What mic
- Thread starter Axl89
- Start date
The MAGIC MIC!!!
Only $5.00.
I kind feel sorry for you "Axl89," Its only your first post.
HINT - Use the search option, there is enough advice in this forum to keep you very busy. After you have some sort of idea of your price range and application. Then come back and ask something slightly more specific.
Only $5.00.
I kind feel sorry for you "Axl89," Its only your first post.
HINT - Use the search option, there is enough advice in this forum to keep you very busy. After you have some sort of idea of your price range and application. Then come back and ask something slightly more specific.
mr. produca
New member
what he said! 
ljmaxx
Hurricane Offender
Axl89 said:
This will get you started. Good luck.
https://homerecording.com/bbs/search.php?searchid=382112
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
Yo Axl! They're just ragging in you. You have asked the single most asked question ever on this board, except most people want it to sound good on acoustic guitar, also. Here's word #1- Vocal mics are like shoes. They either fit, or they don't. Cheap shoes that fit are better than expensive ones that don't. Budget matters- a lot. Vocal mics run from $36 to about $10,000. Some people that really could afford a $10,000 mic record with *much* cheaper mics, because the shoe fits. Jacko recorded "Thriller" with a Shure SM7- a $350 mic. Is it because he couldn't afford better mics? No, It was because it was the right mic.
Word #2- No matter what bullshit people feed you, there is *no way* to predict what mic will make someone sound good until you put it in front of them.
Word #3- When the situation changes, the best mic for the job can change. Mics are like shoes. Are we playing basketball, or doing ballroom dancing? When you change the room, the key, the song, or the preamp, you may get very different results.
So- what can you do? Try to find a place that will let you try out mics. Do what I do- mostly, I select mics that are respected, made by well established manufacturers that lots of people like. That way, it's likely that the mic will be good for *something*, and if it doesn't work for me, it's easier to resell it. As a rule of thumb, I would be more likely to choose a condenser mic if the room is good, or the preamp isn't. Condensers produce more gain, so you can turn a not so hot preamp down, reducing noise and distortion. They are more sensitive, though, and will pick up more background noise if you don't have a quiet place to work. They will usually capture more detail. That's good if the singer is real good, but may bring out the rough edges in somebody that's not American Idol material. Note the above, though- Jacko is a perfectly good singer. He had a great room, I don't doubt, but he still chose a dynamic. Why? It worked for him.
I would tend to choose a dynamic mic if I have a good pre and/or a bad room. They will pick up less background noise, but their signals are weak, so they need a good preamp. Condenser mics aren't better than dynamics, they are different.
Word 4- for live use most people use handheld mics, which are often hypercardioid, to reject feedbak. There are also handheld condensers, which can rock at small intimate gigs, especially with quieter music. Side addressed condensers are usually too feedback prone to make good live mics. So first, do you need a live mic, or a recording mic? I will list mics that are used for recording, but many of the handheld and broadcast type mics can be good live as well. Note that these are just some of *my* favorites, and other people have *their* favorites.
Beyond that, about all anybody can do is list mics in various price ranges that work for a lot of people, and you're basically on your own. *No one* can tell you what mics will work for you. Here's my best shot:
Mics I would not personally buy for vocals of any kind- Nady, Samson, Behringer, Digital Reference.
Dynamics < $100- Shure SM57, AKG D770, Sennheiser e835
Condensers < $100- Marshall MXL V67, Studio Projects B-1, Oktava MK319
Dynamics $100-$500- Beyerdynamic Opus 69, M69TG, M88TG. Shure SM-7B, Electrovoice RE-20, Sennheiser MD421, MD441, Audix OM-6.
Condensers $100-$500- B.L.U.E. Baby Bottle, AKG C2000B,C4000B, C535. Studio Projects C-1, C-3, T-3. CAD M179, ADK Vienna and Hamburg Editions, Rode NT-1a, NTK. Audio-Technica AT4033, AT4040, Shure KSM27, KSM32.
Dynamics $500-1000- Pretty much, they're all < $500, with the exception of ribbon mics, and some specialty mics. Like it. It's the only break you're going to get.
Condensers $500-$1000- AKG C414 (there are 5 different models, 3 of them discontinued, and every one of them works on somebody), Shure KSM44, Rode K2, Audio-Technica AT4060, B.L.U.E. Dragonfly, ADK TC,TL,TT. Neumann TLM103.
