Mic For Vocals Question

B

Bob's Mods

New member
I noticed that a good number of condensor mics will record instruments decently but the quality of recording seems to fall off abit when being used for vocals.

Have some of you in Home Rec'er land found that some condenser mics are better suited to vocals than others?
 
Bob's Mods said:
I noticed that a good number of condensor mics will record instruments decently but the quality of recording seems to fall off abit when being used for vocals.

Have some of you in Home Rec'er land found that some condenser mics are better suited to vocals than others?
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Absolutely. For instruments, you generally want a flat frequency response to capture them accurately. With voices, you generally want a less precise sound, usually with a certain amount of presence boost to make it cut through the mix. IIRC, the sticky at the top of the forum covers this in painstaking detail.

Or are you looking for specific mics that suck for voice but are decent for instruments? Okay, start with pretty much all of the Chinese SDCs. Nady CM-90, MXL 603/604, etc. :)
 
I suspect that loud instruments and ones with a sharp attack more easily move the diaphrams of lessor mics more easily.

Vocals tend to have less energy and a softer attack and so have more of a problem moving the mass of less sensitive diaphrams.
 
I don't think it's that. The diaphrams, even of cheap condensers are very thin...like 6 microns. I know from reading a bit that the correct diaphram tension is an issue, as well as the circuit design and quality of the components. Maybe someone with more technical knowledge will chime in on what makes a cheap condenser sound *cheap*.
 
Cheap condensers? Lots of things. Uneven diaphragm tension, poor design of the chambers inside the capsule, use of high noise components in the circuitry (cheap caps, cheap FETs, cheap transformers, etc.), poor headbasket design (comb filtering, etc.), poor shell design (ringing), poor shock damping, etc.
 
Hey Bob

I bought the Rode NTV mic, when it first appeared, specifically as a vocal mic. Its unavailable now - probably replaced by better quality components in the NTK - but I just love the presence it gives to a voice without being too harsh or brittle.
......mind you, I have only used it on a couple of voices other than my own, so I don't know if that can be considered an accurate Rode test (get it? ha ha ha *cough* *choke* wheeeeze) of this mic
;)
Dags
 
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