What microphone should I buy?? Any help please! :)

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

User avatar
Snarl 12/8
cryogenically thawing
Posts: 3510
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:01 pm
Location: Right Cheer
Contact:

Post by Snarl 12/8 » Thu Feb 28, 2013 1:37 pm

My vote is for an SM58 and $400 of room treatment. Absorption and/or iso. But for some reason I'm always pimping room treatment on TOMB.

my first thought was the "Hustle and Flow" microphone though. It's a Shure condensor, right?

Image
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

GooberNumber9
tinnitus
Posts: 1094
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:52 am
Location: Washington, DC

Post by GooberNumber9 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 9:19 am

Snarl 12/8 wrote:But for some reason I'm always pimping room treatment on TOMB.
Which I think is wise of you. Treatment makes a big difference for otherwise poor rooms, and rooms are underrated in terms of their effect on the final sound. I think it's a hard sell because treatment has one of the worst sexiness to cost ratios of any audio equipment. Someone should start calling it "vintage analog 100% all-tube hand-wired specular reflection eliminators" and maybe it would sell better. :)

User avatar
Snarl 12/8
cryogenically thawing
Posts: 3510
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:01 pm
Location: Right Cheer
Contact:

Post by Snarl 12/8 » Fri Mar 01, 2013 4:38 pm

GooberNumber9 wrote:I think it's a hard sell because treatment has one of the worst sexiness to cost ratios of any audio equipment.
I dunno about that. I mean, I think you're right when it comes to people that haven't tried any room treatment, but for me, I find a great sounding room very inspiring. And having takes ruined by outside noises is a real buzz-kill. I guess I'm crazy, but I find sound absorbers, diffusers and clean, high headroom amps very exciting.
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

User avatar
T-rex
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2142
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2004 5:44 am
Location: Louisville KY

Post by T-rex » Sun Mar 03, 2013 12:39 pm

ott0bot wrote:
Marc Alan Goodman wrote:
Nick Sevilla wrote:
Bro Shark wrote:Get the SM58. It's the good stuff.
This.
These guys are right, I withdraw my earlier suggestions.
I knew this day would come. Oh, the horror.
Just when I thought Tad Donley was gone, wow.
[Asked whether his shades are prescription or just to look cool]
Guy: Well, I am the drummer.

Jim Williams
tinnitus
Posts: 1135
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:19 am
Location: beautiful Carlsbad, CA
Contact:

Post by Jim Williams » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:27 am

I've found broken mics work best for hip hop.
Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Apokalypse
audio school
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:25 pm
Location: Austin, TX
Contact:

Post by Apokalypse » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:38 pm

Alot of replies thanks!

Probably my best bet is the Shure SM7b. I had a mic that is supposedly better than the SM58, the SM58 looks like a mediocre stage mic, and the SM7B looks like a broadcast mic, but the SM7B has good potential and i like it from what ive seen.

Before i had a pretty good mic, and a sound proof room under a house with padding and stone wall the whol lot! there was no sound down there, and a proffesional XLR cable going to a preamp (i dont know its what the djs have in between the two vinyls, thats what i had). and then that ran to another room where there was noise and my computer and still there was that shshssshss background noise and the recording just needed that crisp clean nice sound quality, and i did try good pronunciation and everything but it seemed to be i didnt have a professional condenser mic or something. Thats why i was interested in a hyper cardiod mic so i could isolate the vocals and leave out any background noise.

I?ll look into everything everyone had to say, study a bit more, get some good noise isolation foam stuff, prepare everything, get a good preamp or outboard compressor, and see if my studies and asking around leads to some good recording quality!

What do you guys think?

Thanks everyone really :) TapeOp is a good online community for musical knowledge :)
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. ~ Thomas Jefferson

dfuruta
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:01 am

Post by dfuruta » Wed Mar 06, 2013 5:42 am

I?ll look into everything everyone had to say, study a bit more, get some good noise isolation foam stuff, prepare everything, get a good preamp or outboard compressor, and see if my studies and asking around leads to some good recording quality!
Sounds like the right plan!

