A
ardy77
New member
Thought I'd share this info for you since I learned the hard way.
First the well-known conclusion: Buying a vocal mic based solely on recommendations is the typically a bad decision. Due to the variations in the human voice, you will normally need to apply a trial-and-error based approach for finding the right mic.
Now the story: I bought my first studio condensor mic a few years back...a Groove Tubes GT55 based on the recommendation of the salesman. (I paired it up with a presonus $99 tubepre pre-amp). Took it home and tried recording a few tunes...was not satisfied at all. Looking back now I realize I was very inexperienced at recording and I was also not yet a confident and mature vocalist (a little fact for you is that the male voice normally does not fully mature until the early to mid 30s...note the age-range of well-known opera singers!).
As time went on, I continued chugging through the necessary everything-sounds-like-crap, easy-to-get-discouraged period of recording my own music. After the GT55 purchase, it sat on the shelf as I opted for the SM58 in my recordings due to it's colorful and well-known proximity effect. I continued to grow as a musician, engineer, and singer....then one day gave the GT55 another shot...and this time delivered a very confident performance. The GT55 showed it's true colors (or was it that I showed MY true colors !!)
More time passed and I naturally wanted to improve even more so I thought a mic upgrade might be the ticket...did the research...and bought a Blue Baby Bottle without trying it out. Sounded very bland on my voice when compared to the very clear and present sound of the GT55 (But the baby bottle sounded awesome on acoustic and electric guitar...so i kept it). Couple more months passed and I still wanted to improve (a neverending feeling). Did more research and purchased the Rode NTK without trying it out...sounded very hollow, somewhat boomy, and "far away". At this point I finally realized what many were already warning me about...the voice is basically your thumbprint and it's gonna vary widely from person to person. You're also gonna grow as a musician and you may possibly grow into and out of different mics. Buy the mic that sounds best on you...period!! Needless to say I returned the Rode NTK and made a logical decision about what to exchange it for...a Groove Tubes GT66 (The tube model of the same mic that I knew already worked for me)...and this thing sounds great! Nearly the same as the GT55 but with a extra special tube character that is hard to describe. I can say that through my comparisions...I have found that the GT mics seem to produce the "clearest" most up-front sound on my voice.
Next is a preamp upgrade (here we go again!!! no, I don't think it will be AS bad though)....thanks for bearing with me!
First the well-known conclusion: Buying a vocal mic based solely on recommendations is the typically a bad decision. Due to the variations in the human voice, you will normally need to apply a trial-and-error based approach for finding the right mic.
Now the story: I bought my first studio condensor mic a few years back...a Groove Tubes GT55 based on the recommendation of the salesman. (I paired it up with a presonus $99 tubepre pre-amp). Took it home and tried recording a few tunes...was not satisfied at all. Looking back now I realize I was very inexperienced at recording and I was also not yet a confident and mature vocalist (a little fact for you is that the male voice normally does not fully mature until the early to mid 30s...note the age-range of well-known opera singers!).
As time went on, I continued chugging through the necessary everything-sounds-like-crap, easy-to-get-discouraged period of recording my own music. After the GT55 purchase, it sat on the shelf as I opted for the SM58 in my recordings due to it's colorful and well-known proximity effect. I continued to grow as a musician, engineer, and singer....then one day gave the GT55 another shot...and this time delivered a very confident performance. The GT55 showed it's true colors (or was it that I showed MY true colors !!)
More time passed and I naturally wanted to improve even more so I thought a mic upgrade might be the ticket...did the research...and bought a Blue Baby Bottle without trying it out. Sounded very bland on my voice when compared to the very clear and present sound of the GT55 (But the baby bottle sounded awesome on acoustic and electric guitar...so i kept it). Couple more months passed and I still wanted to improve (a neverending feeling). Did more research and purchased the Rode NTK without trying it out...sounded very hollow, somewhat boomy, and "far away". At this point I finally realized what many were already warning me about...the voice is basically your thumbprint and it's gonna vary widely from person to person. You're also gonna grow as a musician and you may possibly grow into and out of different mics. Buy the mic that sounds best on you...period!! Needless to say I returned the Rode NTK and made a logical decision about what to exchange it for...a Groove Tubes GT66 (The tube model of the same mic that I knew already worked for me)...and this thing sounds great! Nearly the same as the GT55 but with a extra special tube character that is hard to describe. I can say that through my comparisions...I have found that the GT mics seem to produce the "clearest" most up-front sound on my voice.
Next is a preamp upgrade (here we go again!!! no, I don't think it will be AS bad though)....thanks for bearing with me!
