Frustrated... PLEASE help me choose a mic...

[LCD]

I think it's kinda weird no one has pointed out that the tube pre is not all that hot of a preamp. A better pre would definately help things. I've had a tube pre, and they're pretty terrible. At the very least I'd suggest putting a new tube in it. I did that and it made it thicker on the low end...still a bit muddy and shrill overall, but really...a new pre might be more beneficial. Maybe an M-Audio dmp3 and a Sennhesier MD-421? That might fit under the radar of your budget, and the 421 is a pretty universal mic.

I definitely forgot to mention I was upgrading my preamp as well, something in the same price range as the mic i'm looking at...

 

[Daniel Reichman]

Hey LCD, sorry for saying you were only here to promote your song and all the other crap I hurled at you. I went way too far and jumped to some stupid conclusions.

Let us know what you eventually settle on and what your results with it are.

 

[LCD]

^^^^No sweat, this is the net.... Will do... thanks again to u all for the suggestions... Time to get my feet wet...

 

[Phosphene]

I'd try a Shure Beta 58, Shure SM7b, and a BLUE Baby Bottle.

i second the Baby Bottle

Here's one on ebay now

 

[orson198305]

Insert your head & mic into a shoe box (or equivelent). I'm sure this is how the beach boys recorded all their albums. Brian Wilson was adament that all vocals were recorded in this way.

That didn't happen

 

[scorpio01169]

my question is......why hasnt anyone in any of the "whats the best mic threads" suggested that he or she go to their local music store and try these mics out...that is the best and only way for these people to find what they are looking for......it's like trying to buy a car online without test driving it, then complaining that you dont like the way it drives.....put the blunt down....get into your car or get on the bus go to the music store...(not radio shack) and go try these mics out.....you'd be surprised at what other products they have there too that could help you.

 

[homestudioguy]

my question is......why hasnt anyone in any of the "whats the best mic threads" suggested that he or she go to their local music store and try these mics out...that is the best and only way for these people to find what they are looking for......it's like trying to buy a car online without test driving it, then complaining that you dont like the way it drives.....put the blunt down....get into your car or get on the bus go to the music store...(not radio shack) and go try these mics out.....you'd be surprised at what other products they have there too that could help you.

I agree BUT for some folks, that might require a substantial drive.
In my case, There are 4 local music stores but none of them carry recording gear worth mentioning. There are some GC's within 1 hour but their mic stock is generally limited. So that means I have to drive 2 or more hours to Chicago or 3 hours to St. Louis or 3 hours to Indianapolis. I could also drive 3.5 hours to Sweetwater.............

 

[orson198305]

my question is......why hasnt anyone in any of the "whats the best mic threads" suggested that he or she go to their local music store and try these mics out...that is the best and only way for these people to find what they are looking for......it's like trying to buy a car online without test driving it, then complaining that you dont like the way it drives.....put the blunt down....get into your car or get on the bus go to the music store...(not radio shack) and go try these mics out.....you'd be surprised at what other products they have there too that could help you.

I aint going to belt out vocals in a shop the way i do at home or on stage, therefore the shop test is useless. They most probably wont have all your equipment setup in the shop either, ready for you to go on a test drive.

 

[scorpio01169]

I aint going to belt out vocals in a shop the way i do at home or on stage, therefore the shop test is useless. They most probably wont have all your equipment setup in the shop either, ready for you to go on a test drive.

neither do the peeps on this forum......i understand that some peeps may have a little drive to make to a music store, but considering the importance of your music isnt that drive worth it. to ask what is the best mic is like asking whats the best flavor of kool-aid.....(Red is in my opinion). what mic one guy likes and the mic i like may be different but works best for our situation.

 

[orson198305]

I think what your saying is a great idea in theory, but i think the best way you can accomplish this is buy sparking up a good relationship with a shop that allow you to take the mic back if you are not happy with it. I've done it before as long as you return it as you recieved it.

 

[scorpio01169]

i have too....but my point is....you gotta get out and try out these mics and do some homework and not rely on the word of the peeps in a forum...not saying we dont know anything...but it's best to get out there and listen and hear for what you are looking for. your music deserves it.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Eight years ago, I wrote this for the rec.audio.pro FAQ; it's still pretty valid:

This is really an unanswerable question. Go to a local studio with a good stock of mics. Buy a few hours of studio time. Ask them to record your voice using the following mics through a pop filter. Sing about one minute of the same song, but don't identify which mic your using on the track. Have the engineer keep track of each mic and which track it is. DO NOT LOOK AT THE TRACK SHEET. Mics to consider:

Rode's
Audio Technica's
AKG's
Shure SM-7
Sennheiser 421
Neumann TLM-103
Any Beyer ribbon mic
Shure SM-57

Any other mics they have in the below $1,000 price range (MXL, SP, Nady, etc.).

(If they have a U87, or other expensive mics, get recordings of those too, as a reference.)

Have a CD-R made. Go home, hide the track sheet, and listen to all the tracks for a week. Pick the tracks you thinks sounds best and write down the track numbers, then put the CD-R away for a week. DO NOT LOOK TO SEE WHICH MIC IT IS !

