help me choose a mic

[Rocket Boy]

im thinking of getting my first condensor mic, and am thinking of what the best sounding mic for acoustic guitar and vocals would be, in the 150-200 dollar price range... I was thinking of maybe the M-Audio Luna, or the C2000b? But if you have a better idea please let me know because im not at all set on either of those mics. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. I just want to get the best mic for the amount of money, so what you guys think would be a big help.

 

[chessparov]

Rocket, between those two (without hearing your voice),
the safer choice would probably be the C2000B.
(Luna is said to be "bright")
Perhaps Richie will chime in, he has considerable experience with
the AKG C2000B microphone.

That being said...
Whichever condenser you choose, IMHO it's a smart idea to get that AND a good dynamic microphone for tonal variety.
For example, for around $200 you could get something like;

1) Studio Projects B1 (approx. $80)-or C2000B above.
2) Shure SM57 (approx. $50 used).
3) Electro-Voice EV 635a omni dynamic (approx $70 used).

What mixer and/or pre are you using right now?
The dynamic microphones work better with pre's that are superior
to those found in inexpensive mixers and the like.

Chris

 

[Rocket Boy]

oh

i allready have several sm57's and 58's and a couple beta 58's as far as dynamic microphones. im gonna use the pre's in my mackie vlz pro and then get a dmp3 as well. i was sort of thinking that the ones in the mixer would be good enough and that i want to get a good mic first.

i sort of want a mic that wont bring out any "Droning" qualities. i have 3 mp3s on hazzlemp3s.iuma.com those are the unmastered versions, so they're not quite as bright or loud as the final ones, but you get the general idea. we recorded those pretty quickly, cus we were on a pretty small time budget for getting the vocals done(10 songs in maybe 4 hours). those were recorded using a cascade mx56. So yeah, I appreciate any more suggestions

 

[Rocket Boy]

another

rode nt1? just throwing more out there that are in that price range that someone might have an opinion on

 

[DJL]

Checkout the Marshall MXLV67G.

 

[MasterVolume]

Audio Techinica AT3035's are pretty sweet for 199 bux at GS.. has a pad and a low cut and a high SPL

 

[Rocket Boy]

hrmm

did anyone listen to my songs? i mean maybe if you heard it you could get what i want my voice to be? iono i want something of really crisp for an indie pop sort of vocal. the audio technica looked kinda nice

 

[Innovations]

Accoustic guitar and vocals have different needs. A good choice might be to get a MXL 603 for the guitar and a V67G for the vocals, the combination of which would fit within your budget.

 

[chessparov]

A Studio Projects VTB-1 mic pre will perform relatively better
(quieter) than the DMP3 (another good budget pre) on your dynamic microphones. You could take the other $70 or so,
based on your budget, and get the B1 which is "crisp" sounding
IMHO.

Your Mackie pre's are known to not work well on the Shure dynamic microphones BTW. (harsh/thin)

Chris

P.S. How do YOU like your vocal sound on the SM57 and Beta 58?
Some singers love them. Usually, a SM58 falls behind those
two.

 

[MasterVolume]

Audio Technica 3035.. I love mine on vocals through a mackie 1202 pre amp.. also works great on Acoustic guitar... Ive had great Acoustic guitar sounds through a Rode NT3 as well...The NT3 will also work on some peoples vocals.. two NT3's make a sweet stereo setup on an XY pattern for acoustic guitar also.. the hyper cardioid pattern works great for XY setups...

 

[Rocket Boy]

i think

when ive recorded myself using the beta 58 or sm 57 it just sounds kinda dull and not that clear.

 

[MasterVolume]

i listened to your music.. the vocals were "ok" for using a dynamic mic to record with.. you would be much better served using a large diaphram condensor on your vocal tracks though...you wont beleive the differance....

 

[Beatnik]

What did you use on the acoustic guitar?, I like that tone

I see what you mean about the vocals being "dead"

I have a CAD M37 and i've found it to sound very similar (tonaly) to an sm58 on male vocals, but with the added life of a LD condensor

 

[Rocket Boy]

actually, we recorded those in a studio. we used a Cascade Mx56 on the vocals.

for the acoustic guitar, I used a Martin d17 and he used an AKG 451 on the 12th fret, and the Cascade on the bridge.

 

[DJL]

Re: hrmm

i want something of really crisp

Checkout the Marshall MXL 2003 or Studio Projects C1 then.

 

[chessparov]

Rocket, a technique many pro engineers use with a SM57 or Shure Beta 58 is to use a parametric EQ to markedly enhance the
vocal track. It works, I do it also.

The DBX 242 is a very nice sounding parametric EQ you could pick up used for under $100 on e-bay, for example.
That would be a handy tool for other things too besides any vocals.

Chris

P.S. If you get a parmetric EQ, let me know, and I'll help you
with starting settings.

 

[Innovations]

Re: Re: hrmm

Checkout the Marshall MXL 2003 or Studio Projects C1 then.

or the MXL V93M, which is the same as the 2003 but cheaper.