Best vocal mic for 200 dollars?

[David J Sims]

I don't even care if it's used (say e-bay) I have 2 bills to spend on a mic for recording vocals and I want to get the best bang for the buck. I know little or nothing about vocal mics so any help would be appreciated. I sing with power rock vocals but no cookie monster

I've been recording vox with an SM 58, anything you hear on my site is the SM 58 I think I did a better job on the recording with the Ozzy cover
You can hear some vox I've recorded here...

http://www.davidjsims.com/music.html

I only have a few mics in my arsenal....

The standard SM58, Behringer C2 condensor mics (pair) and that's it other than some cheap radio shack crap.
I've been recording vox with an SM 58 so anything you hear on my site is the SM 58 I think I did a better job on the recording with the Ozzy cover.

Any help is appreciated

Dave.

[jonnyc]

If you're really serious about getting an answer to this question then use the search function. This question has been asked so much already it's ridiculous. Use the search function, you'll get hours worth of reading.

[David J Sims]

Originally Posted by jonnyc

If you're really serious about getting an answer to this question then use the search function. This question has been asked so much already it's ridiculous. Use the search function, you'll get hours worth of reading.

I'll give it another try using the "advanced" search when I used the basic search I just came up with lots of threads using the AKG term since I included it in my search.

[DAS19]

Do you ask a car dealer whats the best car for 20,000 dollars. Its what ever car suits your needs best. Look up the benefits and most frequently used mics for what your going to mainly recording.

[DAS19]

an rode nt1 would not be a bad choice though.

[pohaku]

Pick up an AT4054 on E-Bay for @$140 or so. The capsule is based on the AT4050. Since supplanted by the AE5400 which has a roll-off switch (the 4054 has built in roll off). A great mic for a pittance (was $500 new). Competitive with the Neumann KMS105 and the Audix VX-10.

[COOLCAT]

Originally Posted by David J Sims

I only have a few mics in my arsenal....

The standard SM58, Behringer C2 condensor mics (pair) and that's it other than some cheap radio shack crap.
I've been recording vox with an SM 58 so anything you hear on my site is the SM 58 I think I did a better job on the recording with the Ozzy cover.

Any help is appreciated

Dave.

OZzY... Slipknot has platinum cd's and I think their web said he uses SM58....

What mics did OzZy use? maybe search it out.... get some ideas, certain CD's..

its like guitars, 98% of the gplayers buy a guitar because they want the sound and or look, from a previous preferred pro performing probably.

SM58 is not a "bad" mic?
Maybe its your pre-amp? room?

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by COOLCAT

SM58 is not a "bad" mic?

I disagree. It is a mic that is a severe compromise of sonic quality to reduce feedback in live miking situations. While it can produce acceptable recordings of some sources, it is highly dependent on the source and whether there is any content above about 12 kHz. For anything that does have actual content up there, it sounds muddy.

The SM58 also has a very large presence boost from 2kHz to 10kHz or so. This can make it sound hyped on many sources (female vocals and many tenors, for example).

The Sm58 also has a very scooped midrange ,which makes it sound boomy when used with some sources, particularly when combined with the proximity effect that further boosts the lows if the singer is too close to the mic.

Put all that together, and you have a mic that sounds good on relatively few sources, mediocre on most, and downright awful on some. If your voice is overly strong where the 58 has a dip and needs emphasis where it has a bump, it will sound good. Otherwise, it will probably just sound like you're singing through a pillow.

People put up with the SM58's sonic deficiencies for live audio... mainly for feedback rejection reasons. Also, it does sound acceptable (or occasionally good) on some sources. That doesn't make it a good general-purpose recording mic, though.

A good general-purpose recording mic is one that you would pick up and expect it to probably sound good on anything. This is not generally the case for an SM58 except when recording things like drums where the precise relationships between overtones aren't particularly critical to the perception of sound quality.

Just my $0.02.

[COOLCAT]

here's an interesting link on Ozzy "HR" studio stuff...it ain't going to help as far as $200 vocal mic's.

been reading on Ozzy today, 4 decades....wow.
here's a good article on HR ..er....of Ozzy's idea of HR?

http://www.eqmag.com/article/ozzy-os...zy/mar-05/4156

yes, the 58 is more prone for live for Ozzy, Beta 58 Beta 57A for live again...as you see in his HR studio, there's some others listed.....and a million others.

and I agree, if it works it works, but Ozzy in the studio a SM58 it isn't.

[mrface2112]

asking "what's the best vocal mic" is like asking "what's the best underwear". you won't know until you try it on.

that said, lately i've been really happy with the performance of the mxl 960. sounds pretty damn nice on my voice and does an excellent job on amps too.


cheers,
wade

[stratrat]

Mercenary has a great modified sm57 with a TAB - Funkenwerks transformer. I've used it for recording vocals several times and with a good pre it sounds wonderful. Previous post on mics being designed to minimize feedback is correct. The new transformer fixes that.

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by stratrat

Mercenary has a great modified sm57 with a TAB - Funkenwerks transformer. I've used it for recording vocals several times and with a good pre it sounds wonderful. Previous post on mics being designed to minimize feedback is correct. The new transformer fixes that.

Yeah, I always wondered if the HF rolloff wasn't the fault of some cheap $1.35 transformer.... Good to know for sure... err... Shure....

[tc4b]

Originally Posted by stratrat

Mercenary has a great modified sm57 with a TAB - Funkenwerks transformer. I've used it for recording vocals several times and with a good pre it sounds wonderful. Previous post on mics being designed to minimize feedback is correct. The new transformer fixes that.

Interesting... on the site they compare it to the SM7... would you agree? I have been planning on picking up an SM7 for vox to replace my current POS... Can I really buy this instead? I already have a regular old SM57.