Favourite Microphones

[bastard_tom]

What do people here generally use to record their vocals with? I'm particualy interested to hear from people who use dynamic mics (SM58s/57s etc)

Also has anybody got any music with vocals recorded with a dynamic mic. Whats your techniques?

Thanks

 

[Ash Holmz]

i use mainly condesors for recording but i also use a beta 58a .... an sm58/sm57 is a real good mic.... but you def need a good preamp imo with a stock preamp it wont sound that great... use a pop filter and try the mic at diffrent height levels till you find the sweet spot.... a cool trick if u use the 58 is to take off the ball and try it that way it sounds like a 57...you can decide which one you like better ... if you the want the high end of dynamic mics i suggest a shure sm7b ... pretty sick sounding ... i like dynamics because there are some cases where you want to record control room style with the sound coming out of monitors, not the headphones .. there are many professionals that dont even really fuc with condensors at all... a pro engineer i know uses nothin but sm57s.. but of course he running is thru $2k preamps but still u can get a great sound out of a dynamic

 

[Sanova]

i like my MXL 990.

some people hate on it. but when i dont tell people what i got they ask "what studio you go to" so.. yea. Of course it requires some mixing skills to get that quality. but i like it. and how it looks.

 

[bastard_tom]

Cheers for the tips for the dynamics, I may give it a try next time a record.

I recently bought a Behringer C-1 Condenser Mic for £25, I suppose thats in the region of $35-40. Ive been going through alot of stress with it, the vocals just sound too harsh and theres a constant hum/hiss. I tried changing leads and running through both the phantom power on my mixer and a seperate preamp, but still no result. So Im putting it down to the Mic. Im back on my trusty dynamic Mic so Ill try get a good tone with that.

 

[Sanova]

make sure ur using an XLR - XLR cable. not one of those Stereo input cables. AND make sure the cables are completely connected cuz that gives off a bad hum/hiss.

 

[Ash Holmz]

if u want some nice condensors for not that much def check out the marshall mxl line ... i use a mxl 2003 .. very crisp.. nice top end ... im gonna cop a mxl m3 soon... even the super cheap mxl v57m sounds good ... better than the beringer stuff imo... mxl mics are a little bit noiser than say rode or an akg but i dont really notice it esp if you are running it through a decent pre.. i prefer my mxl 2003 to the rode nt1 i had... and i also really dig the v69 and the m3

 

[Sanova]

i run my MXL 990 thru the M Audio Mobile Pre and Get NO additional noise, or ambiance.. And my room doesnt even have insulation so its nice.

 

[The Bastard]

mxl 2001

 

[Sanova]

before ash and bastard... i didnt even know mxl jumped into the thousands. lemme check these out.

 

[Ash Holmz]

i run my MXL 990 thru the M Audio Mobile Pre and Get NO additional noise, or ambiance.. And my room doesnt even have insulation so its nice.

yeah i record in my living room ... no booth or blankets or anything and i get good results... i happen to live in a pretty quiet brownstone with nice ol skool thick walls so it has worked out for me... just gotta remeber to turn my 4000 off .. that thing is noisy as hell

 

[misscc803]

i luv my CAD GXL2200. very nice

 

[samuelock]

i use my mxl 990, like sanova. i work with it so it sounds pretty nice. i'm just crap at recording vocals, though.

 

[Sanova]

Yea, the MXL 990 requires Mixing and EQ skills to sound really good.

but with a good preamp or a mixer it sounds good.

u runnin it thru a pre or mixer, or strait thru ur soundcard... wait.. u cant even do that.. it needs phantom power.

 

[mp3]

I know I sound like a fanboy, but I can't say enough about Studio Electronics Mics. They sound much more expensive than they are. I have an SE3300A.

 

[Formant024]

SE is top notch shit!

Try the AKG Solidtube, check for examples at www.bigmouth.nl under the portfolio. Pretty much all the vocal stuff is the solidtube.

 

[StressWon]

mxl 2001

me too,,,,Truth hooked that up for me.

 

[highlite80]

i have an audio technica AT3035,...i have no complaints...picks up every syllable clearly

 

[The Bastard]

Yea, the MXL 990 requires Mixing and EQ skills to sound really good.

but with a good preamp or a mixer it sounds good.

u runnin it thru a pre or mixer, or strait thru ur soundcard... wait.. u cant even do that.. it needs phantom power.

i know whut u mean , im sure that goes wit every mic tho, it aint gunna matter how nice/expensive the mic is if its hooked up to a shitty mixer.

 

[Authority]

my favorite mic is the Rode Nt1a but I wudnt mind having a Neumann U 87 with one of those Presonus Mic pres that they use in pro studios and ill be koo......lol

 

[The Tone Ranger]

Audio Technica 40/40 is the condenser I use, crystal clear, real sweet. Check the GZA/Muggs album for reference. Love my good ol' SM58 when I want that raw sound on a boom bap type beat. I usually just run both directly through the amps on my 1616m interface. Hell, sometimes I run the Shure right in through my Triton!!!!