need help deciding on which mic, (sample of my voice inside)

N

northern cali

New member
im upgrading all my studio equipment and next up is a new mic

i got about a $300 dollar budget and im willing to buy a used mic


reading alot of tha "recommend a mic for me" threads i noticed everybody saying it depends on your voice and what your planning on using the mic for

so heres a sample of my voice, and i only record rap vocals
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=4260801&q=hi

this is the only a capella i had and it was freestyled it so ignore the flow, but thats basically how my voice sounds

i recorded it about a year ago using an mxl 990 and berhinger mic100 mic-pre


i was thinkin of something along the lines of an at 3035, 4033, or an akg 2000

but i'll definitely consider your guy's input, since you actually know what your talking about


thanks for the help,

(and p.s.
im not one of those "ay dawg i need mei a nu rap mic, what chall thank i shuld git" type of rapper we all love to hate, so some seriousness would be greatly appreaciated)

thanks again...
 
Last edited:
If you are trying to get away from that thin "chinese mic" sound you have in your recording, try something like a Shure SM7. Here is one that is real close to your price range on ebay:
SM7 on Ebay

Keep in mind, I am not recommending this seller, just found one with a quick search that was in your price range....
 
amra said:
If you are trying to get away from that thin "chinese mic" sound you have in your recording, try something like a Shure SM7. Here is one that is real close to your price range on ebay:
SM7 on Ebay

Keep in mind, I am not recommending this seller, just found one with a quick search that was in your price range....
Click to expand...


ok thanks, ill keep my eye on it, do you have any other suggestions?
 
Well, rap is really not my thing, but I researched because I really didn't know what the "industry standard" is for Rap and/or R&B vocal mics.

A couple of the frequently mentioned standard mics seem to be the sony C800G, or the Neumann U47. They are pretty damn expensive, and since you mentioned a $300 budget you might try to find a chinese knockoff that claims some similarity to either of those two mics....it might get you in the ballpark.

The SM7 has reputation for being a really detailed mic with a mellow tone, and sounds to me at least, a little more expensive than alot of those cheapo chinese mics.
 
To be honest, all I used to record was rap vocals (everyone tries to rap these days in my town). I've used an AKG c2000b with excellent results. Recently after building my new iso booth, I switched over to my octava mk-319. It has a warmer overall sound that seems to naturally work with my booth. I have also used an MXL 2001. It sounded ok by it seemed like the S's were over pronounced and often showed signs of distortion on the higher frequencies even when the signal was low. I now use it under a snare :D . I'd recommend either the c2000b or the mk-319. I've had great success with both of them. I noticed that you had a considerable amount of room sound in your sample, when you do your overdubs and add libs you will notice that it was start piling up. I recommend putting 2 mattresses behind you to cut this down. Rap vocals are nearly always dry and extremely compressed. I've recorded over 3,000 rap songs in the past 4 years, so hopefully that adds some credibility :rolleyes: . I just added you on myspace a little while ago, I have some samples on there of some local artists. "Shut Yo Mouth" was produced and recorded by me. It's just a quick mix but it was recorded with the MK-319.

Good luck!

-Lee
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top