Dynamic microphone sounds dull.

B

Brad_Pit

New member
What can you recommend ? I record my voice on a dynamic microphone and it sounds very dull.

PS This is the cheapest dynamic microphone you can buy in the store. But I do not think that the more expensive dynamic microphone will sound differently.
 
You might be experiencing the proximity effect. The closer you get to a dynamic microphone, the higher its bass response will be. So there will be less high-end volume, and it can sound dull.
(You're correct that this would happen with any dynamic)

So step 1 would be sing/speak further back from the mic. There are some effects that could help treat the sound, but it's better to get the sound good in the room.
 
There are lots of reasons a recording might sound dull.

First, if it's a cardioid mic, it has a proximity effect, meaning that if you are right up on the mic, it will have a tremendous bass boost.
Second, just because it's a dynamic mic means nothing. Some dynamics have a very large presence boost to make voices cut through and counteract the proximity effect.
 
If you post what you think is a dull recording on Soundcloud or similar, we can have a listen and tell you if it is, or if it's something else. Dynamics can sound very strange very close in as people have said, but some can be duller - Things like SM58 Shure's are pretty well known, but there is an SM48 - which is rare, but does sound dull in comparison. Shure 50's mics, and their Chinese clones all sounds a bit dull by design, but some dynamics don't? We don't know your degree of dullness.
 
Thanks you.

I also think you can raise the high frequencies on the preamplifier (I have a built-in equalizer on the preamplifier (VST)).
 
well, you can always add HF, but choosing dynamic mics or condensers is often a matching exercise - if you have a small number of mics, you sort of pick ones that flatter a source - so the dull mic on a nasty sax can be a godsend, but a really nice sax would benefit from a condenser. A double bass might be good with a dull mic, and an instrument that is a bit dull would be the wrong choices if you get what I mean. With one mic, your choices are limited.
 
Brad_Pit said:
What can you recommend ? I record my voice on a dynamic microphone and it sounds very dull.

PS This is the cheapest dynamic microphone you can buy in the store. But I do not think that the more expensive dynamic microphone will sound differently.
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What the others have said above. "The cheapest mike you can buy" would not normally result in an expectation of stellar quality. But you can be surprised sometimes.

So check how close you are to it. Also check your performance . . . make sure you are not singing in a key that puts you in the lower part of your vocal register where you don't have as much energy.

Messing around with EQ might help.

Getting a better quality mike should help.
 
mjbphotos said:
What mic is it? How are you plugging it into your computer - give us your gear info!
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Thanks. But I just wanted to find out general advice. I guess I'll save some money and buy a dynamic microphone at a higher price.

I use outputs 3/4(behringer fca610) and then just amplify the signal with the plugins.
 
You should not need to amplify the mic output by using plug ins. We cannot help with the details. What is the mic. How do you have it plugged into the interface? As in xlr to xlr cable, not a xlr to jack, the. Tell us what the gain for trol does and how that is connected and of course an example of the bad audio. We’re stabbing in the dark.I wonder if you have plugged into the combo jack inputs on the front? This would give dull sound and low audio. Just confirm you are using 3 pin xlr both ends. We don’t know.
 
a SM7b is a great dynamic mic to use for vocals.
it needs a GOOD preamp to bring the most out of it.

the preamp is the key, besides the mic.
just putting a mic into a cheap interface is never going to get you where you want to go.
 
Why? Most of my condensers require the gain at around half on my Presonus. The SM7B needs 75%, or to be honest a bit more, but above 75% the Presonus hiss starts to creep in, but I've discovered that in Cubase, if I pop the Cubase compressor in, and straight line the compressor so there is no knee, I can use the makeup gain function to get normal record levels and the overall noise is low enough to not be of any concern. I'm not sure what you mean by the preamp comment 'to bring the most out of it'? What comes out should not need modifying by the preamp in my book. Annoyingly, the SM7B is probably not the mic I have in the top go to mics in my collection. Close in, it's OK, more nthan a few inches and it's too thin and weedy and also seems very responsive to the room sounds. I loaned it to a friend who loved it, but had to get it back from him when I picked up a video client who wanted two presenters with that exact mic, because it LOOKED good. I had to actually buy another, so now I have two of the things - which I suppose might be useful at some point. They're also too heavy for my boom stands on full extension.

I'd rather have an excellent mic and a modest interface. I've not yet discovered a bad one. I know many folk bestow magical things on some preamps, but for me, they amplify, and get the sound into the computer. I can process it there. I'm never going to spend my money on the 'special' preamps, because I am happy with what I have. The Presonus has plenty of inputs and outputs, and the Tascam is now in the other studio, still doing a great job.

If I want a mic on a voice, my old goto mic was an AKG 414 but that's now replaced by a TLM 103 which I rather like. I'm lucky enough to have a decent mic collection going back years, but my favourites do seem to change. The ones that don't get put away still mean the SM57 is a good choice - and it was a 57/414 sitting in the studio permanently out, and the 414s now replaced. I've got some double bass recording to do sometime soon, and I've never tried the 103 on a DB, but maybe I should try the SM7B? In fairness I bet the 57 would be pretty good.
 
i wouldn't consider the presonus a 'good' preamp.
with the right preamp,
the sm7 will not sound dull.

if it did,
countless pro recordings would have used something else.

as it is,
you always match the mic to the voice,
thats why you need more than just a couple of mics.
 
I have to disagree. For me, a preamp is meant to amplify without having any impact in the quality. I like it to have low noise, and absolutely no 'character' whatsoever. I do understand people want tonality changes and distortion from the 'posh' pre-amps, but these are processing in my opinion. Not bad, or maybe not even good - but I don't want power amps with their own character, and I don't want preamps that do the same. The SM7B is a dynamic - it doesn't have much above 15K - therefore it's going to sound dull compared to a condenser - but that, I think, is what gives it the character - I just don't like that character.
 
i bet you can't hear anything above 15k.

preamps can provide the character you really need in a proper vocal take.
that's why pros use the really nice ones, typically. they are looking for that character.
 
While I agree with not using preamp for character, I have noticed that the sm7 is sensitive to what you plug it into. It will sound different plugged into two different clean preamps. I haven't figured out why, maybe input impedance. Who knows, but that mic is great with some preamps and mediocre with others.
 
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