New vocal mic considerations.

[Armistice]

You should buy a Rode because if you do, an Australian will benefit. This trumps actual sound quality every time...

[musicturtle]

But it got me thinking, you reckon these cheaper LDCs at this price point could all just be re-badged versions of the same thing?

I have thought this for a while...maybe even made in the same factory haha.

I think there are tiers ...

$100 or less - like the one you have already

$200 - 500 - Good quality mics but have specific color to them

$500 - $750 - Tried and true pro mics used in pro studios, more transparent sound

$750 + Upper tier, start paying for name as well as performance


I would go with a LDC over a dynamic, I think you would have more flexibility with that when you are recording voices other than your own.

As far as recording your own voice, get a good mic and learn it just like you would any other musical instrument. I have found that the higher end mics typically are more transparent. So less about learning the mic and more about becoming a better studio singer. In the end, I don't think any mic will make anybody sound better than they actually are. Like I could plug into your H&K setup and I would not sound as good as you on guitar.

Either way, a high quality mic will not do you wrong in my opinion. Plus a higher end mic can probably be resold, where the others maybe not so much.

[Farview]

I used an sm7 on most of the aggressive vocals I recorded. It is very forgiving with sibalance and P and B popping. It takes to heavy compression well.

Next to most condensers, it will sound a little dull, because it doesn't have the hyped high end that most condenser have. It will tend to give you what you give it, and it works best when you are right up on it.

I'm curious about a mic taking compression well.
Surely the amount you can compress a signal before you start to get weird artifacts depends on its dynamics and transients... so are you saying that a 7b somehow gives you a less dynamic signal?

yes and no. Since the Mic is better about sibalance and P blasts, it takes away some of the things that cause compression artifacts. Also, the proximity effect is less than a lot of mics, so the tone tends to remain more consistant, which also helps.

I'm not suggesting that it is the Mic you need to get, I'm just combating the sm7b and re20 hatred.

[Lt. Bob]

Finding the right vocal mic is tough, from what I'm finding out. I'm not a fan of my own voice, so it's tough to find the right fit. Of the ones that I have, the LDC mics tend to win the fight most of the time, unless I'm going for something specific.

for me the mic that works best that I've tried for live use are EV mics like the N/D 747 and the same mic has been doing best in the studio too because it fits my voice.

However, just like I'm a believer that any decent guitar is as good as any other, I kinda feel the same way about mics.
There have been many good vocals recorded with a simple SM 58 and that's a POS AFAIC so to me it's a matter of using what you have and just learning how to set the EQ to make it sound its best.

[Greg_L]

Just get the SM7b because you want it. Nothing wrong with that. Then in a year get a condenser because even a cheap one is better than an SM7b for vocals.

Than you'll have both!

[paulman]

My vocal mic, which I love, is the Avantone CV-12. Now I have gathered from what you've posted so far that $500 is more than you want to spend, and the new-and-improved modded version (CV-12 BLA) is $699. But I believe that is Avantone's most expensive mic. They have others that cost far less, such as my ribbon mic that cost $200. So I'm not necessarily recommending the CV-12 to you because of the price, but I do recommend that you check out what Avantone has available and see if there's a mic in your price range that would do the trick.

[Ausrock]

In a way I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned Studio Project mics. They were started by PMI Audio "way back", as a collaboration with China's 797 Audio under fairly tight US controlled QC.

I've owned a few of their LDC mics for a long time and with careful consideration of application, I can't fault them, particularly the T3 tube mic. Set up in MS configuration with a SD condenser (eg MXL603) on acoustic gives fantastic results.

As for dynamics, I have a few of both 57's and 58's which are great work horses but my all round favourite is my Sennheiser MD441........an amazing mic on almost anything.

As with all of this it comes down to sound source, environment, signal path and other factors that make it a crap shoot so good luck.

[WhiskeyJack]

I'm not a fan of my own voice, so it's tough to find the right fit.

This right here is gospel and a huge point that should have been stated right out of the gate. I think it safe to assume that most of us aren't fans of our own voice (those of us that can sing are exempt from this) and that alone can really conflict with how we interpret our performances and may lean a bit towards pointing blame to something in our process OTHER than like stating the obvious that we just simply hate the sound of our own voice and that's all it might be.

I remember the first real recording i ever made i HATED my voice and thought i sounded like a total goober goof, so it prompted me to just start hollering everything because it easily masked how i heard my own voice and made it more tolerable.

So, summary.

MXL - £115
SM7b - £377
AT4047 ~£600
Blue Spark - £180
Aston Origin - £190 (this is currently heavily discounted at Andertons)
Rode NT1A - £150
Rode NT2a - £250

Is the only difference between the 1A and 2A all the extra options on the 2A with boosts and hi passes?

Ergh... listening to mic comparisons is pretty horrible isn't it.

IF that were my list i'd be looking at that Aston Origin, or either of the Rode's

[Greg_L]

You guys that hate your own voice need to realize it's just another instrument and you can't really change it. Not many of us currently here make music that is heavily dependent on pristine singing technique, so fuck it. Embrace what you have and just make it sound good in the mix. Famous music from all decades has singers that just aren't that good but it still kicks ass.

[Lt. Bob]

You guys that hate your own voice need to realize it's just another instrument and you can't really change it. Not many of us currently here make music that is heavily dependent on pristine singing technique, so fuck it. Embrace what you have and just make it sound good in the mix. Famous music from all decades has singers that just aren't that good but it still kicks ass.

^^^^^ this ^^^^^^^^

Frank Sinatra ? An icon? Really listen to him sometime ...... he can be pitchy as hell .... but it's his rhythmic phrasing that sells it.

So if you're basically on pitch and the timing is good then it's prolly a lot better to most other people than you think it is.

