Buying a mic and preamp, opinions are appreciated !

C

Cologero

New member
I just recently purchased an M Box 2 with pro-tools LE8, a new laptop, a m-audio axiom 61 w/ reason 4.0/fruity loops/ableton live and now I need to look at what microphone and preamp/compressor I'm going to buy.

For the preamp/compressor, i was looking at either:
-M-Audio Tampa Preamp/Compressor
-Presonus Eureka Preamp/Compressor
-JOEMEEK SixQ
-FATMAN FAT 2

For my microphone I am absolutely 100% confused, my room isnt to sound proofed and is about 8X8X10(in feet) so Im unsure of what to buy. Here are my options:
-Audio Technica AT-2035
-AKG*Perception 220
-Shure KSM27
-Rode NT1-A

* Any suggestions,recommendations or opinions on whats listed or not listed is highly appreciated. I have my equipment for beat making and now its time to start recording. Thank you
 
What about the GAP PRE-73 for a pre-amp and from those microphones I would go for the Rode NT1-a, I had to make the same choice between almost the same microphones and I went for the Rode NT1-a, don't know anything about the Shure KSM27 tho, but it's in another price league than the rest of the microphones.

What kind of music are you ging to record?
 
The Tampa has been discontinued. You can still get them used for the most part.

If you don't need compression for live use, you can always do that digitally in post. Which might save you a little cash.

That Shure and a Tampa would probably work well together. Albeit a bit too revealing in an untreated room. The meek might be a little colorful, if that's what you're after. The rest of those listed have a bit of a yawn factor IMO. Not that I've used a lot of those, but unless you have a specific application that favors them, they might prove more problematic than problem solving.
 
Well Im going to be recording rap music. And no I'm not a gangster, I rap about politics, the corruption of the government, real life experiences,etc. I just want to have a mic that will be decent for my voice but I don't really understand what people mean by a bright voice, but my voice isn't deep at all. Also what do u mean by colorful? I know alot about beat production, but recording and microphones is not my area.

- Also my budget for the preamp/compressor or just preamp would be around $500. One of my good friends told me to go with the FMR listed below and nothing less. Why would I not like the others i listed for long?

---->FMR RNP Preamp
---->FMR RNC Compressor
 
The FMR's are supposed to be nice.

By colorful, I mean, what you hear, is NOT what you get. If you want to sound like someone other than yourself, go for it. If NOT, then DON'T.

Bright, I think Lorrie Morgan. Dark, I think Barry White. Two extremes IMO. Certain mics favor certain sources. What source, and more importantly what RESULT are you looking for? Do you want to sound like Kermit the frog and not blend with the rest of the tracks? Or do you want to sound like Barry White and be indistinguishable from a symphony orchestrra? (when mixed with one)

Lots of options and there's a lot of extremes with low end gear. Less so with the higher end stuff IMO. How good is good enough?
 
I dont know how good good enough is lol. But I think Ill go with the Rode NT1-a..If the room isnt to sound proofed, is a dynamic mic better or condensor?
I don't want to sound like anyone else but myself so is that mic recommended? This is my first time recording so that's why I'm a little confused.

- Is there really a big difference between the LEXICON LAMBDA/cubebase and the mbox2/protools?
 
You could be very happy with a SM7b for a mic.
The FRMs are an exultant idea so would the ART pro gold
 
How good is good enough is somewhat dependent on your deliverable. If your stuff will never be played on anything other than an iPod or YouTube, then there is probably no difference between those units. If you want something more commercial, possibly part of a soundtrack to a movie played in theaters and the likes, neither of those may be good enough.

Rode mics are generally considered to be bright mics. Do you (or do you want to) sound like Pee Wee Herman? Probably a bad analogy. Basically the only way to know is to use it on you. Or to download enough samples of it in use to make some judgement call on whether you think it would suit your purposes. You can always EQ a track in post and change the character of the mic(s). A bit of a time suck, and ultimately you'll get gear that eliminates this step (better mic). But an option to live with what you've got, or what you can afford today.
 
Yea your right but I'm just unsure if I should get a dynamic or condenser. i was told a dynamic would be better for my room but a condenser just sounds alot better. I was looking at the Shure SM7B but thats quite expensive as of now. I was thinking about spending about $150-300 on my condenser mic but dont know of many options and then a Shure SM57 for a dynamic.
 
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Someone give me a short list of there recommended condensers and Im just going to choose one, please, thank you.
 