User avatar
Marc Alan Goodman
george martin
Posts: 1399
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2003 7:57 pm
Location: NYC
Contact:

Post by Marc Alan Goodman » Wed Mar 06, 2013 6:47 pm

Apokalypse wrote:Thanks everyone really :) TapeOp is a good online community for musical knowledge :)
You're extremely welcome. Let us know how it turns out!

jhharvest
steve albini likes it
Posts: 375
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 10:58 pm
Location: Seoul

Post by jhharvest » Wed Mar 06, 2013 8:42 pm

Apokalypse wrote:and a proffesional XLR cable going to a preamp (i dont know its what the djs have in between the two vinyls, thats what i had).
Wait... You don't mean a RIAA preamp by any chance, do you? Something like this? Are you sure you've connected it up right?

And you are right: the SM58 is a mediocre stage mic. But it work pretty well for a lot of stuff. At any rate if you buy the SM7b you should make sure you have a preamp with lots of clean gain. Otherwise you'll have a lot more of that hiss...

User avatar
Snarl 12/8
cryogenically thawing
Posts: 3510
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:01 pm
Location: Right Cheer
Contact:

Post by Snarl 12/8 » Thu Mar 07, 2013 2:27 am

Apokalypse wrote:get some good noise isolation foam stuff
Just to clarify (I can't remember, but maybe I brought up sound treatment) foam is for controlling the way the room sounds on the inside. It tames reflections, essentially. The thicker (and denser) the foam, the lower the frequency it will stop from bouncing. The "foam" will do almost nothing to stop sounds getting in and out. It might sound like less outside noise because it won't bounce around as much inside the room, but it'll still be there.

The only things that stop sound from getting in or out is mass (weighty material, aka layers of sheetrock), careful design and hermetic sealing. It's too detailed a topic (and I'm not enough of an expert) to sort this out for you here. Get the Rod Gervais book "Build It Like the Pros" or something for all the details of what you gotta do to get actual sound isolation.

Finally, by "foam" I don't mean foam in any sense of the word. I don't know of any foam that does more than look cool. You need Ultratouch, OC703 or Mineral Wool. My favorite is Mineral Wool. It feels densest to me and it's almost completely "itch free" to work with. Not as soft as Ultratouch, but nothing like fiberglass. YMWV.
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

Apokalypse
audio school
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:25 pm
Location: Austin, TX
Contact:

Post by Apokalypse » Sat Mar 23, 2013 2:09 pm

Wait... You don't mean a RIAA preamp by any chance, do you? Something like this? Are you sure you've connected it up right?
yeah, its was a RIAA preamp like that one. I had the XLR cable from the mic to the preamp. and then an red/white audio cable to the computer. is that right?
You need Ultratouch, OC703 or Mineral Wool. My favorite is Mineral Wool. It feels densest to me and it's almost completely "itch free" to work with. Not as soft as Ultratouch, but nothing like fiberglass. YMWV.
sounds like the way to go is with mineral wool! thanks! plus i work in a construction company so i can definitely get my hands on some sheet rock. maybe make myself a little bunker for the mic, and then the mineral wool inside, to get that real clean sound.

Thanks Everyone :)
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. ~ Thomas Jefferson

aamicrophones
ass engineer
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:45 pm
Location: Summerland
Contact:

Re: What microphone should I buy?? Any help please! :)

Post by aamicrophones » Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:54 am

Hello, folks have been getting great results on hip hop and rap vocals with our CM47fet microphone.

It has been used recently to record Jennifer Hudson and some other rap artists. It works well in project studio(bedroom) situations where you have to get in close to keep out environmental noises. We reduce the output level of the CM47fet so that it won't overload economy preamps on loud vocals. The CM47fet is brighter than a SM58 or SM7 which is a great vocal microphone but always needs some EQ.

