Any sound engineers? Project Studio Mic Choices
Discussion
I am building a little studio in one of our outbuildings and am thinking of buying a new mic. I make vocals and at the minute I am using a Shure 58A Beta mic for these. At the time of purchase, I was also considering mic'ing up my guitar, hence going dynamic, but now I just use a line in for guitar recordings.
When I go to a proper studio to record they use a condenser mic, for example a Rode NT1-A but I'm not sure if it is worth going for a condenser instead of a dynamic vocal mic like I already have.
Can anyone tell me what noticable differece buying a condenser (priced less than £150) will make to my recordings? I'm afraid I don't know much about the technical side of things, I just sing and send the files off to producers and they come back as a finished track.
What do you think of this? Could be good as there's a free stand and shockmount included...
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/41800-se-ele...
Any other suggestions and advice much appreciated!
PS I have phantom power, so that's not a problem either.
When I go to a proper studio to record they use a condenser mic, for example a Rode NT1-A but I'm not sure if it is worth going for a condenser instead of a dynamic vocal mic like I already have.
Can anyone tell me what noticable differece buying a condenser (priced less than £150) will make to my recordings? I'm afraid I don't know much about the technical side of things, I just sing and send the files off to producers and they come back as a finished track.
What do you think of this? Could be good as there's a free stand and shockmount included...
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/41800-se-ele...
Any other suggestions and advice much appreciated!
PS I have phantom power, so that's not a problem either.
Have you surfed www.soundonsound.com ? Or tried their articles and/or forum; plenty of information and reviews to back it all up - should help you to make an informed choice.
For most vocals a condensor microphone is better. More sensitive and greater range, both dynamic and frequency.
The dynamic options I would consider are way out of your budget.
Although the Heil sound PR35 is only an extra £30. Worth considering.
In that price range I would recommend something by Rode.
Try and get a used NT2 if you can.
They are not going to be as good as the best out there but they are decent and they are very durable.
There are plenty of options in that price range though.
Oh and my NT2 has been in use for 9 years now with no issues (and it sounds better than most of the current Neumann output).
Don't worry about shockmounts, unnecessary most of the time.
Spend time working with distances and polar patterns (not all vocals work best in cardiod).
If it is too bassy, move back a little. Need more BIG sound, move in a little.
Pop shields can save time but do introduce nasty artifacts to the sound. I tend to not use them.
The dynamic options I would consider are way out of your budget.
Although the Heil sound PR35 is only an extra £30. Worth considering.
In that price range I would recommend something by Rode.
Try and get a used NT2 if you can.
They are not going to be as good as the best out there but they are decent and they are very durable.
There are plenty of options in that price range though.
Oh and my NT2 has been in use for 9 years now with no issues (and it sounds better than most of the current Neumann output).
Don't worry about shockmounts, unnecessary most of the time.
Spend time working with distances and polar patterns (not all vocals work best in cardiod).
If it is too bassy, move back a little. Need more BIG sound, move in a little.
Pop shields can save time but do introduce nasty artifacts to the sound. I tend to not use them.
You get a different sound with different mics. It's very much a case of matching the mic to the application and even within a type of mic there will be variations. I've tried 2/3 different mics on the same vocalist to get a nicer rounded sound.
These guys produce some good stuff (for the price) http://www.red5audio.com/
As with most things sudio, use your ears. Sound on sound forums are a good place to get technical reasons for different mic types
These guys produce some good stuff (for the price) http://www.red5audio.com/
As with most things sudio, use your ears. Sound on sound forums are a good place to get technical reasons for different mic types
For the price of £150, Rode is a good choice.
It should bring a cleaner, flatter, and more open sound than a dynamic mic.
I have had 8 NT1s and NT1As from 2001, and never had a problem with any despite them having a pretty hard life on location recording.
Unless you spend about £400-£500 and willing to try ebay for a real studio mic you are not going to get anything significantly better than that. That said, we have used the Rodes in hundreds of applications, and never seem to sound 'bad' for anything. A great workhorse.
It should bring a cleaner, flatter, and more open sound than a dynamic mic.
I have had 8 NT1s and NT1As from 2001, and never had a problem with any despite them having a pretty hard life on location recording.
Unless you spend about £400-£500 and willing to try ebay for a real studio mic you are not going to get anything significantly better than that. That said, we have used the Rodes in hundreds of applications, and never seem to sound 'bad' for anything. A great workhorse.
That was kinda the reason I was posting on PH, rather than SoundonSound. I wanted a less technical answer as I find sometimes purists don't understand that we don't all fancy spending a year's wages on one instrument!
Thanks everyone for all the advice. It does seem a condenser is the way to go for me then, will check out all the links everyone has provided.
Thanks everyone for all the advice. It does seem a condenser is the way to go for me then, will check out all the links everyone has provided.
Well I ended up making a couple of purchases! Slightly more than what I thought I would buy but the items were bundled so I guess it does no harm to have spares of some items (pop shields and leads etc). The total only came to £215 with free delivery so I am well chuffed given the mic alone should be £150-£200
http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_perception_220_bundle...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_micscreen.htm
Can't wait to try out the mic screen
Thanks for the advice everyone.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_perception_220_bundle...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_micscreen.htm
Can't wait to try out the mic screen
Thanks for the advice everyone.Edited by catmartin on Sunday 30th August 21:15
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