Torn between two mics....

O

OMGthatsCrAzY

New member
Whats up guys, Im looking to buy a new mic as the mic I have right now is a 30 dollar radio shack mic :(

Im recording Rap/singing vocals at my house and I heard that the SM58 was a great mic (through the FAQ) but I cant help but be tempted to get a condenser mic....Im choosing between these two:

Shure SM58
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270101/

OR

MXL 990
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/273156/

What do you guys think? Thanks for any advice.
 
Rap on that low of a budget I'd go for the Studio Projects B1. If you can afford it go for a CAD M179 for a go to mic that can handle just about anything you throw its way.

War
 
Not bad choices, heres a few alternatives.
The Sennheiser e835 is Senn's answer to Shure's monopoly on live vocal mics w/ the SM58. It's a little brighter, which maybe or may not be a good thing depending on your voice.

The MXL990 is a small (medium?) diaphram mic, packaged cleverly to look like most large diaphram mics. It isn't a necessarily bad mic, but for vocals a large diaphram may have more of characteristics you're looking for in a vocal condensor. Tons of options, here's a few off the top of my head
Audio technica AT2020
Studio Projects B1, or for a little more C1
Oktava MK319
 
Thanks for the help you guys...My budget is pretty low (<120) so I guess that narrows it down to:

Shure sm58
MXl 990
Sennheiser e835
Studio projects B1

What are some of the reasons Id pick one of these over the other? Thanks a lot for the help, I appreciate it.

Resh - What do you mean when you say, it's a little brighter? Sorry if I'm sounding like a total newbie lol.
 
OMGthatsCrAzY said:
Resh - What do you mean when you say, it's a little brighter? Sorry if I'm sounding like a total newbie lol.
Click to expand...

It means it's got a little more trebly, more sensitive to high frequencies. If you have a deeper voice, it can help bring a little more definition and clarity. On the other hand, if you have a shrill voice, a brighter mic can make the it sound even more shrill. That's why it's important to try mics before you buy. The "strengths" and "weakness" of each mic might actually make YOUR voice sound worse or better, respectively.
 
Thanks Harlequin, I heard some other people saying they dont like it and along with Resh's input, I prolly wont get the MXL.

Resh - I see....can those imperfections be dealt with in the EQ? I dunno how I'd be able to try any mics out, I dont know too many people in this kinda work.

I have a really weird voice....I dont wanna waste much of your guys' time, lol, but if you wanna listen to a sample of my music and see how my voice/quality is, here's my soundclick link:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=68577

The third song, Goldyn Child Freeverse, is me alone.
 
Out of those four mics the studio projects b1 is the most highly regarded. I can tell you personally you can get decent results out of the 990. Of course if you were to compare it to something better it would sound awful, but its usable. Plus you can find them for about $60 new, and you really can't beat that.

If you are at all serious about recording you should save up for a nicer mic. Down the line you're going to wish you wouldn't have wasted money on cheap mics.
 
OMGthatsCrAzY said:
I have a really weird voice....I dont wanna waste much of your guys' time, lol, but if you wanna listen to a sample of my music and see how my voice/quality is, here's my soundclick link:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=68577

The third song, Goldyn Child Freeverse, is me alone.
Click to expand...

With your voice, I'd probably go with something a hair on the bright side. My gut feeling is the B1 would be a decent choice in its price range. BTW, if that was recorded with a $30 RS mic, I'm impressed.... RS must have improved a bit. :D
 
astoebe said:
if you want an example of what the 990 can do, go here

http://people.clemson.edu/~astoebe/portfolio/songs/songs.html

the vocals, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar (i miced the amps) were recorded with a 990

it is a very good, very versatile mic for a low budget in my opinion
Click to expand...
It sounds pretty good from that....why does it get bad reviews sometimes?

I listened to Light...you did all of that by yourself? Good stuff man, liked how it sounds, keep it up.


donger said:
Out of those four mics the studio projects b1 is the most highly regarded. I can tell you personally you can get decent results out of the 990. Of course if you were to compare it to something better it would sound awful, but its usable. Plus you can find them for about $60 new, and you really can't beat that.

