Microphone pre-amps

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Dracon

Dracon

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Hello,

I'm looking to get a low end microphone preamp with a budget of $50.00.
Does anyone know what would be good or at least good enough. I am just recording vocals (no singining just speach).

Thank you,
Dracon
:cool:
 
definatley an art, dong get a behringer audio buddy, they suck.
 
Hey Guys Thanks!

I'll look into that E-bay link you gave.
 
It depends what mic you're using and how portable you need.

For the dinkiest thing get an M-Audio Audio Buddy. If you want a bit more flexibility regarding how your voice sounds, listening back as you speak etc, get a Behringer UB802 (if you must) or a Yamaha MG10/2 (if you at all can).
 
Okay!?
:confused:

I do not own a microphone yet, and I do not need the operation to be portable at all. However, a low cost ($50 or less) is the first part of the selection process. I do have a caveat which is that the pre-amp & microphone has to have a decent sound (which to me it means it should not sound like I am inside a can).

I know I am probably streching this forum right now, but what Microphone would you recommend for an ART TUBE MP Microphone Preamp (Model 127). Again please keep in mind cost, that it will be recording voice (speach mainly) and that it should not sound like I am inside a can.

I know it sounds like I am asking a lot, but I am trying to minimize cost while maximizing the recording quality.
 
As for preamps..If you can find a Event EMP 1 it is much better than the ART..used it should run fairly inexpensive{about 50.00}..for a decent mic get a Shure SM57 new they are about 79.00 go to your local store and check one out..Its a "dynamic" mic no phantom power needed..Good luck :)
 
If I were you ... I'd pick up an Behringer UB802 mini-mixer and a Sennheiser E835 microphone. Shure SM57s don't like cheap preamps, and on many sources I find them to be quite 'boxy' anyway. Many will disagree with me though!

Seriously, if you get those two you're laughing. But there are tonnes of cheap dynamic mics around that will do an acceptable job.
 
Hey Noisedude

I greatly appreciate the advice you gave me and I will look into that. What would a mini-mixer cost and could I plug that into my ... uhmm .... well ... how best to put this .... Integrated Soundcard (Ouch!). Okay, don't freak out, I know, I know.

I suppose to be fair I should give a little background.
My wife has some music (already on CD) which she purchased from a company that sell it to make a relaxation or guided meditation CD. We will eventually go to a professional studio to get it all recorded and mixed correctly. However, we want to make a couple of CDs to test what background music would work best with certain scripts. The whole point of it is that we want to keep the cost down, and have something decent (nothing professional) to test on willing guinea pigs (ourselves and our family) :). We didn't want to spend $60 an hour plus the master, and firewire hardrive to find out that the scripts suck or the background music does not go with the script we made.

My wife wanted (get this now) to buy a Kareoke Machine speak along while the music played, and then (if you are faint of heart please don't read the following it might give you a heart attack) ... okay ready? and then she wanted to have an off the shelf hand held tape player record what was comming out of the Kareoke machine.

Now that you are disgusted with us. I was able to convince my wife that we could do it on our computer by buying a microphone (did a little research found out I needed a mic preamp) a preamp and some software and everything would sound decent. Well, at least ten times better than what she was trying to do, and for less money than she was going to spend on Kareoke machine.

Hence the whole emphasis on Low cost. Trust me I want to go out and buy the $300 software, plus the mixer, amps, another kick-ass computer, a keyboard, and an electric guitar. I don't need any encouragement in that department ( I own two acoustic guitars, and my wife own a clarinet and a piano - which weights a ton and its a pain to move).

So bottom line I need to have something that will work with my existing Integrated Souncard (which is not great but not bad - Dell), and that will not cost me a lot of money plus sounds better than recording on a hand held tape recorder. So what do you guys think? Can I do that for less than $200 total? I figured $50 for the preamp, $99 for the mic, and another $50 for the mixing software (Audacity).

I also wanted to thank all of you guys for giving me great advice.

