need advice on buying a studio mic...

[madmaxxb]

I am looking to buy a decent tudio mic that won't cost the earth....



My home set-up is a Pro Tool's Le 5.3.1 with Digi 001.



I bought a crappy cheap mic for testing purposes, but I need something that will give me a decent sound..



I have read a few of the posts here and noticed that a lot of you guys are sound engineers, or run your own studios, so i am hoping you might be able to give me some feedback. I spend a lot of time on the Digidesign forums, but most of those guys run high end gear, and the mic they talk about ie. Neumann run into the thousands of USD $$$$$...



Looking around Tom Lee music here in Hong Kong, I get the feeling most of those guys are more interested in selling me something.... anything.. more than helping me decide on whats best... or good value...



I really am only looking for a vocal mic (male)...



Hope you guys can give me some suggestions...



ROCK ON

[Yj2]

Hi maddmaxxb,



since 1995 I work with these two mics:



AKG C414 B-TL II & AKG C414 B-ULS



I don't know the price in your currency. But it must be something between $900 and $1000.

Just take a look at this:



www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/iw_smb_suche.html?SUBJECT=KOMFORTSUCHE&iwid=2&SUCHBEGRIFF=AKG+C414&x=11&y=15

Sebastian

[MIKE BURN]

YJ2 made a good suggestion.



The AKG C-414, available in some variants, is one of the most flexible studio mic's you will achieve good results with. Not only for recording vocals, for instruments also.



However, the price range is around $ 1,000.



I heard many people saying good things about the Rode NT 1 in it's class, which is available for around $ 200.



I may remind you also for a thought about a dedicated pre-amplifier for your main studio mic. In general you will achieve far better results with a mic-pre-amp-mixer/ProTools combination, instead of wasting quality by amplifiying your mic with a 'normal' built-in mixer-pre-amp.



Also the microphone-cable does a lot for better gain, brilliance and less noise. A good cable (i.e. Monster) can cost $ 200 for 5 meters.

MIKE

[dond123]

I'm one that swears by Neuman studio tube amps. Yes, they are expensive, but, a tube Neuman has been my vocal booth primary mic since 1978, and, it sounds as good today, as the day I bought it new. It costs a lot, but, worth every cent.



That said, what are you using to feed your computer? Can you process sound ahead of the computer? Do you have a mixing board, EQ, off line effects?



Where does your food chain start? What will you plug any new microphone into?



I do a lot of live stuff, and, have a boatload of good dynamic mic's for stage use. If you have outboard equipment, besides your computer, you can get a good sound from a lot of mic's under $500. We need to know your total set up to give you decent suggestions.

[madmaxxb]

Thanks so much for the feedback.. appreciated..



I should have spelt out my system better:



PC based system:

P4 2.53gb

1gb DDRAM

ASUS P4 533E Mobo

ASUS Geforce 4 ti4600 graphics card

Sound Blaster Audigy Plat EX



Pro Tools Le 5.3.1

DIgi 001

REASON & Recycle

Waves 5.3 plug ins



Korg Triton Classic

Maton Ac/Elec guitar

Boss GT-6 effects board.



Thats it. No control surfaces, mix decks (use the PT virtual faders)



I hook everything up to my Digi 001, thats it. I have never played live gigs, and only really jammed with mates for fun (no reall bands as such).. you can get an idea of the kind of stuff I am doing here:



www.mp3.com/madmaxxb



I posted my latest track "wINDOWS" last night, you can tell that I have a crummy mic... really destroys the track... lots of static over the background (tried to EQ it out). The sound quality of the whole track in comparison to earlier ones I posted was really effected by the mic... want to get a new one for my own Xmas present and receord it (but I posted it so you can hear what I am talking about)...



I was looking at pre-amps for a mic.. and the "ultimate set-up' someone recommended me was:



Neumann 149 (or 147) or Lawson L47

NTI Preq3 mic pre-amp

Joe Meck SC3 compressor

Dbx 902 de-esser

AD 8000



Big $$$$$$ here



Maybe I just cough up the $$$ for the neumann (and don;t eat or drink for a year )



Thanks again..



