Recording vocals; need mic: NT1a or SM57?

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needlewithaprun

New member
I'm in the market for a new mic or two with the sole purpose of recording vocals, not live performance. My research has led me to one of these options. Does anyone have a recommendation?
 
Depends on the voice being recorded. Having both is a good idea. I mostly use an NT1a but it is not always better than a 58. 58 has a windscreen that helps a bit with plosives. Better for vocals and you can take the ball off and viola, 57 for guitar, drums, etc.
 
I recommend not relying too heavily on the internets whizdumb for selecting a vocal mic. Common practice is to shoot out a few different mics on a particular vocalist for a particular song and go with what works. It's a bit of a chicken/egg scenario in many ways. It helps to be intimately familiar with the pros and cons of each mic you're working with and you can only get there with hands on experience.

Having said that I own a couple of Shure 57's and an old, beat up SM 58. The 58 is my go to vocal mic for live and stage vocals. If I happened to get a killer, hard to reproduce scratch vocal take out of it in the studio, and could get better sonics from something else but not the actual take, I wouldn't hesitate to use the scratch track with the 57 or 58.

The NT1a is nowhere near my wish list. Others may have different opinions.
 
Well, between those two, you're looking at two completely different beasts. If you were to ask for my personal opinion, I would go for the SM57 over the NT1a even if it were for only vocals. It may not capture the transients as well as the Rode, but man, I think the Rode has the sound of an iklwa spearing a Redcoat.

It may, however, work for you. It's popular for a reason, and when it comes to entry-level microphones, I'm a little bit of a hipster when it comes to the so-called standbys.
 
Not too keen on the nt1a, for that sort of price I'd be much more inclined to look at Audio Technica LDC's - they don't have the nasssssty top end that Rode's do
 
I will soon be performing a DIY mod of my NT1a. Going to remove the inner mesh and replace with silk. I'll do a before and after sound sample and let you know if I destroy it.:eek:
 
jimmys69 said:
I will soon be performing a DIY mod of my NT1a. Going to remove the inner mesh and replace with silk. I'll do a before and after sound sample and let you know if I destroy it.:eek:
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Why put silk in Jim?
Have you looked over the Oktavamod site for hints? Who's mod specs are you going to go with?
 
I have heard good things about the Oktavamod though figure I'll try messing with it myself before spending the money. Michael Joly speaks of the inner screen not being all of the problem. That makes me wonder what taking out part of the problem will do. A guy on another forum has done this and used silk before. I figure I'll record a sample before, with no basket, inner screen removed, and last one with silk and see how they compare. Something interesting to do anyway. May be futile. Might be the best thing since beef jerky. :D
 
jimmys69 said:
I have heard good things about the Oktavamod though figure I'll try messing with it myself before spending the money. Michael Joly speaks of the inner screen not being all of the problem. That makes me wonder what taking out part of the problem will do. A guy on another forum has done this and used silk before. I figure I'll record a sample before, with no basket, inner screen removed, and last one with silk and see how they compare. Something interesting to do anyway. May be futile. Might be the best thing since beef jerky. :D
Click to expand...



Yeah I guess I can see the silk helping to keep the diaphragm clean. ~ that would be buffalo jerky
 
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