Microphone Suggestions

[ferryca]

Hello,
For me the best mics are the ones by Electro-Voice Many professionals use them, including James Hetfield from Metallica, hehe.
Good luck!

 

[sherriff rosco]

Hello,
Many professionals ( are sponsered by ), including James Hetfield from Metallica, hehe.
Good luck!

.p.

 

[ferryca]

.p.

Ahhh, I didn't mean that, the gear used by professionals can always be by their sponsors, but that does not exclude the ones who use it because they've tried many and have found the quality sound; my friends were huge fans of EV but now they've switched to Shure, which is another recommendation

 

[sherriff rosco]

Have you actually read this thread from the beginning?

.p.

 

[ferryca]

Yes, I have.

 

[pusz4frog]

Shure SM58

What about a Shure SM58? They do just about anything.

And they can really take a beating!!! Definitely the best working mic on the market!

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

AKG C 414 - £480 (with the only caveat that they can be a tad "bright" on certain voices, this will depend on your singer(s) and the style of music).

I have one of these but I'm not sure I rate it, I would have rather had one of those scaled down one pattern U87s (about £600 I think).

Mind you it's probably shitty preamps that are to blame.

 

[kyser_soze]

One you can use in sex acts on stage.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

And they can really take a beating!!! Definitely the best working mic on the market!

They're built like tanks, yeah, but from an audio quality point of view they're average at best.

I have one of these but I'm not sure I rate it, I would have rather had one of those scaled down one pattern U87s (about £600 I think).

Mind you it's probably shitty preamps that are to blame.

It all depends on what you're putting though it I guess. There's no one mic out there that suits everything, it's why you should try several different options before making any decisions...

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I still use the 414 for a lot of stuff. It's the most expensive mic I own.

Unless Sennheiser MKH416P48's cost more. I had to look that up, it's just a 416 isn't it.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

One you can use in sex acts on stage.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw_whFIsnw8

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lVVpAR9_Tgc

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

WTF?

It's not on a shock mount.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

WTF?

It's not on a shock mount.

I know! Terrible

 

[matt m]

I've got two C414Bs. One is the XLR; one is the Mark II. I find them to be very transparent, very neutral mics. (It's often said of them that they are very unforgiving mics for that very reason.) That said, the Mark II is more responsive to top end and sounds brighter. I prefer the XLR though, probably because I like warmer sounds.

I've never used either through a pre-amp, only phantom power. Mainly because I like their neutrality – the fact that what you hear is what you get – and I think a pre-amp would compromise that.

Recently I've been getting into ribbon mics though, and finding that even the C414BXLR, which I previously thought was lovely and fat, sounds a bit thin in comparison.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I've never used either through a pre-amp

Errrrrrrrr.


I think I know what you mean (you just plugged it into a desk, yes?), but take it from me - if you didn't use a preamp then you wouldn't have got a great deal of noise out of it

A preamp is a preamp, be it inside a desk or a rackmount unit...

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Recently I've been getting into ribbon mics though, and finding that even the C414BXLR, which I previously thought was lovely and fat, sounds a bit thin in comparison.

The only ribbon I have is a coles lip mic. I keep meaning to use it for something on a drum kit or guitars but I expect it will just be shit. I took it out to do an in the field voice recording a few weeks ago and it was really really shit, shitter than it should have been so it might be broken.

I ended up using my Olyimpus LS10 and it's built in mics. I just shoved it in front of the guys face and recorded. The results were pretty good and I matched them to a previous session on a U87 in a sound booth without any problems at all. £1500 mic in a studio and a £250 recorder round someones house. Interesting.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

The only ribbon I have is a coles lip mic. I keep meaning to use it for something on a drum kit or guitars but I expect it will just be shit. I took it out to do an in the field voice recording a few weeks ago and it was really really shit, shitter than it should have been so it might be broken.

Ribbons are incredibly fragile things, so there's a good chance it's knackered.

 

[matt m]

Errrrrrrrr.


I think I know what you mean (you just plugged it into a desk, yes?), but take it from me - if you didn't use a preamp then you wouldn't have got a great deal of noise out of it

A preamp is a preamp, be it inside a desk or a rackmount unit...

Yeah, you're right, I forgot that my firewire interface is a preamp – I'm putting my C414Bs through an M-Audio Firewire, which supplies phantom power and has built-in preamps. They sound fine through those. I've heard some bad things about M-Audio kit, but the built-in preamps seem to do the job a lot better than other budget outboard preamps. Transparent sound; no hiss.

On the other hand, when I use the Coles 4038s (which is now on everything I record at home) they go through a DAV BG1 preamp. When I've tried putting a Coles through the M-Audio it simply hasn't been loud enough. Ribbon mics do seem to be super-quiet. If the ribbon that Mr Suplex was using isn't broken, but wasn't getting a lot of clean gain from a pre, then that might explain why it sounded shit.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Ribbon mics do seem to be super-quiet

They are, it's inherent in the design. You can get preamps specifically designed for ribbons that have the large amounts of (clean) gain required for them.

 

[miniGMgoit]

Bees, in my drunken state and what with you being over there and me being over here I just want to give you a big gay hug. ((SQUEEZE))

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Errrr, thanks

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

On the other hand, when I use the Coles 4038s (which is now on everything I record at home) they go through a DAV BG1 preamp. When I've tried putting a Coles through the M-Audio it simply hasn't been loud enough. Ribbon mics do seem to be super-quiet. If the ribbon that Mr Suplex was using isn't broken, but wasn't getting a lot of clean gain from a pre, then that might explain why it sounded shit.

I think that might be it, I was getting a pretty 'unclean' gain and the level was shit. It's always been fine in the studio though and has been used for top notch voice overs. I don't think the coles lip mics break as easily as other ribbons, they are made to be nocked around by idiot horse racing commentators.

I used a ribbon on a guitar once and it was ok but it was such an odd guitar that it's hard to tell where the difference in sound came from.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I have this retro rocket crystal mic which I use live.




Pain in the arse to use for recording though. I think I really need a nice mic pre amp

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I think I really need a nice mic pre amp

Focusrite ISA One

For less than 500 quid they're an absolute bargain.

 

[tendril]

Beta 58 is the vocal version of the SM 58. Better for singing and a good all round mic.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Focusrite ISA One

For less than 500 quid they're an absolute bargain.

Less that £500 for a focusrite pre amp. Wow, that is good.
Sadly there is no way I can justify that now that I am out of work.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Beta 58 is the vocal version of the SM 58. Better for singing and a good all round mic.

Since when wasn't the SM58 a vocal mic?

A 58 is one mic I don't have (not that I have loads), it's like a stratocaster, it does the job but it just bores me a little.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Beta 58 is the vocal version of the SM 58.

Errrr, no. It's an SM58 with a hypercardiod pickup pattern (as opposed to cardioid) and a slightly different frequency response.

They're the "default" live vocal mic, mainly because they tend to sound OK on a wide range of voices even on shite PAs. There are lots of better mics for vocals out there though, they just don't tend to cover as many different styles as a '58 can.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Less that £500 for a focusrite pre amp. Wow, that is good.
Sadly there is no way I can justify that now that I am out of work.

It's a DI as well (that can be used at the same time as the preamp) so you get 2 items in one, so really it only costs half as much

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

It's a DI as well (that can be used at the same time as the preamp) so you get 2 items in one, so really it only costs half as much

As you can imagine, I don't buy that.