Do you think a better Condenser mic makes your vocal sound better?

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jamit

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I was thinking about getting a new mic for recording but I dont know if it would help or if my vocal needs help? Thanks
 
jamit said:
I was thinking about getting a new mic for recording but I dont know if it would help or if my vocal needs help?
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Does your voice need help ? Do you think it does ? Are you happy with it and your recorded vocals ?
jamit said:
Do you think a better Condenser mic makes your vocal sound better?
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A better condenser than what ? Another condenser or a dynamic ? It's hard to say. What do you mean by better ? A condenser that picks up more than a dynamic might make you sound worse if your voice isn't much cop. And that seems to be the nub of your title, an underlying concern about your voice. Many may argue with this, but I don't think any mic can make a lame voice sound better {conversely, a sensitive mic can make that voice sound worse ~ the 'nowhere to hide' factor}. Various processing can, but when it comes down to it, the one thing that's honestly going to make you sound better than you currently are is working on your voice and mic technique.
 
what mic do you own now?
Oktava MK319 is good condenser for a few bucks :)
 
A better condenser microphone will reproduce your vocals more accurately. Unfortunately, this means that it makes great voices sound better...or gives a perfect rendition of all your faults making them easier to hear.

Bob
 
Probably yeah. I also vouch for Oktava mics. I use an MK219. If you want to hear an example of what that can sound like, listen to my recordings from the link in the sig. All those are done using the same mic.
 
If you're a good singer, yes. A better condenser might capture more of what you have to offer.

On the other hand, an old-fashioned Shure dynamic mic like a 57 or 58 might be just what is needed. Lots of great records have been made with people like Dylan or Bono singing into these standard 100 dollar mics. But yeah, a good condenser is nice. I have an AKG 414 and it works way, way better than my MXL beater that I sometimes take to gigs.

And then there's the whole ribbon thing. that's on my G.A.S. list at the moment!
 
I find them to be quite polarizing. Good singers will sound better, while bad singers will sound worse. It's all in the science of how they're built. The condensers are more sensitive to everything. Microphones don't discriminate. If you're not getting a good sound through a dynamic, unless it's some crappy generic microphone, it's the singing. It will only sound worse through a condenser.
 
I recently got an MXL 990. For a couple of days I hated it. Finally I put it upside down and actually got some decent sound out of it. I'm still ordering a V67G just so I can try and compare and return the one I decide not to keep, but before I got the position right the 990 was terrible. I don't have the USB version of the 990. So anyway my suggestion would be to play around with positioning and gain first before going out and getting something new. If you need to hear a reference I have some stuff I recorded last night in the link in my profile.
 
I currently have the sennheiser e835 and was wondering if it would be worth upgrading to the bluebird condenser mic by Blue. I do mainly acoustic guitar and vocals and use logic pro and garageband to record.
 
Matt Lawton said:
I currently have the sennheiser e835 and was wondering if it would be worth upgrading to the bluebird condenser mic by Blue. I do mainly acoustic guitar and vocals and use logic pro and garageband to record.
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Not speaking from personal experience, but the Bluebird will do very well on the guitar, but will be iffy on vocals. Some people LOVE it on voice, but the general consensus appears to be that the Bluebird is an instrument mic; the Spark and Baby Bottle are more suited to voice, with the Spark imparting a high end without the excessive sibilance and the Baby Bottle very midrangey and ribbony. The Spark also apparently works well on a number of different sources; haven't heard anything about the BB though...

I wouldn't know personally, but the Sennheiser e835 despite its intent as a live microphone is safer to have on a voice than a Bluebird.
 
Yes, but at the same time, remember that LA Woman was recorded using an EV 676 dynamic mic. A paradox to think about.
 
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