stage mic for vocal recording at home

[mischultz]

There's a killer deal on an Audio Technica AT5400 at the musicgoround.com site. That would be my first, first choice. We have one in our stock that I love.

Michael

Originally Posted by bensommerfeld

hi guys,

after some years of recording vocals with different condenser microphones (C1, NT2A, MXL V69, etc..) and handling the troubles of crappy recording rooms i'm in the mood for something "dynamic" again.

My current recording equipment is:

- Rode NT2A
- Studio Projects VTB1
- EMU1212M

This combination works fine - but there are always the "I have to watch out for noise" problems with the NT2A, cause this baby is catching every sound that comes up in the house

Am I right to think that a supercardiodid microphone would be much better for most homerecording-vocalists, because it captures nearly no environment responses of the recording room?

What do you think? Would something like the

- Shure Beta 58A
- Shure Beta 87A
- Neumann KMS105


be a good choice for recording Pop and Rock vocals in the home studio?

[Pohaku]

Those would work fine. The Neumann KMS-105, the AE5400 and the Audix VX-10 are all in the same ballpark as high end performing condensors that are also suitable for recording. Cost wise, you can probably get the best deal on an AE5400. Last I checked (admittedly a couple years ago) you could get one for $300 new. The Audix and Neumann will certainly run you more than that new. E-Bay is a good thing for these. The Audix can be had for @$250-350 on e-bay (I have 4 of them - all from E-Bay). The Neumann will be the most expensive, even on E-Bay.

Other alternatives are a Sennheiser MD441 or a Shure SM7.

Audition a few and see what works for you.

[Matti]

Change your recording habbits, try to exclude the noice sources and get nearer to
the mic or the mic to the sound source and use noice gate or pref. expander for those tracs when mixing.
Matti, tired -don`t be even amused...

[espasonico]

The Beta58A it´s a great mic for doing Pop/Rock vocals, it´s cheap and will pick very little noise.

[Matti]

Or use a multipattern mic and find the sweet spot for your space and
where in the space. Are you recordincg a "live" perf. or performance as such?
Matti

[phelbin]

I recommend the Shure SM7. I use mine on more than half the vocals I do these days. Even compared to my more expensive mics, it often fits the voice better.

[Matti]

It`s all about the performance in the first and last hand, -can I say like this?
(My English mostly sucks or is missing )
Matti

[Pohaku]

Interestingly, in the last couple projects I've been involved with, the SM7 has been the lead vocal mic of choice (male and female), beating out other more expensive mics. BG vocals choice was AEA R-84.

[Matti]

Yea, never tryed it myself, but I`ve heard similiar stories.
Matti

[Matti]

I´ve seen a good female vocalist singing to a Neumann 87? in her hand
through MTV live concert some years ago. Not the optimal situation
for PA guys though. But as a professional she made no handling
noices and used the mic to her advance. ( Proximity and how much etc. )
Matti
She was K.D.Lang , now I remembered.

[bensommerfeld]

Change your recording habbits, try to exclude the noice sources and get nearer to

right now, this is my "recording room":

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3...insche17wk.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6663/kabinsche20xs.jpg

a "dead" vocal cabin, i built to suppress all the noise in my living room (without the cabin you can hear the cars driving by, the freezer from the kitchen which is in the same room, etc).

i thought, with the right stage mic, maybe i could achieve the same or even better results without this "monster" in my living room
all the "specialists" tell me "such a cabin is ok - but your recorded vocals sound more lifeless than they would in a proper room".

to get an impression - here you can listen to some of my tracks (german pop and english rock):

http://www.bensommerfeld.de/demo/nurdemo/
http://home.arcor.de/jaymzfan/MP3/AnyWay.mp3

[Matti]

I edit and sometimes mix in my home with occassional voice-over jobs
Anyway, I made some of these to tame my acoustics, sort if multi purpose.

[Matti]

The idea with these is being able to adjust the height of the element by sliding it
up / down around the stand. Down when mixing or with lazy VO talents but up when standing

[nathanvacha]

I heart big time the sennheiser md421's, and people do nothing but rave about the shure sm7. That i don't have, but it's next on my "mics to purchase" list -- (which of course is not really a list on paper or anything, but a vast portion of my brain's memory devoted entirely to all the sexy, shiny, good sounding crap i will always be trying to buy)

But yeah, either of those two...

[Matti]

Dynamic mics are less sencictive but they are prone to "hear" the same air
movements as others. Use it as fit.
Matti

[WARangelx2]

Originally Posted by phelbin

I recommend the Shure SM7. I use mine on more than half the vocals I do these days. Even compared to my more expensive mics, it often fits the voice better.

how's the sm7 in a live band situation for feedback avoidance and noise rejection?

[Matti]

I would use condercer mics anyway for most.
Matti

[LightningBefore]

sm7 is a cardioid dynamic just like a 57

[bensommerfeld]

I tried out a lot of dynamic mics the last days and finally found my mic (the guys over at Beyerdynamic were so kind and lent me some TG-X and Opus models for testing):

Beyerdynamic TG-X 60


http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TGX60/

this mic has a bass boost that makes my voice sound "thicker" - very pleasing vocal sound for my singing voice. The built quality and overall sound / resolution is very good - I can't find any disadvantage in comparison to my NT2A, yet.

Thanks for all your help and postings!