...for rap type vocals, and the budget you mentioned, I'd recommend the GAP PRE-73 ($299)
http://www.zenproaudio.com/goldenagepre-73.aspx
...and the KEL HM-2d ($199)
http://www.kelaudio.com/hm2d.html

...the KEL is a condenser mic voiced to sound like a broadcaster-style dynamic (think SM7B)...this combination will give you a big, in-your-face presence when tracking (great for rap/hiphop)...

...the PRE-73 is IMHO the best pre in it's price range...80dB of gain and a tonal range that goes from "clean" to "mojo" with ease...the KEL mics are also excellent value, and offer better quality than their pricepoints would imply...
 
There's the stickies up top if you need mic type info.

In short, dynamics reject rear and side noises and can be preferred with a bad / untreated room, or on stage. i.e. If you're doing a voice over for a nature flick, you get just your voice in the mix. But they can sound dull / sterile / uninspired.

Where a condenser might pick up everything. That cricket in the corner, your squeeky chair, and other noises. This week at the top of Mt. Everest, cue lawn mower noises... But they can be a bit more in your face, what you hear is what you get, is it live or memorex, and other benefits. Not always good if you're a heavy breather, like tapping your foot on the mic stand, or other woes.
 
kidvybes said:
...the PRE-73 is IMHO the best pre in it's price range...80dB of gain and a tonal range that goes from "clean" to "mojo" with ease...the KEL mics are also excellent value, and offer better quality than their pricepoints would imply...
Click to expand...

I see that GAP get a lot of recs, but if people like it, it's not because of 80dB gain. Gain is cheap, what is important is noise performance. So I imagine the GAP is low noise (although I can't find its specification). Plus I think people dig its transformers . . .

I mean, if you had a preamp with a bad noise spec, say EIN of -100dBV, then 80dB of gain would get you noise of -20dBV. Not particularly useful . . .

Another way to think about gain and noise is to consider that the quietest possible pre is roughly -130dBV, plus 80dB is -50dBV of noise. If you are using a very low sensitivity mic, say -60dBV/Pa, and recording a 74dBSPL source (I sincerely hope nobody would use a mic that low on a source that low), you have signal of -80dBV and dynamic range of only 50dB with your -130dBV EIN pre. No amount of gain can ever change that.
 
Shadow_7 said:
In short, dynamics reject rear and side noises and can be preferred with a bad / untreated room, or on stage. i.e. If you're doing a voice over for a nature flick, you get just your voice in the mix. But they can sound dull / sterile / uninspired.

Where a condenser might pick up everything. That cricket in the corner, your squeeky chair, and other noises. This week at the top of Mt. Everest, cue lawn mower noises... But they can be a bit more in your face, what you hear is what you get, is it live or memorex, and other benefits. Not always good if you're a heavy breather, like tapping your foot on the mic stand, or other woes.
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This is fundamentally incorrect. Both dynamics and condensers reject off-axis signals according to their polar pattern. The difference is perceptual--because dynamics are very low sensitivity, they usually must be used in close proximity to get a reasonable signal-to-(electrical) noise ratio. That increases the ratio of desired on-axis signal to off-axis ambient noise.

On the other hand, condensers are typically used at greater distance, perhaps 1' or so. Because they have higher sensitivity, this does not cause a problem with *electrical* noise. But even a few inches is enough to make a difference in direct signal vs. off-axis noise.

If you place a dynamic and condenser mic at the same distance to a source, and they both have the same polar pattern, the off-axis rejection and therefore the signal-to-ambient noise ratio will be the same.

One thing you might notice in such a test is some ambient noise might be so low as to get lost in the dynamic's poorer electrical signal-to-noise ratio, whereas the low noise of the condenser allows it to be heard. However, if you add noise to the condenser mic's signal equivalent to the dynamic mic's noise signal, such low-level ambient noise will be masked as it is with the dynamic mic.
 
Out of the mics Id pick the shure of course....its the only one listed that Ive ever seen someone with a record deal using...that GAP-73 sounds like a pretty cool pre...but maybe the Line6 UX2 is a good choice because the interface and pre is covered and its the best sounding option going...adding a free version of Abelton live and its the best value by far...make sure you have a dual-core microprossesor because it will be a bigger hog than most.
 
darrin_h2000 said:
but maybe the Line6 UX2 is a good choice because the interface and pre is covered and its the best sounding option going...adding a free version of Abelton live and its the best value by far...make sure you have a dual-core microprossesor because it will be a bigger hog than most.
Click to expand...

Dude, OP already has an MBox and wants to use PT.
 
mshilarious said:
Dude, OP already has an MBox and wants to use PT.
Click to expand...

Theres not that much of a diff in editing power...the sound is what is really important...and the Line6 combo has it way over the M-audio stuff...its too bad all the stuff isnt compatable with PT...but thats the axe we have to bare here.
 
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