Mic choice advice

[ArgonLightray]

Hello Folks
First Post and I have to ask for advice on making Microphone selection.
Here is the scenerio:
I am mostly a singer/songwriter but am teaching myself guitar.
I have an acoustic and an electric. I play with a Roland Grovebox and intend to buy an Akai MPC2000 for my backup band
Anyhow to the point....
I have an SM58 and a couple of cheapo mics (karaoke machine and minidisc mics)
I plan to get an SM57 for guitar pickup and as a general mic but also need a good condenser mic.
I am willing to pay good money for the right mic because my strongest musical feature is my singing so I need to emphaze it.
I hear Nuemann, Blueberry, Sennheiser, AKG, GroovTube, Rode are really good but what about some of the others like Audio Tecnica or a Shure condenser? Also anyone know why I would want to buy the Roland DR-10 or DR-20? I HAVE a Roland VS-880EX and they say that those mics are made to work with that unit is it worth it?
Also Mic pre-amps? JoeMeek, Berhinger, Bellari, etc...???
Any answers or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[warlock]

It's smarter to buy a great preamp and a good mic than a great mic and a good pre, cause the chance is that you'll get great vocals with a SM58 into a great pre then a Neumann to a B'ringer .

And as it has been said many times: you just have to try out the different mics on your voice yourself and then get the one that sounds the best to your ears.

Well my $.02 anyway,
Keijo

 

[chessparov]

ArgonLightray-welcome!

What's your budget for the condenser mike and a mic pre-amp?
You may want to visit a dealer that will let you use equipment
first before you buy it so you know it's right for you.
That's the way I purchased the Studio Projects C1 microphone.
All of the "end users" (including myself), seem to be very happy
with the whole Studio Projects C series. The website is
www.studioprojectsusa.com

Studio Projects is supposed to be coming out with the VT-1 mic
pre-amp soon, and my guess is that it will offer great "bang for
the buck" like their microphones. I bought a Bellarri MP105 for
my first mic pre and now I'm giving it away to a friend because
of the (mildly) noisy AC wall wart hum it has. Behringer doesn't
have a good general reputation for reliability, however,
so far my Eurodesk 802A has been working fine, it's pre's at
best are "demo level" only. The Joe Meek V3Q channel strip I own
definitely has a 60's vibe, especially the optical compressor.
It's a little too noisy for my taste, however, for low sensitivity
mikes like dynamics and small diaphram condensers.
The Aphex 107 I use seems O.K., however, again I suspect the
VT-1 will be better than anything I currently have.

 

[Gidge]

a SP C1 or Marshall MXLv67 through a Joe meek would sound sweet.....definitely check out the VT1 chess mentioned.....

 

[Ola Lagarhus]

Interesting reading about mic choice here:
http://www.discmakers.com/music/pse/mic3.html


"Mitch Easter's production and engineering credits include work with R.E.M., Suzanne Vega, Pavement, and The Hang Ups.

What affordable microphone do you prefer?
Actually, there are two I use every session. One is the EV 635A, which has been around forever and was probably designed for TV reporters. I bought mine new for $65—although I'm sure it costs more now—and I've had it for almost 20 years. It's indestructible. The other is a Beyerdynamic M201, a skinny, hypercardioid dynamic microphone that probably costs about $150.

How do you use them?
The 635 is great on electric guitar amps. It's omnidirectional, and I think omnis are sometimes overlooked because, if you're recording a rock band, you have to think about isolation, so you think about a directional mic. What you gain with an omnidirectional is a real natural sound.

The positioning of this mic is not so critical. You can stick it right up on an instrument and the sound character doesn't change that much. You can take a 635A and stick it inside an upright bass and it will sound terrific—it won't sound like it's inside a can.

At the same time, it's really good on loud noises, like on a drum set if you want a roomy, '60s, more realistic jazzy drum sound. It doesn't have a super-wide frequency response; which I find useful. It's got the information you need with no extra stuff. I always pull out the 635A, and it tends to sound good on somebody's guitar or somewhere else in the session.