After a week,listen to it again and see if you still like the same tracks. If you choose different tracks, put the CD-R away for another week.

After a week, listen to it again and see if you still like the same tracks. When you pick the same tracks twice, a week apart, those are the mics for you. Get the track sheet and find out which mic they are. No cheating, and you can have other people choose as well.

 

[giraffe]

I aint going to belt out vocals in a shop the way i do at home or on stage, therefore the shop test is useless. They most probably wont have all your equipment setup in the shop either, ready for you to go on a test drive.

pretend for a minute that it's more important to put your next 700$ in a mic you like than it is to look cool for the dickheads at banjo-center
then take your balls out of your purse, and sing.

 

[scorpio01169]

Eight years ago, I wrote this for the rec.audio.pro FAQ; it's still pretty valid:

This is really an unanswerable question. Go to a local studio with a good stock of mics. Buy a few hours of studio time. Ask them to record your voice using the following mics through a pop filter. Sing about one minute of the same song, but don't identify which mic your using on the track. Have the engineer keep track of each mic and which track it is. DO NOT LOOK AT THE TRACK SHEET. Mics to consider:

Rode's
Audio Technica's
AKG's
Shure SM-7
Sennheiser 421
Neumann TLM-103
Any Beyer ribbon mic
Shure SM-57

Any other mics they have in the below $1,000 price range (MXL, SP, Nady, etc.).

(If they have a U87, or other expensive mics, get recordings of those too, as a reference.)

Have a CD-R made. Go home, hide the track sheet, and listen to all the tracks for a week. Pick the tracks you thinks sounds best and write down the track numbers, then put the CD-R away for a week. DO NOT LOOK TO SEE WHICH MIC IT IS !

After a week,listen to it again and see if you still like the same tracks. If you choose different tracks, put the CD-R away for another week.

After a week, listen to it again and see if you still like the same tracks. When you pick the same tracks twice, a week apart, those are the mics for you. Get the track sheet and find out which mic they are. No cheating, and you can have other people choose as well.

and that and what was said above is the only way you're going to find a mic to suit your needs....asking in a forum imho is not the way about it....also if you are recording another person....take them along with you.

 

[littledog]

and that and what was said above is the only way you're going to find a mic to suit your needs....asking in a forum imho is not the way about it....also if you are recording another person....take them along with you.

Harvey's advice is really wonderful, but Scorpio points out the one potential flaw. Some of us aren't singers, and never will be - and testing mics on our own voice may tell us nothing. About the best you can do is to bring a "real" singer into the studio to do a mic shootout. That will tell you what mic sounds good on their particular voice, but might not be ideal on the next singer that walks through your doors.

Of course, there is no way you can bring in every singer who might ever record in your studio to test a mic. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to try at least two or three singers with different quality voices and styles (e.g. rock tenor, jazz baritone, classical soprano, blues alto, etc.)

Ultimately, you will probably want to have at least a couple of mics to choose from.

Of course, if you are only recording your own voice, than Harvey's suggestion is perfect!

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Ultimately, you will probably want to have at least a couple of mics to choose from.

Of course, if you are only recording your own voice, than Harvey's suggestion is perfect!

If you're only recording yourself, find the best mic for your voice. If you plan to record others, you'll need a selection of mics for different voices: a bright mic (like the SP T3) for an airy sound, and a darker mic (like an MXL V67) for richness, etc.

You can use the pattern control of a multi-pattern mic almost like a tone control to change the tone and proximity effect of the mic.

The more different mics you have, the more likely you'll find one that works for a particular singer. But that's only if you plan to make a living off your studio by recording bands and other artists. If it's only gonna be you (or your "significant other"), go with the one mic you like best and save some money.

 

[LCD]

put the blunt down....get into your car or get on the bus go to the music store...(not radio shack) and go try these mics out...

I'm so tired of the blatant racism i've been receiving on some of these boards just because i do hip-hop. I hope u get HIT by a bus today.

 

[littledog]

I only do less than 10% hip-hop in my studio, but I do a lot of reggae. So can I have that blunt since you don't seem to be using it?

 

[scorpio01169]

I'm so tired of the blatant racism i've been receiving on some of these boards just because i do hip-hop. I hope u get HIT by a bus today.

for one...i am a black man...and i am not a racist.....and it was a joke.....and i say it cause i run across so many peeps in the hip hop/ rap world black and white that would rather spend money on that then to save for equipment.....not saying all just alot....and if you are a black man and you wanna act blind to that being a fact then thats on you......i am not trying to make this a racial issue...its a hip hop/rap issue...but i as a black man see things for what they are and i am not going to ignore it.

 

[LCD]

for one...i am a black man...and i am not a racist.....and it was a joke.....and i say it cause i run across so many peeps in the hip hop/ rap world black and white that would rather spend money on that then to save for equipment.....not saying all just alot....and if you are a black man and you wanna act blind to that being a fact then thats on you......i am not trying to make this a racial issue...its a hip hop/rap issue...but i as a black man see things for what they are and i am not going to ignore it.

Bullshit... a hip hop/rap issue is a BLACK issue... and the fact that u are black and reinforcing this bullshit is sickening