New Vocal Mic or New Preamp?

Uladine

Uladine

New member
I'm looking to upgrade my vocal sounds, and I currently have a AKG C3000b running into a mackie 24.4 vlz mixer. I am looking to spend around $400 to maybe $500 dollars to upgrade. Should I use the money to buy a better microphone and keep using the preamps in my mixer, or should I buy a stand alone preamp unit with compression and all that and just keep using my AKG mic?
 
hmmmmmmm.....

This is a pretty tough one since it really IS dependent on what you plan to do, etc. But off the top of my head, my advice would be this:

The pres in that Mackie are really not bad at all. Pres are not THE be all end all even though they are important....(even Dan Kennedy has been heard saying this on this very board). If that AKG is pretty much all you got for condenser mics, It'd be a no brainer for MY money to expand the mic collection some.

If one was a smart shopper, one could take the formentioned 4 or 500 bucks and get a COUPLE of mics and an RNC compressor...OR a couple of RNCs and a mic.

For mics, there are many to choose from as far as the best bang for the buck goes. Read through a few posts...you'll find some mic recommendations for sure.

Another thought.....if you want another good all purpose mic....pick up an at4033 (and an RNC).

If you want more options, pick up 2 MXL603s (overheads, acoustics, etc), an RNC and a less expensive vocal mic like SP stuff or the MXL v67 that gets high marks around here.


Thats my 2 cents...I dont think another pre will get you the results right now:cool:

heylow
 
I dont think that any mic or pre in that range will give you a WOW improvement over what you got.

what kind of converters do you use though. THe $660 lucid ad9624 will give you unbelieveable clarity and separation
 
CyanJaguar said:
I dont think that any mic or pre in that range will give you a WOW improvement over what you got.

what kind of converters do you use though. THe $660 lucid ad9624 will give you unbelieveable clarity and separation
Click to expand...

Assuming he needs converters at all.....(I mean the brother could be running a cassette four track for all we know....he didnt say)....I still dont see where one mic and a nice set of converters will make a well rounded recording.

I just dont see it....


heylow
 
RE:"upgrade my vocal sounds"

My experience is that a Joe Meek compressor (photo-optical) is more
flattering on vocals than the neutral sound of the RNC (VCA).

Chris
 
I'd have to agree with getting another mic(s).I think that a nice mic or two would make the most dramatic improvement for you.In the $400 to$500 price range,there are many nice mics available.If possible try out as many as you can before making up your mind.I just got a Studio Projects TB-1($299)which I think is very nice for the money as is many mics in your price range.You didn't mention what else you have for mics,that should be a consideration for you as to whether you buy one or more mics.
 
quote:
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Originally posted by CyanJaguar

I dont think that any mic or pre in that range will give you a WOW improvement over what you got.

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I have to disagree with CyanJaguar on that. I got an MXLv67 and it was ahuge improvement over the c3000b I was previously using. If you have 400 - 500 dollars you can one nice mic. Look on ebay and I'll bet you could find an akg 414 for that much or less. Probably a TLM103 for that much too. They have a Blue baby bottle at 8thstreet for 369 right now, it is a refurbished mic.
Look around and for that much you can find yourself a really good deal.

Beezoboy

I wish I knew how to quote!
 
If it were me I'd buy the best tube mic I could afford: NTK, T-3. I agree the Mackie pres will be hard to beat in the $400-500 range.
 
My AKG C3000B got sold to a local studio in order to upgrade to the
Studio Projects C1. The AKG is a nice microphone, however, the studio
owner has since told me the C3000B tends to work better on female
singers rather than male because it's so bright sounding.
Generally speaking, there are better condenser microphones out now
even for what you could sell the C3000B for (est. $200+ e-bay).
Then you'd have a budget of $600-700 instead of $400-500.

