A decent micriphone (for vocals)

S

SexAnDrugS

New member
Hello guys.

I know I've already opened a topic like that about a year ago, but I ended up focusing on school and just practicing singing in general (not recording anything). Now that I'm done with school, I've got some time to think again.

Not sure if anyone remembers, but I was wondering whether the Samson CO1 was a good choice for home recording.
Someone then offered me these: Akg perception 120 and Marshall Electronics MXL V67G.

What are the differences between these three mics and which are better suited for me? (I am a male, Baritone singer).
I also assume that since it's been a year since I opened such a topic, there should be new possible choices for me. My budget is about 100$, maybe 125$. (If there's a very big difference I'll go over budget, but it has to be a big one..)

I've also read some info online and I found out that some people use dynamic mics to record at home because their rooms are not designed for sound recordings. Now, since my room is definitely not designed for recording (I can hear a slight echo if I sing loud), should I consider buying a dynamic mic instead? What would be the pros and cons in that?

I am using a PreSonus USB audiobox as an external sound card. Is it any good? Should I upgrade?

and there's one more thing. Instead of buying a microphone, I could probably scratch some cash for a recording or two in a professional studio. The question is - is it even worth my money to buy a 100$ microphone? I know that there are microphones that cost over 3k $ and I assume that the studios have these...
Should I even bother with buying a microphone in this price range (and combining it with my low budget sound card)? I might end up very disappointed if there would be no difference from my old (and cheap) usb mic..

(and in general the beats/melodies I make for myself are from free instruments and amps and sound quite low quality themselves..)

* and can someone tell me why do I need that "Phantom power" thing? I've got a 48V switch on my audiobox, is that it?
(The way I remember it, is that USB mics privide power for themselves whilst xrl ones need a different source.. Am I right?)
 
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Everything you just asked, has been repeatedly hashed out in these forums. Just do a search dood. Seriously, the questions you are asking, are so very basic, that you are not likely to get a new response. You got to at least try to educate yourself bro.
 
For $100, get a Shure SM58, unless you can find a good used condensor mic somewhere. I picked up an AKG Perception 220 for $95 by keeping my eyes on Ebay. $100 (new) condensors are ... well .. $100 condensor mics :p
 
jimmys69 said:
Everything you just asked, has been repeatedly hashed out in these forums. Just do a search dood. Seriously, the questions you are asking, are so very basic, that you are not likely to get a new response. You got to at least try to educate yourself bro.
Click to expand...

I am aware of it, I've seen many threads and debates about it. Most of them are at least a year old.
I need to know whether there's something new and whether I should get myself a dynamic or a condenser mic to record at home. I feel like I'd be losing a lot if I bought a dynamic one... but then again, my budget is quite low..
Anyways, since I'm low on cash, it's one more good reason to be an annoying ass and keep bugging anyone who can help me make a good decision.
I hope you get what I'm saying.


mjbphotos said:
For $100, get a Shure SM58, unless you can find a good used condensor mic somewhere. I picked up an AKG Perception 220 for $95 by keeping my eyes on Ebay. $100 (new) condensors are ... well .. $100 condensor mics :p
Click to expand...

I just found a new AKG Perception 220 for 115$ (it's a condenser right?). Is this for sure my best option? Is it better than Samson CO1?? Is there anything better in this price range?
Please answer quickly, I'm not sure how long do I have till the sale ends. ** NVM, didn't account shipping in it. An answer would still be apreciated tho.
 
I would take AKG over Samson any time.
I personally have Perception 200, which is older version of 220. I think it's pretty okay for the price.
 
SexAnDrugS said:
Not sure if anyone remembers, but I was wondering whether the Samson CO1 was a good choice for home recording.
Someone then offered me these: Akg perception 120 and Marshall Electronics MXL V67G.

What are the differences between these three mics and which are better suited for me? (I am a male, Baritone singer).
I also assume that since it's been a year since I opened such a topic, there should be new possible choices for me. My budget is about 100$, maybe 125$.

I've also read some info online and I found out that some people use dynamic mics to record at home because their rooms are not designed for sound recordings. Now, since my room is definitely not designed for recording (I can hear a slight echo if I sing loud), should I consider buying a dynamic mic instead? What would be the pros and cons in that?

I am using a PreSonus USB audiobox as an external sound card. Is it any good? Should I upgrade?

and there's one more thing. Instead of buying a microphone, I could probably scratch some cash for a recording or two in a professional studio. The question is - is it even worth my money to buy a 100$ microphone? I know that there are microphones that cost over 3k $ and I assume that the studios have these...
Should I even bother with buying a microphone in this price range (and combining it with my low budget sound card)? I might end up very disappointed if there would be no difference from my old (and cheap) usb mic..

(and in general the beats/melodies I make for myself are from free instruments and amps and sound quite low quality themselves..)

