akg c1000s

[Judge]

Currently i'm recording vocals(rapping) on a sm58 i've been told
in order to get a better quality of sound i need to upgrade, now i've also been told by numerous people that the mic i need is a akg c1000s, but i'll also need a mic pre as well. now all this adds up to a substantial amount of money (in my case cos i'm broke), what i wanna know is do i really need to upgrade (after all i'm only rappin) and if i do is there a cheaper mic i can do it with that will get me a desired effect, or a better one for roughly the same price, and also how important is a mic pre

 

[wheelema]

It's all a matter of taste, but I think you'll find most people voting for the Shure SM58 over the AKG1000. The current bang-for-the-buck votes go to Studio Projects C-1 (approx. $225) www.studioprojectsusa.com and MXL V67M (approx. $130) at www.marsmusic.com. Second runners up would be the CAD M57 or Oktava MC-219 for $99 (www.musiciansfriend.com).

Pre's seem to be a religious topic. I have heard people praise and condemn the exact same pre. Listen to a bunch through your mic of choice and then save for the winner.

 

[dvs recordings]

c1000s

Judge,from what Ive learned and that may not be too much compared to some of the people round here your c1000s are used more for miking instruments. I'm sure you could use it for vocals and I'm sure there are those who do and they will swear they get great results and that I should shut my mouth cause I don't know squat.

If it's for studio recording you may want to save up and buy a tube condenser mic. The Apex 450 is an entry level tube Mic which I bought. It seem to perform well, but I have been looking for others who have heard them as well to get their opinion.You can also choose many other condenser mics that require phantom power.This will give you a warmer sound for sure. You want a mic that will give you a frequency response of 20 hz - 20 khz.The more you spend generally the nicer the sound. There are other words I'm know that would describe it better than "nicer". We will keep things simple.

Be careful who you listen to, including me but do your research and read up. Take the time to test mic's out at your local dealer until you find what sounds good to your ears because if it sounds cool to you, your performance will be cool too! Since money is a problem right now... the 58 will suffice. Rapping has nothing to do with whether you need a cheap mic or a Neumen. Not sure if I spelled that right but who cares. It's the reproduction of the voice that's important. The point is this... you generally get a more colored sample of your voice with cheaper mics.

As far as the pre amp goes,you must have this to amplify the signal to your sound card. Very important. Pre amps can get expensive too. Just go price a John Hardy. I have a little Behringer 802a 4 channel board with 4 preamps and Phantom power. Had a response analysis done on it boys and it did very well. Not a bad buy for $250 Canadian. There are alot of opinions out there... just make an educated decision and you should be fine.

Good Luck,
Dave

 

[cominginsecond]

Even though I own two C1000s I would not recommend them as your only mic. Try a MXL V67 for $129 from Mars Music. That deal is unbelievable. (I'm just bitter because I paid $200 for mine.)

 

[baldguy]

I've tried a c1000s on a rapper. He had a DEEP and boomy voice. It made him sound thin. On female voices it sounds pretty good, but I haven't had much luck with it on male voices.