and the way they look, but I'm sure I just need to do some more research and it will make sense. In either case we're talking $100 - $150 for these two.

The Royer 121 has become a "modern classic" but they also have a more affordable model called the R101 which retails for $799.

PREAMPS:
Truth be told, and I'm honestly not the most experienced guy regarding this, but something like a tube preamp might be a good option for you if you're saying your vocals aren't as "warm" as you'ld like. ART has a few options for around $300, and of course these go on up to the price of a small car.

In the meantime, you could play with the "proximity" effect a little. When you get closer to the mic it will naturally get more bassy, but this can go to the wrong extreme as well and become too rumbly and boomy. Stand 1" closer than where you normally stand, and see what happens.

I hope this helps in some way. :thumbs up:
 
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