Alternatives to broadcast standards

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brother rat

brother rat

All mics sound the same.
I'd like someday to get one of the big broadcasting dynamic mics for vocals (MD421, SM7, RE20, etc.). Sadly, even though they're considered affordable mics, they're out of my reach and will be for quite some time. Of course, my eyes are always peeled in the used market.
Anyway, does anyone have any experience or suggestions in getting similar performance from other less expensive mics? Like using a kick drum mic for vocals?
Heil PR20? MXL BCD-1? EV Raven? RODE Procaster? others?
 
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This may surprise you as much as it surprised me. This week I've been f*ck*n' around with a pair of Realistic (Radio Shack) 33-1080 Electret condensers, they're supposed to be a repackaged Sony ECM 22, though they don't sound at all like my Sony C-22, probably because it's a Fet...

Anyway, I found schematics for a little print with which you can run battery opperated mics on Phantom. So I used these two to test that. In stead of a 5V Zener diode I put in a 12V :D

When I hooked it up my voice was emediatly pulled to "...YOU'RE LISTENING TO: DOUBLE U DOUBLE U WHATEVER DOT COM RADIO... LIVE!" mode. It has the broadcast mic kind of sound.

I still have to change some stuff though, 'cause the output was a little too hot, might do better on 9 or 10 Volts.
 
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i know you said they are out of your reach, but i don't know what your reach is, so i thought i'd mention,

Md421-n and md421-2 mics seem to be going cheapish on ebay lately.
Going rate is about £150 or so, but you can snag them way cheaper.

Ok, so you might need a tuchel-xlr adapter, but they really are great mics!

Heil pr- mics get a great rep, but i can't vouch.

What i can vouch for is a 58 with a good preamp, or a sneaky d112.

It's surprising how good that cheap kick mic sounds for bassy intimate voiceover.
 
Well, $350 for a mic isn't crazy insane, if you get what you want from the mic. $10,000 for a mic that you DO NOT get what you want is pretty insane. I've seen the EV's used for about $200, if that's in your reach. Not a very common for sale item though. And you've got to act quick and probably drive a few miles to get dibs. But it does happen once in a blue moon.

Beyond that I have a radio shack 33-3014 and realtek stereo, and while hideous without processing, they can be edited to sound broadcast-ish. It depends on your budget and needs. If you need to do stuff live without any editing, there's really no substitute for the real thing. And even edited, it only sounds LIKE that other thing is a very loose interpretation sort of way. Would a blue yeti be beyond your budget? That one can come off with a sort of broadcast quality. If you have a decent acoustic space to record in, an AT3035 can be usable as well. Many means to an end.
 
Steenamaroo said:
i know you said they are out of your reach, but i don't know what your reach is, so i thought i'd mention,

Md421-n and md421-2 mics seem to be going cheapish on ebay lately.
Going rate is about £150 or so, but you can snag them way cheaper.

Ok, so you might need a tuchel-xlr adapter, but they really are great mics!

Heil pr- mics get a great rep, but i can't vouch.

What i can vouch for is a 58 with a good preamp, or a sneaky d112.

It's surprising how good that cheap kick mic sounds for bassy intimate voiceover.
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☼ I was going to suggest this AKG myself ..... You would be surprised!
 
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions everyone.
 
ev re320...less expensive but pretty much like the re20 from everything I've read so far!
 
Take the transformer out of an SM57 and you essentially have an SM7. Don't expect high output or the ability to go down long cable runs.

I haven't used any of the Heil stuff, but they come highly regarded. I'd steer toward the PR40.
 
Peavey 520i (or 520tn, same mic) Discontinued, usually goes for $100 or less used.
 
even a small ev reporters mic. 635a, pl9 DO54, something like that.

could do worse and they'll work a treat on guitars/snares etc too.
 
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