Help with Rap microphone

Arnau

New member
Hey guys,what s up?

I m new here and I m not an english native speaker so probably you are gonna get crazy with my speaking-way :D

Im looking for a microphone to start with an acceptable mini home studio, everybody talks about Rode NT1-A, but I have found on the net that it has probably too many bright for hip hop (I m gonna record almost only RAP).

Do you know some other alternatives? I can add some bucks to the budget, but I can t get wrong, that s why I m asking here for help!

Thank you for helping the knowless newbies like me!:p :facepalm:

Regards,

Arnau
 
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Rap isn't too much different from spoken word, but it depends on what type of voice you have and if you need to control or boost certain areas.

The NT1 is a flatter mic than the NT-1A. I don't do any rap vocals but it was my choice for vocal work because it doesn't have the the bumps at 3-5K and 10kHz. Sibilance isn't hard with the NT1. Sounds good on acoustic guitar too. Of course you can always roll the top end off to soften the sound on any mic. The NT1 is also a very quiet mic. We had a fellow a bit ago who was trying to use an MXL770 for voice work. When he switched to the NT1 I thought it really showed how much noise the MXL had.

You could also look at something like the WA47jr. It does have a bit of a bump around 4-5K but not as much as the NT-1A. The SE X1S has an interesting studio bundle in the same price range. I haven't used it, but there have been some good comments on the mic.

You might check out Audio Test Kitchen and see if you can tell anything from there.

I tend to prefer a natural sounding mic over something that colors the sound a lot. That's a personal preference though.
 
I have not ever used an NT1 but do have much use with NT1a. NT1a is awesome for acoustic guitar.

In my personal experience, and I do have well acoustically treated rooms, I find the NT1a very unforgiving with semblance and overall never been happy with the tone for vocals. Male or female. But again, that is only my opinion.

I have found that my go to mic for rap or loud rock singers is the SM7b. But that also includes running it through a very clean and high gain Neve ($1400) clone preamp.

That being said, I have recorded scratch tracks with a SM58 that sounded very usable directly from my interface preamps. The 58 does not require as much gain as the SM7b.

I must ask you if you feel you need a condenser mic because someone told you you have to, or if you have actually tried a dynamic and formed your own opinion. You may want to start with a $100 SM58 and see if it works for you before advancing to more money in a mic that might not be the best fit for your voice/room. You can always resell a 58 for $80 if you have documentation that it is a real one. Hell, I would buy it from you so I have another hammer. :)
 
You may want to start with a $100 SM58 and see if it works for you before advancing to more money in a mic that might not be the best fit for your voice/room. You can always resell a 58 for $80 if you have documentation that it is a real one. Hell, I would buy it from you so I have another hammer. :)

Jimmy have you checked out these mics yet ? They sound amazing. A lot of people are switching to them from 58s. Neve helped design them. The poster may want to consider one of these mics .

sE Electronics V7 Supercardioid Dynamic Handheld Vocal Microphone | Sweetwater

sE Electronics X1 A Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone | Sweetwater

Read the reviews.
 
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