* and can someone tell me why do I need that "Phantom power" thing? I've got a 48V switch on my audiobox, is that it?
(The way I remember it, is that USB mics privide power for themselves whilst xrl ones need a different source.. Am I right?)
Click to expand...

I'll try and tackle this in order;

I had a Samson CO1 as my first ever condenser mic and it worked ok; it was certainly an upgrade from my borrowed PG58 but still not as clean or sweet sounding as i wanted. about a year later i bought an sE2200a and never looked back. The CO1 still saw some use as a second mic for acoustic guitars as it had quite a nice thick mids to it that worked well at taming overly bright guitars but, even then, once i had more mics i stopped using it completely.

In your price range, and from the mics you've mentioned, i'd lean more towards the MXL V69g than the other two, but it may also be worth looking at the sE X1 and Gauge ECM-87 ($149 so slightly over your budget but well worth it). Really it's quite hard to suggest the "ideal" mic without hearing your voice in your space with your gear, but as a first upgrade mic any of the ones you, I, and others have mentioned should work well.

I've got the Presonus Firestudio Mobile and have not had any problems with it and and am in no rush to upgrade it. Although there may be mixed opinions on it, i still think that the choice of mic has a bigger impact on the sound of the recording than the preamp/interface, especially in the same price bracket as the presonus.

Realistically, i'd say do both; having an ok mic at home to record ideas and produce demo recordings is always worth it and can help prepare you better for when you're ready to go into a "proper" studio to record. Too often i see young bands go in to the studio before their ready and end up wasting their own time and money. but, then again, that's just my opinion.

You may be disappointed but, then again, you could shell out $3000 for a mic that doesn't work with your voice and be just as disappointed. it's worth trying as many mics as you can to see what works best for you and, if for any reason you can't try them first hand, have a listen to clips online to get some idea of how they sound (although always take online clips with a pinch of salt and bare in mind that that is that mic in that space with that performer)

Maybe it's worth saving up and buying some better plugins to make beats etc?

in short, condenser mics need a voltage going through them to make them work. Some get this from a battery or separate power box, but in the most part condenser mics take their voltage from the whatever they are plugged in to via phantom power. so yes, the little +48V switch on the presonus turns the phantom power on and sends it down the mic cable to the attached condenser mic.
 
Justsomeguy said:
I'll try and tackle this in order;

I had a Samson CO1 as my first ever condenser mic and it worked ok; it was certainly an upgrade from my borrowed PG58 but still not as clean or sweet sounding as i wanted. about a year later i bought an sE2200a and never looked back. The CO1 still saw some use as a second mic for acoustic guitars as it had quite a nice thick mids to it that worked well at taming overly bright guitars but, even then, once i had more mics i stopped using it completely.

In your price range, and from the mics you've mentioned, i'd lean more towards the MXL V69g than the other two, but it may also be worth looking at the sE X1 and Gauge ECM-87 ($149 so slightly over your budget but well worth it). Really it's quite hard to suggest the "ideal" mic without hearing your voice in your space with your gear, but as a first upgrade mic any of the ones you, I, and others have mentioned should work well.

I've got the Presonus Firestudio Mobile and have not had any problems with it and and am in no rush to upgrade it. Although there may be mixed opinions on it, i still think that the choice of mic has a bigger impact on the sound of the recording than the preamp/interface, especially in the same price bracket as the presonus.

Realistically, i'd say do both; having an ok mic at home to record ideas and produce demo recordings is always worth it and can help prepare you better for when you're ready to go into a "proper" studio to record. Too often i see young bands go in to the studio before their ready and end up wasting their own time and money. but, then again, that's just my opinion.

You may be disappointed but, then again, you could shell out $3000 for a mic that doesn't work with your voice and be just as disappointed. it's worth trying as many mics as you can to see what works best for you and, if for any reason you can't try them first hand, have a listen to clips online to get some idea of how they sound (although always take online clips with a pinch of salt and bare in mind that that is that mic in that space with that performer)

Maybe it's worth saving up and buying some better plugins to make beats etc?

in short, condenser mics need a voltage going through them to make them work. Some get this from a battery or separate power box, but in the most part condenser mics take their voltage from the whatever they are plugged in to via phantom power. so yes, the little +48V switch on the presonus turns the phantom power on and sends it down the mic cable to the attached condenser mic.
Click to expand...

First of all thank you for such detailed comment. And I'm sorry I'm posting so late, I have internet connection problems..

Anyways, I tried looking the marshall MXL V69g up on ebay and found nothing. I did however founf the sE X1 (which goes above 200$ without shipping) and the Gauge ECM-87 (on it's original website) but shipping it to my country will cost me about 30-40$ extra...

How much better are they? MAYBE I can get the Gauge ECM-87, but it's weird that I can't find this one on ebay.. (and it's sold out on their official site)
 
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