The SM7 was used to record Michael Jackson and Anthony from the Kings of Leon.
I have a more economical version of this with our large diaphragm super cardiod dynamic which is our DM20 at $229.

If you require something even brighter (which is always less forgiving with less experienced vocalists) then our CM87 is a great choice.

Our CM12 tube microphone which sells for $695 was recently used to record Elvis Costello and The Root for their latest CD to be released soon.

Producer Steve Mandel couldn't say enough about the CM12 and told me he is crediting it on the Elvis/Roots CD.

Cheers, Dave Thomas

www.aamicrophones.com

Apokalypse wrote:Hey! :lol:

I need info on what microphone to buy because i have no idea !! And i havent found a specific answer on the message board.

I compose my own music mostly hip hop and house and such. I would be recording in my room, for rap and some singing later to be touched up through melodyne.

I can pretty much spend up to 500$ and if its really worth it even 1,000$. I want that really crisp clear sounding recording, no background noise at all just a nice clean vocal recording, where all the pronunciation is very clear.

All in all a professional microphone for recording vocals and getting a really clean crisp recording!

And im guessing the best for recording in the software domain is pro tools and adobe audition?

Thanks everybody! :wink:
PROFESSIONAL MICROPHONES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES

aamicrophones
ass engineer
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:45 pm
Location: Summerland
Contact:

Re: What microphone should I buy?? Any help please! :)

Post by aamicrophones » Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:55 am

Hello, folks have been getting great results on hip hop and rap vocals with our CM47fet microphone.

It has been used recently to record Jennifer Hudson and some other rap artists. It works well in project studio(bedroom) situations where you have to get in close to keep out environmental noises. We reduce the output level of the CM47fet so that it won't overload economy preamps on loud vocals. The CM47fet is brighter than a SM58 or SM7 which is a great vocal microphone but always needs some EQ.

The SM7 was used to record Michael Jackson and Anthony from the Kings of Leon.
I have a more economical version of this with our large diaphragm super cardiod dynamic which is our DM20 at $229.

If you require something even brighter (which is always less forgiving with less experienced vocalists) then our CM87 is a great choice.

Our CM12 tube microphone which sells for $695 was recently used to record Elvis Costello and The Root for their latest CD to be released soon.

Producer Steve Mandel couldn't say enough about the CM12 and told me he is crediting it on the Elvis/Roots CD.

Cheers, Dave Thomas

www.aamicrophones.com

Apokalypse wrote:Hey! :lol:

I need info on what microphone to buy because i have no idea !! And i havent found a specific answer on the message board.

I compose my own music mostly hip hop and house and such. I would be recording in my room, for rap and some singing later to be touched up through melodyne.

I can pretty much spend up to 500$ and if its really worth it even 1,000$. I want that really crisp clear sounding recording, no background noise at all just a nice clean vocal recording, where all the pronunciation is very clear.

All in all a professional microphone for recording vocals and getting a really clean crisp recording!

And im guessing the best for recording in the software domain is pro tools and adobe audition?

Thanks everybody! :wink:
PROFESSIONAL MICROPHONES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES

dfuruta
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 11:01 am

Post by dfuruta » Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:11 pm

While I'm sure the Advanced audio mics are great (and I mean that with all sincerity), your post is pushing it a little hard...

aamicrophones
ass engineer
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:45 pm
Location: Summerland
Contact:

AAmicrophones

Post by aamicrophones » Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:33 pm

dfuruta wrote:While I'm sure the Advanced audio mics are great (and I mean that with all sincerity), your post is pushing it a little hard...
My apologies for that!!! After, I posted it I thought..."I am not answering an e-mail inquiry but posting on a Forum". I answer so many e-mail inquiries about our microphones that I get caught up in that kind of syntax but just realized that I need to stay more impartial when answering forum posts.

I just got really excited as we just got this review from Lynn at 3d Audio.

http://www.prosoundnetwork.com/article/ ... hone/16114

Cheers, Dave
www.aamicrophones.com
PROFESSIONAL MICROPHONES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 46 guests