WHAT IS THE BEST CHEAP MIC TO USE IN AN UNTREATED ROOM?

[Agzilla]

Used to just use an old SM58 to record with headphones for artist and producer..

The results have been good, but all these threads on mics, people's opinions on this site got me thinking, so i bought another mic.. Audio Technica...

Long story short, it may be a crappy mic in the scheme of such things but the sound is much more detailed and clear than the colored SM58...BUT!

I can hear all kinds of shit in there now, room noise, computer whirring, all sorts of detail.. too much detail!

So... short of building something for a vocal booth, is there a perhaps directional mic that is good for this use, with enough quality and detail in it's recording?

OPinions, experiences welcome....most welcome..

This aint about what mic is better than which, just what will work in this case..

Oh..for vocals by the way....




Thanx.

Zz.

[NesNeedsGear]

ev re20, sm7, sm57, and some other great dynamics out there.

just need a decent preamp (RNP, Chameleon Labs, and similar range) to get a good track.

good luck.

[Ibvee]

Before buying another microphone, you might want to try some things out with your new mic first.

The rumble of the room will probably much less noticable when the voice get mixed in the track.

The microphone is probably a cardiod, that means that it has a dead point on the back, try to aim the back to the noiciest side of the room (computer and such).

If the computer is very noisy, build some kind of small panel with some foam on one side, and put that between the computer and the mic.

Try to make no noice at all yourself (you probably allready did that)

Give more details about the situation you record in. There are a lot of tricks known here on GS, for recording in such environments.

[hopeless_opus]

With a good preamp the SM58 can excel for a lot of vocals, it's definately not a crappy mic. What preamp are you using with it?

The Heil mics look interesting and supposedly give more of a condensor like high end response, but will still give you the directionality and lower response of a dynamic. I'll second the SM7 and RE-20 as well. But again none of these will sound great without a soild preamp with lot's of gain. It might be wiser for you to invest in a better preamp rather than another mic at this point. (if you don't have one already)

Although that SE Reflexion Filter thingy might do the trick for you with the AT...

[Acoustic Cloud]

CAD m179 is real good at removing the room.Continuously Variable multi pattern.
Plus its a very flat honest but beefy mic.
Other than that, sm7. But the SM7 needs alot of juice.

[BeepBeep]

The sm7 really changed my recording, it's a great sounding mic. I made the same mistake, I picked up a AT4040. It's great mic but far too sensitive for my noisy untreated room. So for now I'm sticking with dynamic mics and no more condensers until I get some better room treatments. Someone else said it, but good a mic pre will do wonders for an sm58 or an sm7 for that matter.

The exception is the AT3035 which still sounds good, but picks up less of the room noise.

[petsematary]

CAD E100 is hypercardio, right? Should work for this purpose.

[Acoustic Cloud]

I STILL STAND BY MY ORIGINAL OPINION!! GET IT!! GET IT NOW NOW NOW!!!!








now...

[matt thomas]

I would sort out the issues in your room before geting another mic

then I would make sure I had a really good preamp for your dynamic mic(s)

then I would look at another mic

narco

[popmann]

Sm7b. Vocals. Done. You can thank me later.

Depending on how BIG the room is...something with a Fig8 for amps. Nulls out the crap immediately around the mic. If you're looking dual purpose, the Sm7 will work OK here, too--but, probably not better than the 58.

I've never found a real issue with acoustic guitar in an untreated space-it's a relatively quiet instrument...maybe if it's small, it might be an issue. If it's bigger, again...fig8 LDC...or a SDC...if it's really bad, a hyper cardiod ribbon like the Beyer M160 might be the call.

[Agzilla]

Thanks for all your help so far folks...

I think i need to build some kinda vocal booth to use the more sensitive mics in my room.... i'm not much of an engineer so i don't know all the technical terms..

I guess with the computer noise issues it requires a 'directional?' mic.. like the 58 or SM7.. is there a big difference between the sure mics? I kinda found the old SM58 colored and figured it's really a stage mic.. so wanted more clarity/quality...

So it seems your opinion summed up is this:

Treat the room to lower computer noise...

Build a vocal booth with wood and foam and rock wool or whatever...

