what microphone for recording vocals? under $300.

[everdrone]

What mic should I get?  I will get a mic soon, I will prolly spend a lot less than $300 but that is the absolute most I will spend. What mic should I get? My vocals are getting better so a good mic is warranted, thanks for the suggestions. I wont be treating my room or learning how to truly mix or anything, so the nuances of an expensive mic would be lost on me.  I am thinking a condenser mic would not be good for me since my room is not treated for sound. I just press record and twist knobs, cheers

[jibberish]

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NT1AAnniv

IMO, this would be your "sm57" of the large condenser world.  my son has one.  wow does his taylor sound amazing when he records with that.  super clean and I can vouch for their brag of super quiet.
So, just like an sm57, everyone just needs to have one. heh. anyway, that's the way I see it.

Since I have access to that rode, I got a GC special cheapo sterling large diaphragm as a beater in case I fuck it up learning how to REALLY use a large diaphragm. heh.  it is pretty nice for $89, I actually justified it vs another sm57, which I still need more of. but the large diaphragms definitely have more detail, even the cheapos.  The cheapos have more noise and distortion relative to better ones like the rode,  or of course,the really nice ones, but then you hit the big money.  but they are all quiet and clean.

I played with a nice blue LD mic on a nice protools mac/Mackie system a friend of mine has. scary realistic, but it was a grand too so NO.

2 of those NT-1's are on my final studio mic list. 

[everdrone]

those NT1s are popular, I dig the reviews. 

all good advice!  I would like to try them all.  that SM7B seems to be the ticket since it is not a condenser mic (Ooh the irony) and that is what I need since I will not be sound treating my very small constricted apartment and am on an extreme budget.  Its in the crosshairs, cheers   THe recording engineers like it for untreated recording and for radio type applications and has practically won a grammy, I had no Idea!  Michael Jackson and Steven Tyler and all.

I would like to get a mic isolation shield maybe later on to address the acoustics like this auralex mudguard:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MudGuard?adpos=1o1&creative=54989966161&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAjw1MSvBRDj2IyP-o7PygsSJAC_6zodet3Ias7CPSPo5p0gVVAzaw_H_vbDJh2rqpmxHSbTmBoC_H_w_wcB

[jibberish]

hey everdrone. somehow I don't think we are on the same page.

from what I have studied and read and tried, stuff like large diaphragm condensors are for super clean studio stuff. if you want the tiniest nuances out of a complex voice like a voice, acoustic guitar, piano, violin etc

that is what those are for. they also will expose every nuance of fuckup.


for acoustic issues like performing live, you really don't  want to use a large condenser.  you need dynamic mics with cardioid or supercardioid patterns which resist side garbage and feedback better.  even better than sm57 would be like audix om9 or the electro voice ?767 ?757, sry forget the models. they may be the most feedback resistant mics on the market based on people swearing by them.

BUT you get a haze on your recordings vs a large diaphragm condenser in the studio. totally low resolution vs large diaphragm.
I already told you the story where a hi end LD condenser freaked me out at how transparent and realistic it sounded.
I never heard "me" from outside me so perfectly before.  it was a moment, let me tell you.

I like the sound of dynamic mics. they are warm, and as long as we are creating music, anything goes.
For accurate reproduction, I would throw out all dynamic mics and only use LDC's or ribbons for superior accuracy.

BUT WE ARE MAKING THE MUSIC, so we get to do whatever the fuck we want. YEAH! hah

So, back to your situation:  would you please restate your goal for possibly buying a new mic.  What exactly needed improvement that justified an LDC mic?

[Submarine]

My two cents:  While all mics sound different - they don't sound vastly different in the $300 range.  Some may be a bit brighter, some a bit darker, variations in pickup pattern etc,  but its nothing that a bit of eq or mic position shift can't fix.  Just about any LDC in the $300 range is going to be ok. None are going to prevent you from getting a decent tone.

Oktava 319
Audio Technica - 4040 or 4033
Shure SM27
Sennheiser Mk4
Studio Projects C1
Rode NT series

[everdrone]

thanks guys, Ill check out those models

Jibberish, my vocals are a bit better and I plan to record original songs.  I am using a SHure SM58 but think I should step up to better quality.  I was thinking about getting a condenser microphone but in the last two days I read these recommendations to not get one since my room is not treated and it will pick up all types of weird noises and sound bouncing off walls incorrectly and sound bad. 

so I am looking for a mic that is not a condenser now. 

