Mics and Pre's for Hip hop

[Chaotic]

I would like to get some recommendations on which mic / pre (or channel strip) combos are good for recording hip hop vocals, in high mid and low price ranges. I primarily do male hip hop vocals, but also use female singers here and there. So versitile is good. Im using protools LE with the Waves Gold bundle, a digi002 and a Rode NTK. mucias gracias

 

[pkmusic]

do a search and you will find your answer. You will find that Shure SM7b mic is probably the most recommended mic for rapping. I have one and it is awesome!!!!! It may sound great on female singers (Michael Jackson used it on the Thriller album ) but the only way to find out would be to try it out or ask around.

As for mic pre, I'll let an expert answer that one. I have an VTB-1 pre and I think it sounds great. I will post one of my recordings very soon.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Chao:

You might want to give the Grace Design 101 a try with that Shure mic.

I would think you would need tools that can handle the explosive sounds and accents in rap, but that's only a thought.

The 101 is a mid/high end piece of gear but only has one input.

But, Grace also has two channel units, alas they cost more.

That's the short and Long Island of it.

Merry Christmas
Green Hornet

 

[pkmusic]

Green Hornet,
Do you have that combo (SM7 & 101)? How do you like it? Do you any samples we can listen to with that combo?

 

[iceberg]

Alot of the male emcee's I have been working with reall like my Groove Tubes GT-55. Its a workhorse for me. That and an FMR-RNP

 

[chessrock]

I hate to ad to the confusion, but I've been noticing a very similar pattern to rap vocals that I see with other types of vocals.

Not all rappers sound alike, and people's voices translate differently on different mics.

That said, I tend to like dynamic mics for dynamic rappers. Yea, that's kinda' corny, but it holds true. Guys who are more aggressive tend to translate well on the sm-7. Chicks always seem to sound good on it. More stylistic rappers and/or crooners and breathy vocalists are a different story, though. More often then not, I like to hear a hyped condenser on that style; something along the lines of a SP C1 or a Rode NTK on the budget end -- Neumann or Blue on the higher end.

 

[pkmusic]

WOWWW!!!!!!

Chessrock!! What you are saying makes total sense!!

I use the sm7 on a girl rapper. She is very aggressive!

I tried to use it on a guy rapper (NAS sound-alike) which is not as aggressive and it didn't sound as good. I mean it still sounded good but she was just awesome on the mic. Would a condenser mic such as the NTK work good with that type of NAS voice?

 

[chessrock]

Depends. Is his voice big and full, or does it tend towards midrangy / nasal? Is it breathy?

 

[pkmusic]

I would like to say big and full & breathy

Everyone that hears him says he sounds exactly like NAS

 

[chessrock]

He might like an NTK. It's got more of a hi-fi, pop music kinda' sound.

 

[Bumpy]

What is NAS??????

Not actually singing??? Not actually speaking???

 

[Bstage]

Chess??

Whats the preference for the mid range nasaly voice... Some guys sound like crap on the MXLV67G.. Most sound nice and full but the real loud ones dont sound clear and the ladies sound good only on singing.. I think I need a SM7-B

 

[randyfromde]

"What is NAS??????"

A rapper. His name is "Nas".

 

[Bstage]

What is NAS??????

Not actually singing??? Not actually speaking???

LoL... Not what but WHO........

Rapper from Queensbridge NYC....

 

[chessrock]

Re: Chess??

Whats the preference for the mid range nasaly voice... Some guys sound like crap on the MXLV67G.. Most sound nice and full but the real loud ones dont sound clear and the ladies sound good only on singing.. I think I need a SM7-B

I think just about everyone sounds like crap on a v67. Alright, I take that one back. Of all the people who sound good on a v67, I can't think of very many that wouldn't sound better on something else.

And everyone should have an sm-7, by the way. It should be a prerequisite if you want to get in to recording.

There are a few things that come to mind that sound good on midrangy voices. A Beyer M88 is one of them. Another is the Blue Dragonfly, which is outstanding on midrangy voices by the way -- but that's going to set you back a bit more than the others.

 

[pkmusic]

I don't know much about NAS. I have only heard him couple of times. He is a Hip Hop rapper.

http://rap.about.com/library/blnaspage.htm


But I'm not a fan, so I don't know much.