[paulman]

You guys that hate your own voice need to realize it's just another instrument and you can't really change it.

I disagree. You're right that it is an instrument, and like any other instrument you can get better at it and improve the tone of it. I've been doing that my whole life. I was not a natural singer. I've studied books on singing, I've taken a few lessons (though I didn't stick with that, and that teacher wasn't interested in working on anything outside of my natural baritone), and I've always pushed myself to sing things that were out of my range until my range expanded.

To me, the two most important aspects of singing, including how they affect the tone of your voice, are breathing and confidence. Breathing correctly is the most important physical aspect of singing, I think. Most definitely something that can be learned and practiced. And if you've ever played a wind instrument or practiced martial arts, then you already have a head start on that. Confidence is obviously not something you can learn from a book, but if you can get the physical aspects together enough that you start to believe in yourself, the psychological impact of high confidence on the sound of your voice cannot be overstated.

[Greg_L]

I disagree. You're right that it is an instrument, and like any other instrument you can get better at it and improve the tone of it. I've been doing that my whole life. I was not a natural singer. I've studied books on singing, I've taken a few lessons (though I didn't stick with that, and that teacher wasn't interested in working on anything outside of my natural baritone), and I've always pushed myself to sing things that were out of my range until my range expanded.

To me, the two most important aspects of singing, including how they affect the tone of your voice, are breathing and confidence. Breathing correctly is the most important physical aspect of singing, I think. Most definitely something that can be learned and practiced. And if you've ever played a wind instrument or practiced martial arts, then you already have a head start on that. Confidence is obviously not something you can learn from a book, but if you can get the physical aspects together enough that you start to believe in yourself, the psychological impact of high confidence on the sound of your voice cannot be overstated.

I get you, but I meant it as two different things.

1) It's just another instrument, as in vocals are just part of the mix like a guitar, or bass, or snare drum, etc. For some people the vocals might be the centerpiece, but it is just another sound in a mix that we have to get right and balance against the rest of the mix just like anything else.

2) You can't change it. You can't. What I mean by this is you sound how you sound. You can definitely get better at how you perform your sound, but you'll still sound how you sound. Vocal chords are what they are.

I totally agree that confidence is a big part of it. That's maybe the biggest hurdle and part of just accepting what you sound like. When you just accept yourself, the whole thing gets better.

[JD01]

Having done a quick recording test this afternoon which didn't have any EQ on it but sat in the mix just fine... I'm now not convinced that I need a new vocal mic after all.

[Greg_L]

Having done a quick recording test this afternoon which didn't have any EQ on it but sat in the mix just fine... I'm now not convinced that I need a new vocal mic after all.

If you mean that acoustic cover, you didn't really have much competing with the vocals. I wouldn't make a judgement just off that.

[paulman]

2) You can't change it. You can't. What I mean by this is you sound how you sound. You can definitely get better at how you perform your sound, but you'll still sound how you sound. Vocal chords are what they are.

Ah, but you can. I suppose maybe it's a matter of semantics as to whether you're actually "changing" your voice or just using it differently, but if you're using your voice incorrectly it can be a huge change when you learn how. Making your voice stronger through practice changes the tone. Proper breath support changes the tone. One of the first vocal books I ever got was called The New Voice. It is about how to restructure your voice, whether for singing or speaking. Vocal cords are what they are to a point, but they can get stronger and that changes how they sound.

The reason I preach this is because, as I said, I was not a natural singer. I started getting decent when I was in the Army band, but then when I went in the Navy there were assholes who talked shit about my singing and basically affected everyone's opinion of me until the leadership actually wanted to get rid of me even though singing wasn't my job, guitar was. I've never stopped working on my voice, and now years later those same assholes are saying (behind my back, not to my face) how good I've gotten as they've seen things I've posted on Facebook or seen me play live. I hate for anyone who really wants to sing to think that their voice can't get drastically better if they put in the work using the right knowledge. Not just the use of the voice, but the voice itself. If I did it, anyone can.

[Tadpui]

Having done a quick recording test this afternoon which didn't have any EQ on it but sat in the mix just fine... I'm now not convinced that I need a new vocal mic after all.

Then what are all of us even doing here if we're not trying to convince each other to buy more gear?!?!

Kidding, of course. That's good to hear though. Sometimes just a fresh approach can breathe new life into a piece of gear. Definitely sleep on it though, and don't blow that wad quite yet because tomorrow you might hate your mic again

[JD01]

Yeah. There's plenty of options in the price range and I will get something. I reckon it would be worth my time to get better at using what I have first though.

[JD01]

Having done a quick recording test this afternoon which didn't have any EQ on it but sat in the mix just fine... I'm now not convinced that I need a new vocal mic after all.

If you mean that acoustic cover, you didn't really have much competing with the vocals. I wouldn't make a judgement just off that.

Yeah. Fair point.

[Armistice]

Yeah. There's plenty of options in the price range and I will get something. I reckon it would be worth my time to get better at using what I have first though.

Godamnit, that's heretical thinking, right there, JD!

The answer to any recording issue is always to buy the next level up of whatever piece of gear you need, then discover it doesn't make that much difference, rinse and repeat ad nauseuam until your microphone cabinet is so full you start giving them away to people you don't like much for Xmas presents.

"It'll come in really handy..."

[WhiskeyJack]

Yeah. There's plenty of options in the price range and I will get something. I reckon it would be worth my time to get better at using what I have first though.

Godamnit, that's heretical thinking, right there, JD!

The answer to any recording issue is always to buy the next level up of whatever piece of gear you need, then discover it doesn't make that much difference, rinse and repeat ad nauseuam until your microphone cabinet is so full you start giving them away to people you don't like much for Xmas presents.

"It'll come in really handy..."

If you are giving away mics this Christmas, you have my mailing address.