Chris
 
I originally had a C3000 and thought it to be a decent all-purpose mic, but on my voice it was too shrill and didn't pick up the mids and lows of my acoustic guitar. Get the TLM103 or Baby Bottle. I personally haven't tried the baby bottle, but I'm beginning to see some interesting posts about it. In fact, I may get one myself...
 
Id get a Marshall MXLv67 or a Studio Projects C1 and a Joe Meek preamp.....that would take care of mic,preamp,compressor....use the rest of your budget on good cables....and a good reverb unit/plugin.....
 
An old Studio Guru once told me...

"you can't polish a turd"

Meaning, you could have the best Mic Pre in the world, but if your mic sucks, then upgrading the mic pre's wont help much.

From what i've read in your post, your running VLZ pre's. I hvae no experience with these directly. But if Home reckers is anything to go by, they are considered *REALLY* good mic's.

Maybe a better mic is in order? Or maybe a vocal processor?

Just an idea

Rochey
 
Sorry I left out some details. I'm running from the mixer into a ST Audio C-Port interface (8 ins, 8 outs, 24/96 capable) and into a PC running Sonar on Windows 98.

You all made good points. Especially about the inability to polish turds. I'm going to have to remember that one :) . I'll probably start researching vocal mics and purchase one that is good for the money. I do mostly metal which involves a lot of yelling, speaking, using raspy voices, etc. so I'm not really looking for the ultimate vocal mic or anything. I'll probably even experiment with my SM-57 on some parts. My mic collection consists of two AKG C3000b's, one SM-57, one AKG d112, an SM-58, some cheap audio technica handheld vocal mics, and some Nady drum mics. The part about the C3000b being better for female vocals makes sense, because usually the vocals do sound really thin, but that may also be an EQ problem on my part.
 
Just wondering if you ever upgraded. I have a C3000B that I'm using for vocals direct into an Echo Mona. Looking to add a compressor and possibly swap the mic for something else like a C1?
 
Ari Fleisher seems to be able to polish a turd, but that's politics. For your mic question, If you've got two C3000's, I'd keep one and liquidate the other, and then with $600-$700 in hand, head down to your local pro audio shop to audition some mics and pre's, putting the emphasis on a mic purchase, but either choosing a pre to go with it in the near future, or maybe even getting both. I agrre that the Meek box's are a good direction to look for the pre, especially for metal. I have one, and it's a little edgy. For a warmer tone, maybe think about one of the affordable tube pre's by ART, PreSonus, or DBX. For a killer, agressive tube pre that's supprisingly highly regarded, the Peavey VMP-2 is the ticket, though it would eat up your budget. Focusrite has a new voice strip called the Trak Master that has a discreet pre, an optical compressor, an EQ, a tube saturation emulator, and optional A/D conversion, for $379 street. I'll be evaluating one in a couple of days, but have high hopes for this unit.
Mic wise, I've heard nothing but rave reviews from the users of the Studio Projects stuff, and also the Rode mics. I just ordered a Rode tube NTK myself for $499. I expect this would be a huge improvement over the C-3000.
Ok, gotta go. Good luck, RD
 
I don't mind the C3000s as much as a lot of people seem to.

And I like the Mackie preamps a lot more than most here will care to admit.

That said, I'm not sure if the c3000 and vlz pro would make for a very good combination. The c3000 will tend to sound harsh at times. The mackie preamps do nothing to combat that sort of effect -- what I've noticed is that a mackie board will sometimes accentuate the harshness of an already harsh mic.

A pretty - or polished sound of a condenser is probably the last thing your sound needs (Unless it's a tube condenser, for example). Especially the kind of hyped high end you'd get with your AKG or similar mic.

Given the type of vocals you are doing . . . yelling, speaking, raspy vocals, etc . . . I would say a good dynamic mic might work really well for you. Get a pop/wind screen for your 57, keep working with the Mackie or experiment with a Joemeek and you'll probably get a lot closer to the aggressive sound I'm sure you're probably looking for. And you'll save yourself some money, too.
 
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