ROCK ON

[bbchris]

Very interesting thread here as I'm also looking at purchasing a good vocal mic. Thanks guys!

Jane Eliz|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Today's Song|

[dond123]

Ok, now, we have a better idea of what you're doing.



Some of your noise issues off your existing mic could be simple housekeeping issues.



If you go with Mike's suggestion, using quality cables, that will get a solid, quiet signal almost to your computer.



Is your existing mic low impedence? Usually, they are. If it's low impedence, what are you using as a transformer to bring it up to line level going into the computer? If you're going direct, with a simple adapter plug, that is the major source of your noise. At a minimum, you need a direct box to match impedence going into the computer. The quietest one is made by Repco. It will set you back $100USA. Cheap direct boxes are very noisy.



Can you borrow a decent mic from a friend? Will a store let you demo a mic you want to buy on your system before purchase?



Just to make sure all your basics are right. I would suggest trying a decent mic in your system. If it's noisy and thin too, check out your housekeeping connections and cables. It might be just poor signal delivery to your computer.



Another big noise generator is mismatched polarity, or poor grounding of all your computer components. Give these a close look. Make sure everything plugged in runs off a common ground.



This is simple primitive stuff, but, if we can get a better sound off your current mic, a better mic will sound fantastic. If we can't improve your existing mic, then you know for sure it's a crummy mic. Only costs you a little time to try this first, before you spend heavy money.

[scottywotty]

BLUE Baby bottle, Man what a mike around 500$

You'll love it "phantom Powered"

[PLX180]

I used to own an AKG Solidtube mic.



Velly nice. Velly cheap!

[ED1G]

I use this, maybe not the best but I have no probs with it



its an AKG C 2000 B







I think I paid around £160.00



I got it from HERE



Happy recording

PAUL

ED-G @ JAVA

ED-G @ MP3.COM

[PLX180]

I like that track Rhythm Called Love. It has an infectious quality



Now let's see, how many Alan Shearer jokes do I know

[bbchris]

It would appear AKG is the way to go......

Jane Eliz|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Today's Song|

[Yj2]

You're right Chris!

Most people say Neumann is the non plus ultra. I agree in the way that these mics are studio standard. The thing is, as we in Germany say, you gotta pay a lot for the name. And, of course, it's a question of faith. And as Mike said, it's a question of your technical periphery. Since 10 years I work with a MACKIE 8-bus desk. I work analog. And for these circumstances there's no big difference between a Neumann U 87 AI and an AKG BTL-II.

Sebastian

Edited by: Yj2  at: 12/30/02 10:12:27 pm

[madmaxxb]

Guys and Gals,



Thanks again so much for the feedback. I have been doing some digging on the Digidesign forums as well (as I run a PT rig) and some of the guys there commented that the Rodes NTK will work very well with my Digi 001 built in pre-amps, and later on I can add a Solid State Grace 101 pre-amp to boost it if I like.



I am going to head down to Tom Lee's here in Hong Kong (seems to be the only decent music store equip. wise in Hong Kong) and test some of these mics out..



Chris B, just curious if you guys know of any other outlets here in Hong Kong that you would suggest I visit.. Tom Lee's is the only one I know of, and some of my mates really hate them.. and tell me not to buy gear there to support them.. (reall rip off in prices too).. any ideas?



Lots of the guys I chat with in the USA on the Digi forums tell me that inthe states the music stores allow them to borrow different mics to test out before they buy.... pretty sure Tom Lee won;t do this.. and if I'm paying up to 400-500 USD I want to get it right..



Cheers again for the feedback.



ROCK ON

[bbchris]

Hey it just occured to me that maybe you don't know about Fleet Arcade in Wanchai? It's a shopping mall on the waterfront between the Convention Centre and Star Ferry (next to helicopter pad) and there's a Tom Lee inside the arcade there where everything is between 10-20% cheaper than the other Tom Lee's. The shopping mall is firstly for US marines etc. You can order stuff to be delivered to there if that particular Tom Lee doesn't have it.



Have you tried Nelson's in Mong kok? He stocks Takamine guitars and DOD pedals amongst other things.

Jane Eliz|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Today's Song|