Just wandered into a tape recording mixer at my local Guitar Center see what you think http://www.guitarcenter.com/buyersguide/bg_c/page57.cfm
 
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Forget the Toys-R-Us 4-track. It is a waste of money IMO.

Yamaha mixer = $100
Studio Projects B1 microphone = $80
Cakewalk Music Creator = $30

If you don't have much money, why are you so willing to waste it on complete crap?

The inexpensive equipment I identified above can make very good--even excellent recordings.
 
Dracon - tdukex's ideas are good ... it's just a case of working out what's easiest.

You onboard soundcard will be fine - just make sure you use the line in, and not the mic in. This is because the mic input has a crappy preamp in it which will spoil your good work.

Over here the prices are different but I think the Behringer UB802 would be fine for you as the preamp they use is very quiet, and the actual tone is not crucial for you. That would be about £35 here. Then you can add any mic you want. The SP B1 just mentioned is a great mic for the price but it's a studio-type condenser mic and if that scares you off you should pick up what you'd recognise as a 'stage' mic for the same money.

If you want a link to some very acceptable free software (it's legal, don't worry), send me a PM. You won't be disappointed!
 
Hey tdukex & noisedude

First I want to thank you (especially for telling me that my regular sound card will work - gotta love that) for all the information I've gotten. With everything I learned I can sound like I know what I am talking about.

What (other than the added mixing feature) would be the advantage of getting a minimixer would be as suppose to getting a mic preamp.

Also I have downloaded the Audacity software (Demo version) and it seems that it would be fine. Is Cakewalk or Cubase much better?
 
Dracon said:
Hey tdukex & noisedude

1. First I want to thank you (especially for telling me that my regular sound card will work - gotta love that) for all the information I've gotten. With everything I learned I can sound like I know what I am talking about.

2. What (other than the added mixing feature) would be the advantage of getting a minimixer would be as suppose to getting a mic preamp.

3. Also I have downloaded the Audacity software (Demo version) and it seems that it would be fine. Is Cakewalk or Cubase much better?
Click to expand...

1. Eventually, you will want a better sound card. It WILL make a big difference in the quality of your recordings. But for now concentrate on a decent preamp and mic.

2. The advantage of a small mixer is you get more for the money. The preamps are usuble--IMO even the Behringer pres are at least as good as the ART Tube MP, you get more than one pre (for stereo recording), and most have a built-in headphone amp (I still use the headphone amp in my old Behringer).

3. Everybody has their preference. I like Cakewalk products. I used to use the old Guitar Studio. Now I use Sonar 2.1--mainly because I only paid $99 (on special) because I was a registered Cakewalk user. That's why I suggested Music Creator. It gets your foot in the Cakewalk door.
 
The preamps in the Behringer UB series are extremely quiet - it means very little musically but I set up a big PA in a shop near me and plugged a pile of mixers in to the front end. We basically just rammed an empty channel's preamp right up to see how much hiss it made. The Behringers came off better than a lot of more expensive consoles.

That doesn't mean they sound great though ... but they will be perfectly adequate for your needs.

Don't get a tube pre, you're getting into valve maintenance and distortion ... not needed for spoken word IMO!

If you want to try Tracktion out for your software - as I say, just PM me.
 
