Mic and Preamp recommendations for Newbie

[Secramour]

Hey guys, this is my first post on Gearslutz so try to be gentle if I make any face palm worthy mistakes in my request. Thank you.
I'm looking to spend around 1000 anywhere up to around 1500 if there is a truly "game-changing" deal to be had on a couple of vocal mics and a preamp to pair with them. I'd like to record, like I already said, mainly clean pop vocals but probably some rap as well, occasionally with some vocal accompaniments like acoustic guitar or piano. For the preamp I'd like as neutral and clean a one as possible with at least 2 Preamps. If there is one that is better with more inputs that's fine, but I only need 2 Preamps
Also (I'm sorry guys) but I would like to order all of my equipment from a local Guitar Center so I can take advantage of their return policy in case I don't like the mic sound.

Here are some of the choices that I have available for my lead vocal mic.
AKG C 414 $999
Sterling ST69 $599
AKG 214 $399
Neumann TLM 102 $699

Here's some that I thought would be fine for my second one
Perception 420 $249
BLUE Bluebird $299
AT 2050 $229
Shure BETA 58A $159
Shure 58LC $96

Here's some of the Preamps that I thought looked interesting
Presonus FireStudio Mobile $246.99
Presonus 22VSL $189.99
Focusrite Scarlett 2i $150
Focusrite Saffire 6 Usb $189.99

Sorry for the novel, but I wanted to be as specific as possible. What would be the best combination of these 3 things to reach my goal of a clean, modern sound? Thank you very much

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hey guys, this is my first post on Gearslutz so try to be gentle if I make any face palm worthy mistakes in my request. Thank you.

I'm sorry. I couldn't resist shining a big light on this! lol.

Welcome.

I can recommend the firestudio mobile as a good, solid budget interface.
AKG c414 (and i guess 214) is a great all rounder mic, but you may also consider some dynamics?
I can recommend sm7b or re20 coupled with that presonus for hard rock/attacking rap styles.

 

[Secramour]

Thanks for the input!
I probably shouldn't have posted both the 414 and the 214 lol, just wanted to see if I could get away with buying the 214 if it was a negligible difference. Another question here, is it really that big of a quality difference if I put "sound foam" around my room, or can I leave it untreated and still sound "radio-worthy?"

 

[CrowsofFritz]

Hey guys, this is my first post on Gearslutz

Huh?


Regarding the room. You're going to have to do a bit of research on the subject. You don't want to slap foam all over the walls. That will only lower the higher frequencies and probably make your room sound worse! Start with bass traps in the corners. That alone will make a big difference in the sound of your room.

To me, the most important factor in the sound of recording goes as follows.

The player/instrument -> The room -> The mic -> The preamp -> The converter


For me, the room is pretty high up there. Especially high when your recording an instrument like the piano!

 

[Secramour]

Just a little joke haha. I was considering making some DIY bass traps, but wasn't sure how big of a difference it would make. I definitely will make some now.

 

[CrowsofFritz]

Just a little joke haha. I was considering making some DIY bass traps, but wasn't sure how big of a difference it would make. I definitely will make some now.

Ahh aha. Yeah and check in the Studio Building and Display forum for some good advice on building bass traps!

 

[Justsomeguy]

hey man, welcome to the madness

in terms of interfaces, like steen i can vouch for the firestudio mobile and having the extra in's makes life easier if you ever fancy adding more external pre's (i've got mine set up with another 5 pre's). the inbuilt pre's are also pretty cool. i was very tempted by the scarlett 2i2 and 8i6 but i really needed the most in's i could get.

in terms of the mic's, i really like the TLM102 from that list but mainly because i haven't heard the sterling and i'm really not a fan of the 414 or 214 on vocals (but that's my taste, there's a lot of people who really really like them!)

out of the second lot of mics, the bluebird would be my choice, but i would also suggest looking at the sE X1, the sE 2200a and the Blue Spark, or as has been suggested the SM7b.

and definitely read the studio building thread, there's alot of useful info there.

it may also be worth looking at buying/building a reflection filter style device for vocals.