Jul 02, 2010 04:04 am Your Royalty,
there is a vocal mic test with the most common 14 mics (condenser mics included) in the latest sound on sound, i recommend to read.
otherwise i would suggest my personal choice:
AT 2020
Neumann TLM 103
AKG C12
Which condenser mic?
Posted on Jul 02, 2010 03:10 am
Royalty814
Member Since: Jan 03, 2009
I'm going to be recording male voices and acoustic instruments.
AKG C2000B
Rode NT2-A
Roland DR-80C
AKG C 3000 B
M-Audio Solaris
CAD M9
AT4040
Oktava MK319
RODE NT1000
Studio Projects C1
[ Back to Top ]
Jul 02, 2010 04:04 am Your Royalty,
there is a vocal mic test with the most common 14 mics (condenser mics included) in the latest sound on sound, i recommend to read.
otherwise i would suggest my personal choice:
AT 2020
Neumann TLM 103
AKG C12
Jul 02, 2010 04:39 am where can I find that write up of 14 mics?
Also, heres what ive found about your suggestions.
The AKG C12 is too expensive :P The TLM 103 has no pads which I would prefer.
Also was wondering why you would prefer the 2020 over at the 4040?
Ive kind of narrowed it down to the AT4040, AKG c3000b, and
and the Studio Project C1. Ive also heard good things about the Rode NT-1A.
Jul 02, 2010 08:14 am its the july edition of "sound on sound" recording magazine.
the test is how to choose the best mic for vocals.
the at2020 is one of the best mics in the test by reasonable frequency response and neglible presence peaks.
the test says to check the voice and style of the singer and fit the microphone to that. in the case of soul the at2020 performed even better than a neumann u47, for a male rap singer they went for a dynamic ev re20
the pads are good if you use the room ambient in the recording, therefore i would place a second mic, so later in the mix you can adjust how much room you need. the tlm 103 is very unsensitive for sound coming from the back. i like the one i have very much for solo instruments and voices, its so clear and sensitive i can hear my lips moving when to close ;-)
in any case i suggest to go for a large diaphragm
which style and sound do you want to capture?
Jul 02, 2010 08:16 am I'll give a thumbs up to the Rode stuff you've listed. I think AT make great workhorse products as well (own a 4050 + 4033), but haven't listened the the 4040.
Wouldn't rave about the C3000/2000's...
Anyway, $.02.
Jul 02, 2010 10:15 am Far more times than not, I'm using a dynamic for vocals (SM7b, RE20, 421, etc.).
For instruments and more "instrumental" vocals, I break out the LDC's. The Solaris for example -- A hidden gem that too few know about. Granted - It says "M-Audio" on it, so I see why people might skip over it. I have two very early units that "are not for sale" if you know what I mean. That said, I wouldn't put an aggressive vocalist in front of them (period).
But this is really a case where you need to do some listening work...
Jul 04, 2010 06:57 am SM7b is a great male rock, rap vocal choice very nice and one of my go to's. AT4040 and 4033 are good all around mic's that "bring out the truth" as some say , they tend to pick up the flaws if you're not careful. I'm a fan of blue mics as well , I have the bluebird ( nice on some female vocals ) and the baby bottle a good male vocal mic. I find that between the 2 blue mics and the shure i can find one that works for the singer . Your best bet is (if you can) see if you can demo a few and find the one that fits. Oh when i started out i got an MXL V67G (don't laugh) and it was great for 100$ and many singers loved it . I'm not a huge Rode fan (we all have our likes and dislikes) as well as some Neumann . Soetimes a few 100$ dynamic will work better than a 2 grand mic .
Jul 05, 2010 11:51 pm I just picked up a Neumann TLM 103 today and have yet to test it out. I expect it to be a notch above the AKG C3000B I currently use most of the time. Hell, just the shock mount was $250 so I'll be pretty disappointed if I don't notice a significant improvement. Next up on the list is a preamp to replace my Presonus TubePre. I'm thinking the Avalon VT-737 SP should be a good choice. I'll probably be picking it up this week. I was looking also at the 610 from Universal Audio but I think I'm leaning toward the Avalon. After that I'm looking at an Apogee Rosetta 200 ADC to replace my Echo Mia MIDI soundcard. I'm thinking this signal chain should give me some decent results for hip hop vocals.
Jul 06, 2010 12:46 am Can't beat the Sony C800GPAC if you've got 10,000$ to blow!!
Jul 06, 2010 11:28 am @ Cavvy -- You aren't even going to notice the mic until you get rid of the preamp. Any mic is only as good as the preamp driving the signal. I'd look into the P-Solo or m101 over the 737 (just a personal preference).
@ Keith -- The C800 really isn't all that special IME... Sure, it's expensive and it has its own air conditioner...
That said, it does make a nice vocal mic (as the response is much more like a dynamic - although I'd rather save the extra $9500 and just get a SM7b).
Jul 07, 2010 11:43 am I agree Massive. I just like to throw that mic around sometimes.
A buddy of mine used to have one, and it sounded OK, but for 10G's, I'd just assume get a musicians friend microphone. Honestly, it presented nothing more than my MXL 990. And for the price, that's saying alot.
Jul 07, 2010 02:40 pm @ Keith I also have an MXL 990, although I've only used it twice and it's been sitting around (in its case with active silica gel packets) for years now. I was talking with a guy on another forum about it and he suggested getting it modified and gave me a link for a site that you can go to for that.
www.oktavamodshop.com/pro...q6359a9q75gk264
I guess when all is said and done it's supposed to sound somewhat similar to a Neumann KM 84 SDC. I'm curious about giving it a try, but I have other priorities right now and that'll probably come later on down the road.
Jul 08, 2010 07:12 am i upgraded pre's a year ago and that made a significant improvment . I've used the UA stuff and like it but i was trying to find a more nutral pre with a lot of gain and headroom. The P-solo fit the bill , it was a toss up between that and the grace 101m .I know this is off the topic a little but the pre's in the M-audio profire are not too shabby either . I'd also avoid most pre's with tubes until you get up into the 1000$ area (there are a few that are nice) i like the Electro Harmoix (200) pre , great on accustic . My out look now is don't skimp on the pre , get the best monitors you can , have a decent interface and try to have the least amount of gear in the signal chain, oh and get good cables (and check em every so often)
Jul 08, 2010 03:46 pm I own a TubePre from Presonus, but I just use the pre's in my Korg D1600 mkII. I just seemed to get a cleaner sound from those than the TubePre. Neither of them really give me the sound I want though. It looks like I'll be heading over to Guitar Center this evening to buy an Avalon M5. I think the M5 powering the Neumann TLM 103 I just got should give me the sound I'm looking (or listening) for. Then once I spend a bit more money that I don't really have on the Apogee Rosetta 200 and the X-Symphony firewire interface to hook it up to the computer, I should be hearing a significantly improved sound as compared to my previous AKG C3000B to Korg D1600 mkII preamp to Echo Mia MIDI soundcard chain.
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.