SM58 + Preamp?

I

iced

New member
I do all my recording, (vocals) through my computer.

Ive been through multiple mics from crap to now the famous, SM58...

I havent had the money nor the willingness to do a complete setup as its just something i do in my spare time but ive always had my mics hooked straight up to the sound card. I have a cable that i personally made that has been used for a couple years that goes from XLR down to your standard headphone sized jack, not sure exactly what size that is.. but ive never had problems. Sound and quality does suffer quite a bit i know, i know.. but ive realized that it suffers alot more now that im using the SM58?

I had a crappy pyle pro mic and it wasnt as scratchy as the shure.. and it came it a lot louder as well.

is it because the shure is being "under" powered?

i was thinking about getting either the MXL Mic Mate or the other one i saw was ICICLE.. (a bit cheaper) Both XLR - USB...

Do those even work good? anyone have any experience using them?

Thanks :)
 
I put a MicMate through its paces, and it was OK. It would be an improvement over the onboard sound with an SM58. Its noise level is still much higher than a proper preamp, but much lower than the PC mic input. I think it might also depend on the noise on the USB supply--the unit I tested on my PC had a bit of low-level oscillating noise, but I was not able to determine the source.

The question is, would you want to upgrade beyond a single USB input? If so, the MicMate could be money better saved for a preamp or proper interface.
 
mshilarious said:
The question is, would you want to upgrade beyond a single USB input? If so, the MicMate could be money better saved for a preamp or proper interface.
Click to expand...

As of right now and lets say, the past 3 years, i have only been needing a mic hooked up to my computer. I work with mostly rap, hip-hop and r&b....

in the long run (years from now) i would like to get in depth with beat machines and such but for now im leasing and have other people that work with beats and such for me. so all i really need is to get my mic actually sutable to my every other day lil hobby.

ive found mixers w/ preamp and also preamps alone cheaper than the MXL. But i was worried because its outputs were 1/4 and i would be going back into the simple standard computer jack, so lack on sound wise also there.

i dont want to shell out another $100 some bucks for a desktop usb mic when i have a perfectly good shure sitting here, i just cant get the quality it has inside it.

im guessing the mic mate is the way to go?
 
I think the Mic Mate is an excellent option.

BTW if you "eat" (sing close) to the SM58 it will improve the signal to noise ratio for the better. Then you could cut the low end frequencies via EQing to have a cleaner tone later.

Chris

P.S. I'm a bit biased towards the SM58 (or SM57) being one of "those" singers where
it has outperformed costly ($1000+) mics.
 
Definitely don't get a USB mic - those are kind of a dead end, even if they're good -- by that I mean that if you later get a nice interface and some more mics, your USB mic will be useless. Of course, the mic mate looks like sort of a dead end, too (in that you're limited to recording one track at a time, and also it won't have a use when you get a better interface), but how much do they cost, like $50? And [since you already have a SM58] it's still better than a USB mic, if you ask me, since you can use your mic in other situations, too, and you can use different mics with it if you like.
 
chessparov said:
I think the Mic Mate is an excellent option.

BTW if you "eat" (sing close) to the SM58 it will improve the signal to noise ratio for the better. Then you could cut the low end frequencies via EQing to have a cleaner tone later.

Chris

P.S. I'm a bit biased towards the SM58 (or SM57) being one of "those" singers where
it has outperformed costly ($1000+) mics.
Click to expand...

Wow, chess, where you been man? You need some rep points to catch up with the times . . . hold on a minute . . .
 
chessparov said:
I think the Mic Mate is an excellent option.

BTW if you "eat" (sing close) to the SM58 it will improve the signal to noise ratio for the better. Then you could cut the low end frequencies via EQing to have a cleaner tone later.
.
Click to expand...

I have noticed the only way to pick up sound through the sm58, well the way im using it at least since its not powerd, is if your all up on it.

not really used to that since my pyle i could stand like 10 feet away and record just fine haha.. theres pros and cons to that but i always made sure the situation i was in there was no other noise other than me coming through the mic..

but anyways, i think im going to just go pick up the mic mate, not too costly and from what everyone is saying it seems it will do the trick for my situation.


Btw Thanks for the input everyone!
 
Hi mshilarious.
I'm flattered you remember me-thanks!

Planning to attempt some pro singing work ala demos/local stuff next year, so I'll try to stop by here again at least now and then. My friends are "pressuring" me to do more as my voice has improved substantially over the last 6 months (nature not nurture-no scales or anything).

Been busy with the "day job" (residential realtor), to make up for the slowness in our market.

Iced FWIW I basically agree with Paul White's assessment of Mic Mate over in the review section of www.soundonsound.com Great resource BTW.

Best of luck with it.

Chris
 
I remembered that the Micmate comes in a few versions; the version I had was with phantom power that was always on. It still works fine with dynamics, but that phantom power circuit could have been the source of the noise problem I had. So if you only want to use the SM58, get their dynamic version instead.
 
mshilarious said:
I remembered that the Micmate comes in a few versions; the version I had was with phantom power that was always on. It still works fine with dynamics, but that phantom power circuit could have been the source of the noise problem I had. So if you only want to use the SM58, get their dynamic version instead.
Click to expand...

Just looked into the one i was pursing to purchase to double check if it was the phantom power one and it is...

i was also interested in the ICICLE, which is the same ordeal as the MXL but $20 cheaper but nobody seems to have said anything. The money saved is a plus considering its just about the same thing as the mic mate.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blue-Icicle-XLR-to-USB-Mic-Converter-Mic-Preamp-330275-i1427196.gc
 
but perfomance wise i think i would be okay though right?

go with the cheaper one.
not some big ol company but seems to do what the other one does.

at least i dont think its some big ol company? i have no idea, ive never heard of them thats why i was asking first.
 
Since the Icicle has a "Phantom power active light", I assume that means you can turn phantom power on and off, which sounds like a plus.

the 44.1khz/16bit thing is definitely below the spec of most interfaces these days, but when you're dealing with the devices in this range (including many of the interfaces) that spec is probably not the limiting factor anyway, due to the associated analog components :)

This reminds me of something I was using for a while for guitar/bass -- an earlier version of this, I think:

http://www.music123.com/SoundTech-LightSnake-Guitar-Keyboard-USB-10ft-Cable-332600-i1128897.Music123

I got it at Target. I had clocking problems with my mac, and got a lot of the noise I later came to know was due to failure of converter-clock synching, but for some reason it worked fine on a PC with Win2k -- something to watch out for, I guess.
 
The Icicle seems like the cheapest option here. It essentially is a USB preamp that clips on to your SM58. If you could save a little more a Presonus Firebox (2 channel interface) can be had on the used market for around $100 if you look hard enough. It uses firewire though.
 
antichef said:
the 44.1khz/16bit thing is definitely below the spec of most interfaces these days, but when you're dealing with the devices in this range (including many of the interfaces) that spec is probably not the limiting factor anyway, due to the associated analog components :)
Click to expand...

The analog stage of the MicMate was fine, certainly capable of much better than 90dB dynamic range. The A/D chips they are using are limited to 16 bit, which is fine for vocal purposes, and limited by the noise seeping in elsewhere in the circuit.

I wouldn't worry about the bitrate, it's a non-issue.
 
omnistudio

iced,

If you're going to spend $50 for about $100 you can get a used M-Audio Omnistudio. If you have a PCI slot on your computer this is your cheapest option on a quality preamp and interface. And It's not a lot more money than what you've been discussing.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
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