[Pissy]

I have 2 of those NT-1a's and they're real nice. They need phantom power, so keep that in mind.

One of them developed an issue that made it sound like it was in the wind. I sent it back (5 year warranty I think it is) and they fixed it pretty quickly. Was happy with their customer service.

But if you get one used or off e-bey I think there's only a few sellers that will honor the warranty. I got mine from sweetwater.

[jibberish]

thanks guys, Ill check out those models

Jibberish, my vocals are a bit better and I plan to record original songs.  I am using a SHure SM58 but think I should step up to better quality.  I was thinking about getting a condenser microphone but in the last two days I read these recommendations to not get one since my room is not treated and it will pick up all types of weird noises and sound bouncing off walls incorrectly and sound bad. 

so I am looking for a mic that is not a condenser now. 

you already have a mic that is not a condenser:sm58.  same as a 57 plus the extra screen and w/e. sm58/57 is the most recorded rock vocal mic in history if I am not mistaken.
you may be overthinking this whole deal. maybe grab some of submarine's calmness. 

Right now you really don't know the sonic characteristics of your room wrt a condenser mic, and you wont until you try one.
seriously, if you have an acoustic, an LDC sounds so pretty.   
you might want an LDC for acoustic recording anyway. at least borrow a big and a small condenser to see how you like them. you cant describe this stuff on paper

I would go to guitar center on a quiet day and ask to audition mics back in their hi-end recording room or the keyboard room.
those rooms are usually as quiet as tombs and you could burn a couple hours in peace. take your interface and laptop and phones and try a bunch of mics out.(like pissy said, check if your interface can supply phantom power. all mixers do but idk about all interfaces. my focusrite does}

if you are in gc testing mics. don't put 40v into a ribbon. I read you can smoke those with the phantom power.
or put 40v into a ribbon and see what happens...not your ribbon haha

[everdrone]

thats cool, thanks guys

I dont know much about mics its true   thank youfor all your advice

I am recording with a presonus audiobox 22vsl and here is the preamp info:


At PreSonus, we know that the mic preamplifier is a key component in the sonic quality of a recording. Many other companies that offer mobile recording interfaces add the cheapest possible microphone preamplifier as an afterthought. In contrast, the AudioBox 22VSL includes custom-designed, high-voltage, discrete, XMAX Class A microphone preamplifiers that are suitable for use with all types of microphones.
The job of a microphone preamplifier in an audio interface is to boost a microphone-level signal to line level before conversion to the digital domain. A good preamp boosts the level to almost 400 times that of the original signal, making the preamp one of the most important stages in an interface. A cheap, off-the-shelf, op-amp-type mic preamp delivers thin, noisy, harsh results. But with XMAX preamps, the sonic quality is limited only by what microphone you plug into it.
XMAX preamplifiers are built with three key elements:
High Voltage. The XMAX preamplifier runs on power rails of 30V. Most off-the-shelf, op-amp-based designs run on power rails of 10V to 18V. Higher-voltage power rails deliver more headroom, deeper lows, smoother highs, and a richer overall sound.
Discrete components—not op-amps. We only use genuine transistors, resistors, and capacitors. Op-amps add noise, coloration, and harshness to a signal. Our discrete design delivers ultra-low noise and transparency.
Class A. Class A circuits have no crossover distortion and deliver purer, clearer, and more musical results than the Class AB designs that are found in many preamps.

The net result of the XMAX preamp design is high headroom, low noise, wide dynamic range, extended frequency response, and—most important—musicality and transparency, with smooth highs, solid deep lows, and everything in between.

[jibberish]

I don't know much either.  if i really had serious questions I would ask submarine, it's his life.

what I do know, is what I like or what i'm going after. at that point I start doing research and if possible auditioning pieces of whatever gear.
usually I have to hear something before I "get" it.

everyone tests pedals, guitars, amps, etc etc etc. before they buy it,  why not also mics. have fun with it.