The Beyer M201 is my standard snare drum microphone. When I start a session and don't know the drummer, I'll put that on the snare and it almost always works. I think the difference between it and a Shure SM57 is that it's not as fat-sounding, but it's a little more hi-fi-sounding. It seems a bit brighter and clearer. It's also a hypercardioid, so it's good if you need a little more isolation to keep the high hat out of the snare mic or something like that."

You can read the rest on the web-site.

Ola
















http://www.discmakers.com/music/pse/mic3.html

 

[ArgonLightray]

Studio Projects Huh?

So does everyone work for this company or is it really that great for the price? Also I noticed that there are no store that carry it in the Seattle Area. Does anyone know how to find one for preview in this area? I would love to try it and I am going to go to Guitear center and make them take out all the mics one by one so I can try them all. Maybe I could even take my MD recdr to listen later. Do ya'll think that would be a good way to listen later or would it change too much after being recorded to MD?
Oh....
Help!
Calm Down...
It's Okay....
Alright.
I'm Cool.
Bye.

 

[chessparov]

Argon, I'm still waiting for my first commission check from Alan
Hyatt, the owner of Studio Projects! (just kidding)
Not only is my C1 great for the price, it's a fine mike on its own
merits. I also own and use minidisc, a Sony 2 track, and a
Tascam 564 4 track. At the risk of getting flamed (putting the fireproof jumpsuit on now), unless your music is being played
on a high end music system by a pair of audiophile ears (some
of the denizens here qualify), don't worry about it for demos!
Having said that, however, I like the C1 for minidisc because of
how full "bottom" notes sound on vocals-minidisc tends to thin
them out. I think www.studiocat.com over the internet might
still offer a "tryout" offer. There is also a dealer list at the Studio
Projects website.

You might also want to check the thread here on the B series
from Studio Projects coming out soon, and you may also want
to check out one of their multi-pattern mikes (C or B series)
Alan (owner) seems to be very sincere about taking care of
his customers, including microphone/mic pre questions here.

 

[alanhyatt]

Re: Studio Projects Huh?

So does everyone work for this company or is it really that great for the price? Also I noticed that there are no store that carry it in the Seattle Area.

Everyone does work for me...only kidding We don't have anyone in Washington yet. We have taken a different path of distribution that the likes of Marshall, ADK, and others have taken.

The reason is, our mics take more time to build, inside and out. Our bodies are a dual alloy die cast, not a lathe spun brass. They are very heavy, which adds to our sound. They have to be smoothed and polished which takes time to do. In addition, all of our artwork on the body is etched, not screened, so the detail work is percision work. We are also CE certified now, and I think we are the only one to be so in that arena, but I may be wrong. I simply can't make near the quantity of mics the other guys can, so we are not in GC, MARS, and Ash like the others.

This means we have to use the independant dealers, but more and more are coming on. I think we have 32 dealers Nationwide. This is why we are coming out with the B Series. It still has the sound and heavy build quality, but it can be manufacturered in quantity, so hopefully the B Series will be found in all the chains once we get going with them.

Sorry to rant on, but my point is, I have a rep in the area, so maybe you can call him and he can meet you somewhere to try out a C1. His name is Steve at PROS Marketing at 360-574-2769.

So, up to you my friend

 

[Gidge]

I'm not a Studio Projects mic salesperson, but I do play one on t.v., or was that my past life?......

its really that great for the price...actually its that great compared to most mics youd spend up to twice as much on.......

 

[VirtualSamana]

Don't get the Roland D10 or D20, their crap (their dynamic anyway). Roland sometimes reminds me of microsoft with their shameless plugs for their own products. Ever read the roland "magazine" roland puts out. As for specially designed to work with the Vstudios, I doubt it. Have you tried their COSM microphone emulators. They work as an effect at best but no amount of COSM can make a D10 sound like a Neuman or a C1 for that matter.