Suggestion on Mics Needed

M

Music_Man

New Member
I am starting to add male vocals to some of my recordings and wanted to invest between $200-$350 for a mic as a start.

Could someone give me a tip on which mic would be a good one to purchase?

In addition, am I limited only to USB mics or not?

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi there, welcome to the LUG. As this post is not Logic specific, I moved it to Studio Techiques.

Music_Man said:
I am starting to add male vocals to some of my recordings and wanted to invest between $200-$350 for a mic as a start.

Could someone give me a tip on which mic would be a good one to purchase?
Click to expand...

I don't have anything from them myself, so am not speaking from experience, but in that price range, you might want to have a look at what Rode has on offer.

kind regards

Mark
 
Although my question may not seem specific to Logic, I intend to use this mic on Logic Pro 9 and am hoping that someone has tried a mic in my price range and is happy with it. I am looking at Shure PG42USB and Audio-Technica AT2020 USB or similar. I just want to get a decent vocals out of this mic. Thanks in advance.
B
 
I had an AT 2020 and didn't particularly like it. Do you have a mic preamp with phantom power? That will dictate your mic options partially. If you do have access to a mic pre with phantom power, there are lots of budget large diapghram condenser mics available. I like the Studio Projects mics. I have had great success with the B1 on male vocals. I also do have a Rode NT1-A and like it very much. Although it is not as consistent a utility "go to" mic that will work in as many situations as much as the Studio Projects B1 is - at least for me.
 
Studio Projects are definitely worth considering. AKG has the Perception line which might be worth checking out. I've had good luck w/ the 220 recently (on male voice), and its big brother, the 420, can be bought for $299 on zZounds. If you don't have access to a preamp/Phantom Power, they also have a USB condenser in that line (though I've never tried it).
 
For vocals, consider two $100 dollar condenser microphones and a pre-amp if you are just starting to build your equipment list for your studio.

I second the recomendation of the Studio Projects B-1 as a great choice. Also the MXL V67g is another to consider that is very good for the money. The MXL V67g can also be modded later on if you choose to improve it to Neumann comparable status.

If you don't already have one, at some point you will also need an SM-57 dynamic microphone which is also a high quality $100 microphone. Expert audio engineers use it for guitar cabinets over thousand dollar microphones. You can use it on vocals too!

Use the extra money to invest in an ART PRO Channel Strip. It can also be upgraded by replacing the stock tube with a higher quality tube.

For about $280-290 you would get a good quality condenser mic, and a preamp/compressor/EQ unit which can both be modded for improvements later on if you choose. A complete high quality vocal signal chain for less than $300!

Do a diligent search on reviews of these products, and you will find that these products might be the best quality bang for the buck purchases for home recording gear.

Learn to use the gear first! Buy uneeded expensive gear later on when you can afford it if you so choose. Avoid Gear Acquistition Syndrome!!!
 
Take a long look/listen at Gauge Precision Instrument's U87 copy. I have two of them and think they're great - especially for a $150 mic. Their $499 tube mic is just fantastic, one of my favorite go to mics.


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John,

You've got me interested now in this Gauge Precision emulation of the U-87. I'm always looking for a nice large diaphragm Chinese mic. I wonder if it's worth ordering one, with no first hand experience. How do you find it for P-popping on male voice? What about for drum overheads?
 
Eli said:
John,

You've got me interested now in this Gauge Precision emulation of the U-87. I'm always looking for a nice large diaphragm Chinese mic. I wonder if it's worth ordering one, with no first hand experience. How do you find it for P-popping on male voice? What about for drum overheads?
Click to expand...

Eli,

I unfortunately don't have room for a drum kit in my space so I can't illuminate on the overhead usage. I've used the ECM87's (I have two) for Woodwinds (saxes, flutes, clarinets etc) acoustic guitar, brass and female vocals. The vocal response was pleasant with the usual characteristics of that mic type in that it was very present and forward sounding. Popping/plosives seemed no more an issue than usual (and the mic actually ships with a windscreen). I found the ECM47 to be more to my liking for that particular female singer and I haven't done any male vocal sessions with them. I've found the 87 to be very very nice on acoustic guitar.

I will say the comparison audio clips on their site seem to be fairly accurate and representative of the sound of the mics. I'm a saxophone and woodwind player and I really like both mics (87 & 47) a lot for the kinds of things I do.

For the $$ I don't think you can really beat them.
 
If you don't already have a good mic pre and a to d converter I'd suggest looking into the Apogee One. It's a mic,mic pre and USB interface. Plus, you can still plug a real mike into it. There are a ton of good mics out there but it's really hard to pick the right one without first using it. Most of the Chinese stuff, Rode included, are just too bright and tend to add to the sibilance problem. But, if you're more of a hobby guy then this probably won't be as noticeable. I have a crazy OCD thing now about picking the right mic for the right singer which I'm pretty sure you don't have 🙂 From the mics I have that aren't expensive I'd use a shure 57, EV re20, or (one of my favorite but cheap mics) an Oktava 319 that's been modded by Michael Joly. The 319 is just wonderful in that it has a creamy top end without the sibilance problem and it seems to work on many sources besides voice. It's now my go to violin and cello mic as it's not scratchy sounding. Joly does many mods on cheap Chinese mics turning them into really nice prices. I was thinking about
Buying a $60 mxl 990 and having him mod it for like $300. The frequency specs after the mod are very close to a u87. Good luck.


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