[Submarine]

Equipment manufacturers spend a lot of time writing copy using words like "fat, warm, transparent" etc. But at the end of the day a $100 SM57 and a $10,000 Telefunken do the same thing - they pick up a sound.  A trumpet is going to sound like a trumpet no matter what mic, preamp, DAW you are using.   Will a trumpet sound better if you use Mic A instead of Mic B? The answer is maybe.  Depends on the skill of the player, the skill of the engineer, sound of the room, and a whole bunch of other factors.  Learning those factors takes years.  Not unlike trying combinations of guitars, pickups, amps and pedals.  However, a good engineer can use just about any mic and preamp into any DAW and get great results.  And even then the listener has their own opinion about what sounds good.  Take your 10 favorite albums and you realize all the drum, bass, Gtr sounds are different but yet you like them. And even if you don't like all the tones you still like the song.   I say all this because while having great gear and knowing what it does can make for amazing results - You could buy any mic that anyone listed here on this thread and you would be ok.   Just pick a mic and use it.  Use it a lot and experiment with angles and placement.  You will learn so much.  After lots of experimenting borrow some else's mic and do the same thing.  You will soon realize what the mic adds to the equation and you will realize, as both engineer and performer, what you add to the equation.

Don't believe the hype of ad copy and don't agonize over which mic or preamp interface to get.  You are a musician first and foremost, not an engineer making a Steely Dan record.

[everdrone]

cool guys thanks  I see jibberish says submarine does this for a living, so I better pay attention.  I appreciate yall writing detailed insights.  I suppose Ill keep recording with my SHure SM58 and will stay excited about getting a Shure SM7B but Ill hold off and try to test some out at guitar center or wherever they will let me.  

Thanks yall, great insights  

here is the sweetwater comments on the Shure SM7B:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM7B?adpos=1o1&creative=55673934841&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQjwms-vBRDlsM7utpaJ47ABEiQAIpKjTBvpzObSgXxSgjGvme5y32y-j6Zc233f5JWBOw23fH0aAqCa8P8HAQ

[giantchris]

I'm not a mic expert by ANY means but I use an MXL R40 ribbon mic and it sounds great.  I got it onsale for like $50 bucks new and its been one of the best purchases I've ever made mic-wise.  I'd get a ribbon mic and spend the rest of the money on a tube pre personally.

[jibberish]

I'm not a mic expert by ANY means but I use an MXL R40 ribbon mic and it sounds great.  I got it onsale for like $50 bucks new and its been one of the best purchases I've ever made mic-wise.  I'd get a ribbon mic and spend the rest of the money on a tube pre personally.

can I have it?
wow $50.   I definitely want one of those too.   that is a great price for learning a new mic.    ribbons are really clean but they can have issues tho because they pick up from the back as loud as the front. I see a ribbon often used as a second ambience mic placed a little farther back in those shmancy mix magazine articles.

edit: I bet a ribbon would do great with outdoor recordings. you pick up nature's ambience but zero room reflections on the backside.

[giantchris]

I'm not a mic expert by ANY means but I use an MXL R40 ribbon mic and it sounds great.  I got it onsale for like $50 bucks new and its been one of the best purchases I've ever made mic-wise.  I'd get a ribbon mic and spend the rest of the money on a tube pre personally.

can I have it?
wow $50.   I definitely want one of those too.   that is a great price for learning a new mic.    ribbons are really clean but they can have issues tho because they pick up from the back as loud as the front. I see a ribbon often used as a second ambience mic placed a little farther back in those shmancy mix magazine articles.

edit: I bet a ribbon would do great with outdoor recordings. you pick up nature's ambience but zero room reflections on the backside.

They go on sale usually around Christmas or Thanksgiving time on musiciansfriend and the last couple Christmas and Thanksgivings they've been on sale for 59$ or something.  I keep meaning to get more of them but keep buying EZKeys expansions instead which also go on sale around those times.  I REALLY like EZKeys.  My next purchase is probably going to be the Synapse Audio Dune 2 if it goes on sale around Christmas.  But if the R40 goes on sale again for cheap I'll get a couple more.  So far I've used it on guitar, drums, and voice and it sounds great on all of em. 

I've read there's a couple mods you can do to the R40 shell and make it sound amazing too.

[jibberish]

you have me sold chief.   especially after what submarine said about most mics on the lower end.   I can't imagine this NOT being more clear than its similar priced dynamic bros.
also from reading those mix articles, I kind of had it in my head to "go royer or go home"  but now I believe that is a crock for someone at my level.

[Submarine]

"go royer or go home" 

Well it is a phenomenal mic