Well, first of all, Tduke (Malcolm)X has given you good device. I'm not usually one to say go-bottomfeed, but... cost is a major concern here. A little Behringer mixer will work, but the Yamaha is simply a better, more reliable unit, IMO. You gotta do what you gotta do. But it's simple. A mixer allows you to just plug the CD player into the board and a mic, and adjust the relative volume and tone of the music and voice. The same can be said of a little 2 channel preamp like the M-Audio Audiobuddy, which in spite of what somebody said above, is not a Behringer product, and it does not suck. Are you confused now? You need 2 channels, voiceover, music. So- for $50, you can get the minimixer, or- For $100, you get the Yamaha mixer. You get a bunch of channels with preamps that aren't half bad. With a mic, cable, desk stand for the mic, and the software mentioned above, you really are looking at $200. Karaoke machine does not spit out CD.
Mics are a debate above, condenser vs. dynamic. Which you choose depends on the gear, and the environment. The condenser puts out a hotter signal, and is often more sensitive. This is why you see them more in studios or TV sound stages than in live use. The sensitive little suckers feed back in a nasty fasihion.That is changing due to advanced feedback management systems being developed as we speak. Condensers, I think, tend to work well with cheap mixers (any of the ones you are considering) because of their higher output. This means you don't have to crank up your preamp/mixer, revealing that it tends to distort when pushed. Downside? Condensers will pick up lots of stuff we call ambient noise- the refrigerator, traffic, the cat, etc. Unless you have a really quiet room, or like to record at 4 AM in the dark, a condenser will have some issues with noise, including the speaker smacking his lips, shifting his weight in the chair. Note here- Find a chair that absolutely won't creak when you move. Harder than it sounds.
Dynamic mics- standard stage mics. Usually less sensitive, they will force you to crank up your preamp a little. For what you want to do, I'd probably choose a dynamic. I'm betting you don't have a really good room. Good models of both have been mentioned. On the condenser side, Studio Projects B-1 and Marshall MXL V67G have been mentioned. I'd go with one of them if you have a good room. If you don't, dynamic standouts include Shure SM57 and Sennheiser e835. In the minority, I often use AKG dynamics, especially D770. Here we're debating mics that all cost about $80, $50 used on ebay.
You can talk Guitar Satan into selling the Sennheisers much cheaper. I've gotten a couple of e835's there for $36 each. Same with AKG D880's. SM57's they'll sell me for $80, the advertised price. I'm betting the AKG and Sennheisers have bigger markups. Go for the Sennheiser, and bust some GC balls.
Hope that was helpful, rather than confusing you. The options in recording equipment, cheap or expensive, can be bewildering. Best of luck- Richie
 
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Richie's right ... and I stick by my advice. Be prepared for 'accessories' such as stand, cables etc making things much more expensive. I needed three DI boxes and four mic cables for my live rig. The DIs came to £94 delivered, but four of the cheapest and shortest cables I could get cost £60 before P+P!!
 
Hey Richard thank you for all of the detailed information.
Since my (recording) room is (very) noisy I will probably go with a dynamic microphone.

I went last night to Guitar Center (I like to call it Guitar World) here in Tacoma to do a little recon and found the UB802 ($49.99), the SM58 ($99.00), 5ft Mic Cable ($12.99), and Y cable from Minimixer to Soundcard ($7.00) = $170.00 + Tax.

No I have not bought anything yet. However, the room where the recording will take place is about 30 feet away from the Refrigerator, with a window to the driveway, and just on the other side of the Furnace (not to mention that my chair and the floors creeks like it's going out style). Oh! Yeah, and my cat does not like any closed doors. When she sees one she meows, and when I'm at the computer (especially doing something critical like playing a video game) she gets up on the desk. So, I'm I totally screwed?
 
You're not screwed - you just have to do what you can and pick the best moments to record. Being reasonably close to the mic will help, but too close may make you too 'bassy'.

I personally wouldn't buy an sm58 - 'industry standard' means nothing. It's too easy for it to make you sound like you're talking though a sock. I had my Sennheisers out live last night and my e835 worked a treat on a male backing singer - my e845 stunned the female singer (and the audience) with how it brought her voice out (with very little EQing on my part!) and she's going to get one to replace her rather expensive Audio Technica stage condenser.
 
For a microphone, you could try to find an used Electro Voice 635A on eBay. I picked one up for $35 there, and it works great. It was designed by EV to be used primarily for broadcasting, I believe. Don't be fooled or put off by its "Bob Barker mic" appearance, because it sounds great. I love the way it sounds on speaking voice...it doesn't exhibit proximity effect. It is an omni though, so it will pick up more of your noisy room.
 
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