A Question from a Newbie (Mic Choice, Acoustics, Connection, Gear, etc.)

J

JJ Fux

New member
Hello,

I am going to purchase a condenser microphone to record amateur vocals at a home studio. I am a male "singer", but I am also going to record a few female singers later on.

I'd like to summarize my situation before I go on any further:

1. In a home studio, no soundproof, a noisy urban neighborhood. Although, I have chances to record at private, but hopelessly amateur studios.
2. Primarily looking to record male and female vocals but maybe some acoustic guitars down the road.
3. A budget of $700-800 max.
4. A newbie.
5. I have a ZOOM H2n. https://www.zoom-na.com/products/field-video-recording/field-recording/zoom-h2n-handy-recorder
6. Looking to purchase the Clarett 2Pre by Focusrite.
7. Mac owner.
8. Mainly for male rock-ish vocals, hip-hop/speech and female pop vocals. Full range.
9. I would like to hear "wet" and rich vocals. No dry vocals, no shrills, no excessive muffles and booming.
10. Looking to buy the stuff by end of the week.

I've read that certain microphones do not work well with male voices. Perhaps, I should just tell you folks what I had in mind.

At moment, I am looking at Audio Technica AT2035 or Shure Beta 57a. My budget for microphones is around $700-800, so if guys could recommend me other microphones I would be grateful. I was thinking of purchasing AKG C414 because of the positive online reviews, but I'm just starting out. I don't have many choices to choose from, but I see a few companies like sE and MXL.

The reason why I was looking into the Beta 57a is because I live in a noisy urban neighborhood. So, I was wondering if I can get cleaner/less-hiss result by using a dynamic microphone for recording vocals? I'm not sure if I can ever isolate the vocal tracks from the background noise.

So, I was also thinking about getting this thing:

RF-X Reflexion Filter
sE Electronics - REFLEXION FILTER® X

Anyway, I've gotten okay results by using ZOOM H2n, but I'd like to get a better sound quality. Then again, I'm not entirely sure if AT2035 and Shure Beta 57a are vastly different from H2n in terms of sound quality. The built-it audio interface on the H2n is pretty good.

As for connections, I was wondering if I needed any mic preamps in between the microphone and the audio interface. I guess, it will depend on what I will buy for the each categories. If I have the Clarett 2Pre and the AT2035, would I be okay with just the two?

I apologize for the long text. Thanks in advance.

Regards,

- JJ
 
the noisy room you mention more than once.

i went through this and there seems two paths.
1)get to making a vocal booth of some kind and get a LDC...or Dynamic...do the room.

or
(path 2)....get the noisy room mics= low sensitivity dynamics but these will often require good preamps that dont add noise. to boost the low levels of those mics. (so set some money aside)
#2 however surprised me because the Shure SM7, and 57,58's with a lot of gain can pickup noises you dont hear with the ear, everythings magnified but much less than a sensitive LDC for example, so theres some need for some effort in doing something to the room, even if its just DIY moving blankets or putting the bed up against the wall for sessions, or towels in a shower reverb....

Noisy room mics, the most talked about noisy room mics are the SM7 and RE20 as you probably read.
Used cost around $250-300, and then you need $$preamp and then still you'll probably need some gobo's or blankets, something.... I did that route.

But #1, cleaning up the room noise and making a vocal booth-ish setup seems to make recordings-life easier. A kind of quiet room allows plugging in a LDC or Dynamic, the need for preamps and outboard eq were gone and life is easier. The LDC can have that "eq,crisp,pro sound" without work, without a lot of bandaids.

Which mic? the SM7 and 57,58 is fine if the room is always going to be as is. I would go with a few mics then instead of a SM7, you could get a SM58 and a SM57 and a LDC. Its not hard to get super close to a SM7 sound with a 57/58 and you said hundreds$$$ and can get a LDC to work with and theres some decent ones for cheap.

once you make a bunch of money seems the U87>Neve1073>LA2A is goal to shoot for...and a lot of other combos.
The rolling stones released a studio video of their new tune and its a Shure SM58, and it has vox and harmonica wailing in it...no problem.Its a great example of what it can do (not sure of the console) , MJ Thriller on the SM7, McCartney on the RE20, O.A.R. Shattered on the billboard charts with a MXL990 (and some really expensive pre and 1176 blackface).

another great Noisy Room tool is the Expander/Gate, a good old Aphex or something that can shutdown the noise when no singing is going on, and the good ones are smooth and dont cloud up the vocal. Symetrix has good ones too that are pretty cheap.
 
