Can you recommend a Mic+Preamp (£700-1000) worth checkin out? (please!)

[sach160]

hey guys, well i went to a couple of shops to try out mics. They both said that a condenser mic is much better than a dynamic and that a good tube condenser would be best. One guy recommended an ADK CE - he said its the only tube mic under £1000 worth goin for (he didnt have it on demo), and the other guy said an SE Electronics Gemini or Rode NTK (and he also said SE, ADK and Studio Projects are all pretty similar quality Chinese mics). Here i tried out a midrange adk, my c1000s and an sm57 - the adk sounded much better (fuller and more rounded than the other 2, c1000s sounded worst)

So I'm really confused now! On a couple of forums I've been recommended a dynamic for my situation (home recording and writing, dylan/springsteen ish voice, both slow and rock n roll songs; recording both vocal and acoustic or electric at same time in a small room, mic wanted for vocals only).

I know the basic difference between condensers and dynamics, and am guessin a condenser is better for me, because I want to basically hear my voice back as close as possible to the quality of how it actually sounds - ie. with all the character and depth of my voice. So are the shop guys right - a Chinese tube condenser is the way to go?

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

[Raaen]

I'd go with a better mic first... unless you can find a way to by-pass the VS840ex preamp.

I posted over on the other thread in regards to this, but I would simply get a preamp with 1/4" outputs. I have a Great River and due to finacial constrants have to use a RNC compressor (I'm not really complaining- it's a great compressor for the $$). So what I do is run the 1/4" out of the GR into the RNC, then out to the mixer. Results are excellent.

And as far as the discussion as to emphasising which will contribute strongest to the recording chain....imo all the components do. You can't under or overestimate the importance of each piece in the recording chain. My mantra is , as I know it is for many of you, "My recording chain, is only as good as the weakest link". My point about prefering a better preamp, is that again, you can't really evaluate a mic unless you can get an accurate feel for that mic. Now whether you can get that with a mackie pre or someother is open to discussion. But my point is, if you have a crappy, inadequate pre, a recordist will be going through a pile of mics, money and time, looking for the solution to his recording problem, when the pre might be the weakest link. I guess for me personally, I feel more secure when auditioning a mic, that I KNOW it's potential when I plug it in to the GR. There's no doubt as to what this mic sounds like, and what it can/can't do. My reason for the GR, is that it is known for it's transparency(sp)- this is neither good or bad-just my preference.

FWIW, my recording chain for now is, Vox(Blue Dragonfly, Baby Bottle, Studio Projects C1) - GR - RNC- Spirit328 board- RME9652 via lightpipe. Not the greatest, not the worst, but atleast I feel I can get close to where I want to go. Seems I'm alway chanting the mantra......

just my 2c

Raaen

 

[Raaen]

So are the shop guys right - a Chinese tube condenser is the way to go?
Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Recordist milage varies with the Chinese mics. Not to be a name dropper, but Ted Perlman thinks the C1 is a great mic (has recorded many name pros), and uses that mic on a pro level. For me it's way down on the list. Chinese mics, from what I understand, have poor quality control. You might just happen on a great Chinese, or you might get a dud (I've found AKG to be in the same boat). I think I have a so-so C1. The other reason, the C1's might not be so great, is the 'self-output' is quite low. This means you end up driving your preamp harder, which might raise the noise floor to the point where it's not desirable (if you have a mediocre pre). On the great side, the C1 (atleast my C1), is extremely quiet.

You can't evalutate those dynamic mics if you're just plugging those into your recorder- they'll sound like crap by comparison. I alway thought dynamics were inferior to condensors when used with vocals. That opinion changed to a large degree when I was able to plug it in to the GR (phatom off of course). I was able to increase the gain in GR, bringing up the level to where I really heard that mic. It was a revelation. I still prefer condensors for vocals, but dynamics are certainly a viable option.

You might find some good info here in your quest: http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php

Of course YMMV. Good luck.

Raaen

 

[Raaen]

From your other post I think your whole set up is suspect and you should follow Richie's advice on the pre. Get yourself a couple sdc's and a nice ldc but don't spend a bunch til you know more about recording and processing and adding effects and mastering and engineering and ..............................

That sounds like the best advice I've read here yet. This a journey for us all. Nuthin', is absolute (except the mantra ....). It's a huge educational process, and we all have faced it's complexites.

Raaen

 

[DJL]

This is the link http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=127869 to the other thread where I said I'd go with a better mic first... unless you can find a way to by-pass the VS840ex preamp... checkout the thread and see why I said that.

 

[Mark7]

Good luck with finding anywhere in the UK that sells GR's stuff.

Or finding anything of the same quality for under £1K, for that matter.

It could be done. It's just that our audio retailers don't want to.

"Hello, I'm a British musician. Please milk me".

 

[Raaen]

This is the link http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=127869 to the other thread where I said I'd go with a better mic first... unless you can find a way to by-pass the VS840ex preamp... checkout the thread and see why I said that.

I'm with ya'! Even though I quoted you, it wasn't necessarily to you specifically- sorry. It was a response to the general idea of leaning towards a mic posted by others throughout the thread. Hope no offense was taken! My feelings/opinions is just taken from personal experience. I'm sure others who have posted leaning towards a better quality mic over the pre, speak probably from experience too. I can respect that as well.

Best Regards,

Raaen

 

[DJL]

I'm with ya'! Even though I quoted you, it wasn't necessarily to you specifically- sorry. It was a response to the general idea of leaning towards a mic posted by others throughout the thread. Hope no offense was taken! My feelings/opinions is just taken from personal experience. I'm sure others who have posted leaning towards a better quality mic over the pre, speak probably from experience too. I can respect that as well.

Best Regards,

Raaen

No offense was taken... it's nice to see you trying to help people... and we need more people on this bbs like yourself... keep up the good work.

 

[Teacher]

Good luck with finding anywhere in the UK that sells GR's stuff.

Or finding anything of the same quality for under £1K, for that matter.

It could be done. It's just that our audio retailers don't want to.

"Hello, I'm a British musician. Please milk me".

www.mercenary.co.uk

 

[Mark7]

That's a dead link, and Mercenary are based in MA. They just happened to have a .co.uk address for a while... for some bizarre reason.

 

[Scriabin]

My vote goes for a shure 57 through a Great River mp-1nv. I think you'd be hard pressed to find something more versatile for rock vocals. Check out Gearslutz.com, recforums.prosoundweb.com and rec.group.proaudio before you make a decision. Most of the guys on there can give you more practical experience on the above choices than people here.