Rent or buy??

[born-diva]

Hello all.
So far, you've all been so helpful to me in my quest for a LDC mic. So i thought i'd ask you all what you thought about renting vs. buying. I was just gonna take the plunge and buy a baby bottle the other night but i held off. I gave it a little go at the store and it sounded really good to me, although i wasn't really brave enough to really let loose in there . But anyway, while i was there, i realized something that never really occured to me b4 (why, i don't know), but i can just rent some mics for now before deciding which to buy. Mind you, the rental selection is not as vast as i'd like but i can get some pretty good mics. So i'm thinking; maybe i should rent a U87 or something for a month bcuz i'm really just trying to get my demo together right now, so a month should do me real good. It's like $260/month for a U87, $120/month for a TLM103 (canadian dollars). I just want the best possible sound i can get. But here's the thing, will it do the U87 justice recording in my bedroom (under some blankets) with the built-in mbox (protools) preamp? Should i rent an external preamp as well? Or should i just scrap this whole idea and buy an affordable LDC that's mine to keep? What do you all think?

I don't know why i'm having such a hard time with this but i really do appreciate your advice.

Thanx.

 

[c7sus]

That's a tough one.

Those mics are gonna be pretty heavily influenced by the room.

Or rather I should say an un-flattering room is gonna seem even moreso.

Have you used condensors in your house before??? A good gate, even software, may be handy depending on your vocal style.

Blankets aren't gonna do anything. I wouldn't even bother with those mics in a small bedroom with no treatment. You'll have flutter echo that won't quit.

Flutter echo is what you hear when you stand in the middle of the room and clap your hands. That fast decaying reverb. It sounds awful through a condensor and you can't get it out of the take.

Renting for a couple weeks or a month would give you a chance to audition the mic in some rooms other than your bedroom. Those mics will push a signal about 1000' so string a couple mic cables together, get somebody to run the audio app, and try some different rooms-- start with the room with the least flutter echo-- biggest room in the place and bonus points if it has a vaulted ceiling and full of furniture and carpeted. Next best bet is probably gonna be the closet-full-of-clothes.

Good luck.

 

[DavidK]

I wouldnt do it. A high-end mic needs a high-end room. For the rental money you could get a very decent budget mic. If this hobby grows, you will always need another mic.

It's like $260/month for a U87,

Around here, that would buy a day of renting a studio. I would rather do that, you get good mics and a good room. I take it $260 Canadian is about $200 US?? Certainly a nice mic could be had for that, one that you could experiment with at your leisure in any room you wanted.

 

[born-diva]

You guys are probably right. I'll need a good room to make it worth my while. That's what i was thinking but i just thought i'd ask.

I read somewhere that duvets and moving blankets are pretty effective for isolation. Gotta be some truth to that, no?!...I certainly hope so bcuz my closet is way too small (my mom got the walk-in)...but hey, she pays the rent . I've never used a condenser in my room b4 but i hope i can make it work somehow.

I could definitely get a mic for the same price but i thought, hey, renting a u87 is gonna sound better than any mic i can afford to buy. I've got way too many songs to afford studio for them all, plus i can really take my sweet ol' time when i'm at home...much more relaxing. So i reserve studio time for the odd song that i'm just too crazy about .

Probably just have to gamble and buy one (i've never been much of a gambler)...but i can always return it i guess.

Thanx lots.

Tata 4 now.

 

[Neeps]

I could definitely get a mic for the same price but i thought, hey, renting a u87 is gonna sound better than any mic i can afford to buy.

That depends on whether the u87 suits your voice or whether the cheap mics you buy suits it better. It's not about the price tag.

 

[whjr15]

i can really take my sweet ol' time when i'm at home

But you'll surely pay for taking your sweet ol time while renting.

 

[ljmaxx]

Since I've never heard your voice and I don't know what mic pre you use I'll recommend either an ADK Hamburg or Vienna. If your vox lean towards Pop / R&B go with the Vienna. If your vox are more in the folk / country area go with the Hamburg. Either mic can be bought for less than you'd pay for a months rental on the U87. If you don't like the mic after using it you can re sell it for about what you paid for it. Links below and good luck.

http://tinyurl.com/2hj2bl

 

[Big Kenny]

Get an SM7 and a DMP3 and you will get a pretty nice sound in an untreated room

 

[Nate74]

Get an SM7 and a DMP3 and you will get a pretty nice sound in an untreated room

I would also second the DMP3 suggestion, though there are probably dozens of mics that would also do you well in the same range as the SM7. I'd also consider some cheap treatment. I've had decent luck with a setup where I used two mic stands to hold a hockeystick parallel to the floor, then draped a heavy blanket over it. I adjusted it so it was a few feet behind the mic with the singer facing it. That setup was with an NTK and a DMP3 and it worked quite nicely for male vocals in the low tenor/baritone range.

I agree with the others too, a U87 in a bedroom will sound a lot more like a bedroom than a U87... if that makes any sense.

 

[born-diva]

Yea, i think i'm gonna abandon this idea. I haven't even tried it to know if it suits my voice...getting sucked into the price tag trap again, i guess, but my friend did say it was tops. I know i can't dilly-dally when i rent but that's kind of a good thing, it gives me a deadline, so to speak. When i say
"take my sweet ol'time", i just mean that i don't feel rushed like i often do in a studio at $30/hr.

Thanks for the mic suggestions. I have them coming out of my ears now, there's just so many. I think that's part of the problem. I'm so overwhelmed by the selection that the easiest thing to do is look at the price tag to narrow it down...obviously not the way to go.

I haven't seen any ADK mics at the store, i don't think, but i'll have another look. SM7, isn't that a dynamic mic? Not too sure. And DMP3?? I know nothing about preamps but i'll look it up. Hope it's not too expensive.

Thanx again.

 

[Nate74]

And DMP3?? I know nothing about preamps but i'll look it up. Hope it's not too expensive.

Not at all. It's a really nice dual channel, solid state pre and i think can still be had for well below 200USD. You'll find countless threads here on 'em, but let me just say that I absolutely love mine. I'm toying with a second one just so I can have 4-channels of DMP3 for drum tracking.