JJ Fux said:
Hello,

I am going to purchase a condenser microphone to record amateur vocals at a home studio.
<cut>
If I have the Clarett 2Pre and the AT2035, would I be okay with just the two?

- JJ
Click to expand...

probably...the AT2035 is 22.4mv which is plenty output for the interface and no preamp will be required (maybe a pad!), Your going to hear things in your room though, like pc fans and ants crawling around..lol
 
An sm57 and an sm58 are the same mic with a different grill. There is no point to getting both.

The SM7 is great for any Agressive vocals, but it needs a good deal of gain. It will sound good on acoustic guitar, but will need a ton of very clean gain to record at decent levels.
 
yeah with a pop filter mentioned above 57,58 same deal....even SM7 isnt much difference but it doesnt need the pop filter if it comes with the foam pcs.

I dont know much about the Clarett 2i2, I suppose if you know you are never going to need more. Supposedly the Claretts can do the "realtime processing" so an outboard preamp wont be needed with a good plug-preamp + the interface preamp.
Dynamics at 1.2mv and 1.8mv will test that scenario.....a decent LDC at 15mv range would remove all worrys.

after fixing the room a bit Im enjoying the LDC again, sold the SM7, have SM57 with pop filter which sounded very very similar with little effort. grabbed a LDC SHure KSM27 for $100+ and its super nice and metal built "dixie chic" mic some call it, built tough enough for stage and sound for studio. Its around 14mv. My other LDC at 22mv is prone to picking up too much room...or get some more pillows and blankets and close all the doors for some silence.
Shure KSM27 | RecordingHacks.com

just a 5 second search shows the Clarett gain isnt enough for the SM7 per some owners (which is very close to the SM57)....so $$$ for a preamp. nothing wrong with that but how much to silence the room a bit? might be worth it. hes talking Vocals and a mic....not guitar amps and a mic.

If the OP is going LDC, the pc fan noise was the worst in my small room with the LDC it sounded like a train.
then next was a fancy power dist. box which turns out was humming (with the mic gain up I could hear it so could Reaper). then started covering the walls.

the SM7 against my LDC sounded really blah and needed a lot of "make-up" as in cosmetic work,preamp, eq, comp etc...the LDC not so much. I hope to try some other LDC's.

the AT2035 is $100, with holder, looks great.
Audio-Technica AT2035 & 2050 | Sound On Sound
 
My go-to mic for a noisy room is the Heil PR40 (a dynamic mic, not a condenser). If you still wish to go with a condenser, I think the Aston Origin is a bargain, and I like the Neat Microphones King Bee. The Worker Bee is less expensive and a bit less boomy on the bass end.
 
JefferySmith said:
My go-to mic for a noisy room is the Heil PR40 (a dynamic mic, not a condenser). If you still wish to go with a condenser, I think the Aston Origin is a bargain, and I like the Neat Microphones King Bee. The Worker Bee is less expensive and a bit less boomy on the bass end.
Click to expand...

I was just reading about that Heil PR40 on hacks website and SOS...
This has to rate as one of the best dynamic mics I've ever come across- Paul White SOS




Note that although the case looks like a side-address design, the moving coil points out the top of the microphone.
Read more: Heil Sound PR-40 | RecordingHacks.com

does the speaker, talk into the end of the PR40 mic and not the sides?
 
It is an end-address microphone. BSWUSA.com often has them for sale in a kit with a good metal pop filter and a scissor boom. It is an extremely well behaved mic. Depending on how loudly you are talking/singing, it might be necessary to also get a Cloudlifter or FETHEAD to add some more input from it.
 
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