Condensers > $1000- No point in listing the dozens of models. By the time you get there, you'll have a much better idea what you want. But, you should look at these manufacturers for sure- Higher end offerings by B.L.U.E., Rode, AKG. To die for-Neumann, Soundelux, Brauner, Lawson, Manley, Microtech Gefell.
Hopefully this overview will give you some ideas about where to start. In order to get more useful answers, we need to know how much you are willing to spend, what you will plug the mic into, what kind of room you will be recording in, whether the mic is for live use, recording, or both, and what kind of singing you intend to do. Good luck- Richie
Word #2- No matter what bullshit people feed you, there is *no way* to predict what mic will make someone sound good until you put it in front of them.
Word #3- When the situation changes, the best mic for the job can change. Mics are like shoes. Are we playing basketball, or doing ballroom dancing? When you change the room, the key, the song, or the preamp, you may get very different results.
So- what can you do? Try to find a place that will let you try out mics. Do what I do- mostly, I select mics that are respected, made by well established manufacturers that lots of people like. That way, it's likely that the mic will be good for *something*, and if it doesn't work for me, it's easier to resell it. As a rule of thumb, I would be more likely to choose a condenser mic if the room is good, or the preamp isn't. Condensers produce more gain, so you can turn a not so hot preamp down, reducing noise and distortion. They are more sensitive, though, and will pick up more background noise if you don't have a quiet place to work. They will usually capture more detail. That's good if the singer is real good, but may bring out the rough edges in somebody that's not American Idol material. Note the above, though- Jacko is a perfectly good singer. He had a great room, I don't doubt, but he still chose a dynamic. Why? It worked for him.
I would tend to choose a dynamic mic if I have a good pre and/or a bad room. They will pick up less background noise, but their signals are weak, so they need a good preamp. Condenser mics aren't better than dynamics, they are different.
Word 4- for live use most people use handheld mics, which are often hypercardioid, to reject feedbak. There are also handheld condensers, which can rock at small intimate gigs, especially with quieter music. Side addressed condensers are usually too feedback prone to make good live mics. So first, do you need a live mic, or a recording mic? I will list mics that are used for recording, but many of the handheld and broadcast type mics can be good live as well. Note that these are just some of *my* favorites, and other people have *their* favorites.
Beyond that, about all anybody can do is list mics in various price ranges that work for a lot of people, and you're basically on your own. *No one* can tell you what mics will work for you. Here's my best shot:
Mics I would not personally buy for vocals of any kind- Nady, Samson, Behringer, Digital Reference.
Dynamics < $100- Shure SM57, AKG D770, Sennheiser e835
Condensers < $100- Marshall MXL V67, Studio Projects B-1, Oktava MK319
Dynamics $100-$500- Beyerdynamic Opus 69, M69TG, M88TG. Shure SM-7B, Electrovoice RE-20, Sennheiser MD421, MD441, Audix OM-6.
Condensers $100-$500- B.L.U.E. Baby Bottle, AKG C2000B,C4000B, C535. Studio Projects C-1, C-3, T-3. CAD M179, ADK Vienna and Hamburg Editions, Rode NT-1a, NTK. Audio-Technica AT4033, AT4040, Shure KSM27, KSM32.
Dynamics $500-1000- Pretty much, they're all < $500, with the exception of ribbon mics, and some specialty mics. Like it. It's the only break you're going to get.
Condensers $500-$1000- AKG C414 (there are 5 different models, 3 of them discontinued, and every one of them works on somebody), Shure KSM44, Rode K2, Audio-Technica AT4060, B.L.U.E. Dragonfly, ADK TC,TL,TT. Neumann TLM103.
Condensers > $1000- No point in listing the dozens of models. By the time you get there, you'll have a much better idea what you want. But, you should look at these manufacturers for sure- Higher end offerings by B.L.U.E., Rode, AKG. To die for-Neumann, Soundelux, Brauner, Lawson, Manley, Microtech Gefell.
Hopefully this overview will give you some ideas about where to start. In order to get more useful answers, we need to know how much you are willing to spend, what you will plug the mic into, what kind of room you will be recording in, whether the mic is for live use, recording, or both, and what kind of singing you intend to do. Good luck- Richie
noisedude
New member
Richie's post is, as usual, well thought-out and insightful. So I won't add anything except for to direct you to the Home Recording Dot Com Microphone FAQ Website. Here:
www.hr-faq.org
www.hr-faq.org