Buy a better quality directional mic..ie. Shure SM7? If you know others please tell me beyond just a serial or model number, i'm not as familiar as some of you guys...

Lastly, but maybe most important a mic pre amp? What's the deal with these? I don't have one at all yet... Just to be honest with ya'll..

I have been running my SM58 through my vestax DJ mixer into my RME PCI card analogue in... and getting nice results, or nice enough for the time being and doing good demo's and rough versions...

The AT404 mic was used without a pre amp too, it gets it's power from an old Soundcraft Notepad and runs through that into my RME 9652 (i think)

The room is a big loft space...i got a fourseater couch and loads of shelves of records and overall the sound in the room itself is kinda nice and dead until super mic starts listening....

So i'll search the forums here and re-read the 'build your vocal booth' threads...

Also i'll search Mic-Pre's..... BUT..

If anyone want's to tell me really inexpensive (and i mean it) Pre's to try, i'd really apprecate it... I wanna buy a cheap one to experiment and understand, then i'll upgrade to what i really need..once i've had a lil experience..

Thanks to everyone..

Peace..

Zz.

[matt thomas]

is there a big difference between the sure mics? I kinda found the old SM58 colored and figured it's really a stage mic.. so wanted more clarity/quality...

the shure 57 and 58 are simlar in quality and type of sound

Buy a better quality directional mic..ie. Shure SM7?

the sm7 is not more directional, I find mine less directional, the benefit of the sm7 over the 57 is it a higher quality sound, typically I would decscribe it as a "bigger" sound, it is a mic often used by radio dj's to get that larger than life radio sound

and it should be noted that th sm7 particularly requires a good pre, because it requires more gain

If you know others please tell me beyond just a serial or model number, i'm not as familiar as some of you guys...

fair enough, I have tried to write this responce taking that into acount

Lastly, but maybe most important a mic pre amp? What's the deal with these? I don't have one at all yet... Just to be honest with ya'll..

Your vestax dj mixer will have a mic preamp built in, (most) microphones require a mic preamp to bring the level of the signal up to "line level" which is what you would record to your RME.

Most mixing desks have mic pres built into each channel, the quality of which is usually related to the price of the mixer. Note that a good mic pre may cost in the realm of a thousand dollars for one channel, therefore a mixer with 16 channels should cost much more than $16,000 if it were of similar quality to these stand alone pres. this is the reason most bedroom users get one or two seperate pres.

The mic pre in your vestax will be relatively cheaply made, in a similar way to a cheap hifi versus an expensive one.

Dynamic mics (such as the sm 57,58 and 7) benefit hugely from a higher quality mic pre, more so than condenser mics. An sm57 will sound like a cheap mic when run through a cheap pre, however coupled with a great pre it will turn into a very usable microphone in a professional studio

If anyone want's to tell me really inexpensive (and i mean it) Pre's to try, i'd really apprecate it...

there are a few options mentioned here in gearslutz, a common mention is the RNP (really nice pre), or a there is one made by Rane that is REALLY cheap considering some of the posts I have read on it here. I haven't tried either of these myself.


RNP http://www.fmraudio.com/RNP8380.htm (about $450)
http://www.rane.com/ms1b.html (about $150)

I have found the onyx range of products from mackie have good pres (for the money) in them http://www.mackie.com


narco

[Rogervandeberg]

Ever thought about a se refelexion filter...............that unit shines in untreated rooms.

[toolskid]

agzi

call me man!

numbers on my website

[studio825]

The one thing everyone,did not mention.Noise gate if you set up noise gate on the mic you will only pick up what is directly sang or spoke into the mic.The only thing is you cant skimp on the gate it must be a good one.

[Labs]

For a condenserish sound, directionality and non overwhelming detail or output, I would go for an MD441.

Its an excellent mic - and you are my friend.

Get one used.

Gustav

[DeeDrive]

Don't be the typical newbie guy who wants all the toys and refuses to treat his room.

Treat your room. It's the best thing you can do for your recordings. Recorded tracks will sound better, you'll make better mixes, etc. And it will probably cost less than trying to find a mic to work it your bad sounding room. Do a search on acoustic treatment, you'll find plenty of info on treating your room for cheap.