If you are at all serious about recording you should save up for a nicer mic. Down the line you're going to wish you wouldn't have wasted money on cheap mics.
Click to expand...
Yeah it seems like the B1 is the popular choice round here.....I think its gonna be between the B1 and the sm58. I would save up for a better one, but Im a starving college student and even spending this much on a mic is a bit much, but I really wanna up my quality a bit.


dgatwood said:
With your voice, I'd probably go with something a hair on the bright side. My gut feeling is the B1 would be a decent choice in its price range. BTW, if that was recorded with a $30 RS mic, I'm impressed.... RS must have improved a bit. :D
Click to expand...
Well it's actually an Audio Technica ATR30 from Radio shack, so I guess it isnt that bad...but I do a lot for the mixdown, thats probably why it doesnt sound that bad...for that freeverse I spent almost 2 hours mastering it.

If I'm going for the sm58 or the B1, which do you guys think? Sorry, its just I'm getting mixed reviews from everywhere.

THANKS a lot for the help guys.
 
Chipwits - Someone suggested that mic to me actually but everywhere I look its 200 bucks....I guess I could think about it but thats really pushing my spending limit. Im still a penny-pinching student who salivates when he hears about free food lol.

Lyricist - Really? Thanks man, I appreciate the listen....you got a soundclick I could hear?
 
"man" hehe im a girl. No i dont. But I'll be putting up a myspace soon.

You should look into myspace. artists get A LOT of ppl hearing their stuff over there.

But on the other hand it seems to be more popular for emo/punk/rock type bands.

Good luck on your mic search
 
With cheaper end preamps I just find the the SM57/58 is just too dull-sounding by default. I really like the Sennheiser E835 and E845 because they aren't too different to the Shures to use, except they put back in all the high end stuff that was missing from the Shures. Every time I put a singer on an 845 who has 'always used a 58', they end up asking me how much more they have to spend to get an 845 afterwards!! Little do they know that they're cheaper. :)

On the condensers - I haven't used the MXL990 but the B1 is a surprisingly natural-sounding mic with a gentle high end lift. I'm not saying I'd take one over an AT4050, but I might take five or six (check the prices). :D
 
Lyricist - Hehe sorry about that, I got a bad habit of assuming everyone on message boards is male lol. I do have a myspace (2 actually) but the sound quality on their player isnt that great....I got a regular myspace and a music page, the music page still needs a layout but I'm working on it.

www.myspace.com/kaveh818 (regular) and www.myspace.com/kavehthamc (music)


Noisedude - Thanks for the advice....Ive been totally disregarding the fact that I need phantom power for a condenser mic, not to mention my room/comp's a little on the noisy side so Im gonna get the e835 or the sm58.

THANKS a lot for the help everyone.
 
I am partial to the mics made in Germany and USA. Rode is nice since they pulled production out of China and brought it back home to the outback. But on your budget I would get the Sennheiser or the SM58 first. I agree, you will regret getting a cheap condenser if you stay in recording for any length of time at all, even if you never make any money at it. Wait until you have enough money to get a condenser that's not made in China before you buy one. But if....IF.....you must, the S.P. C1 is about the best choice among all the condensers under $200.
 
OMGthatsCrAzY said:
Lyricist - Hehe sorry about that, I got a bad habit of assuming everyone on message boards is male lol.
Click to expand...

Ha ha so do i! Especially on computer forums or music forums lol

Sometimes I just go along with it. ;P I'm usually just "sexless" on the internet.

I'll check out your myspace. I did notice songs on myspace are kind of blurry but I thought it was the song itself. Guess not.
 
Last edited:
The hip hop engineers at work really like the B1.

So did the kids. It vanished within 2 months. :rolleyes: Most of our hip hop business is high school programs... so I keep inexpensive mics in "stock." :)

The B1 holds up *really* well compared to other mics in and near its price range.

The 58 is a great mic, but it also tends to exagerate its preamp. If you have a cheap preamp is sounds really cheap. If you have a great preamp is sounds really great! My guess is you have a relatively cheap pre- so you'll get more immediate mileage out of the B1 if you have phantom power.

If you want to avoid having to buy phantom power, the Beta 58 (or Beta 57) are higher output mics and sound a bit clearer than the SM models. Pricier, though. My singer uses an AKG C1000s (mine, I don't use it for anything so she uses it live) and its got a nice advantage in that its a condesor mic designed (in part) for vocals but its got the option of being battery powered. I think you can get the C1000s for around $100 used or $180 new. That way you'd have a kicking live mic, too. Not sure how it would do for rap, but at this price range you can't be too specific, anyway.

Take care,
Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top