Good Budget Vocal Mic?
Flizank
Posts: 59
I'm looking for a good Vocal Mic for under 250. I love the SM57, so I feel like trying out the SM58/BetaSM58/SM86, but I'm wondering if that's a wise move, and if it would actually be better than what we are using now (an SM57. We sort of got stuck with it - we always record live, and we just happen to have an SM57 so it seemed lke the natural choice to make).
Any suggestions as to what I should go for?
Any suggestions as to what I should go for?
PresiWAH of the Evenflow Fan Club
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Don't need a hand, there's always arms attached.
Don't get behind I can't fall back.
Why must we trust all these rusted rails?
They don't want no change. We already have.
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I like pretty much anything with a supercardioid vocal pattern.
Beta SM58A.
Audix OM-5
and Senheiser 855S are my personal faves.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031208224247150131025216496997/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270654/
It's the exact same mic that Ed has used for his vocal for years. It has a hypercardioid pattern for great feedback rejection, a good full-bodied sound, and very reliable.
Some people love the Sennheiser vocal mics, but I'm not a fan. They definitely have their own sound. I personally love the Beyer M88 mic, very rich sound, but they're more like $340.
Vocal condensers are nice, too. Check out the SM86 and Beta 87 mics. They need phantom power, though, so if you work with older mixers, they might not work right. They can also have feedback problems, but overall, they're the cleanest, clearest mic out there.
Just for reference:
Beta 57A ($140):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031208224247150131025216496997/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270121/
Beta 58A ($160):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031208224247150131025216496997/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270120/
Audix OM5 ($160):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031208224247150131025216496997/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270650/
SM 86 ($180):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031208224247150131025216496997/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270090/
Beta 87A ($250):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031208224247150131025216496997/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/270168/
Let me know if you have any more questions...
what do you think of the new neumann that's so popular MIG?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031209091644012178006131702631/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/271409/
obviously out of all but the wealthiest musicians scope but still have you got to play with one yet.
http://www.apexelectronics.com/products_main.asp?cat=2&id=10&type=9&show=
Frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz with a maximum SPL of 140dB (1kHz @ 0.5% THD). Input sensitivity is -40dB @ 1kHz and signal to noise is better than 73dB. Impedance is 200 ohms and the operating voltage is 48V DC.
Specs look good what's the problem?
no problem at all. i just wanted to know if you and mig thought it was ok. mics aren't my specialty. i've liked it. i have 57s to mic instruments.
and a SH55 for elvis night at the bar.
I want an SH55 so bad. just to look cool in my room guess I should get back to playing open mic nights. Then again I am the classic underachiever. Aim Low and you'll never fail.
it looks cool but it pretty much sucks. it's the same guts as a 57 anyway.
Oh really. I had a shell and I gave it away for free. O well.
I just think it looks cool. A 57 would be nice to mic the amp and for vocals sometimes too. I have a cheap Senheiser 835 right now with no PA just for BS and light recording. I'd like to buy a studio mic. Probably a cheap oktava. Just to have fun with unless I really do start writing good music. Untill then it dosen't matter. It's all a hobby anyway.
i haven't given a second thought to my mics in ages. i like the condenser and i do everything else direct. like you say, it's just a hobby.
We're pretty much a grunge band. We're only 16, so our voices sound... teenage-esque. I think we want to eliminate that.. is there a mic that will make us sound different? We don't want to actually change our voices with an EQ or anything, just a mic that will.. maybe make our voices seem a bit lower than they are.
Sort of a stupid thing to ask, but...
Don't need a hand, there's always arms attached.
Don't get behind I can't fall back.
Why must we trust all these rusted rails?
They don't want no change. We already have.
That mic sounds like it would be good, but not great. For basic home recording, a good, dependable, transparent mic. There are better mics (and there are ALWAYS better mics) but unless you're recording million-dollar records, it will be more than adequate. For the large diaphram condensers in the home and project studios, I love AKG 414's and the new line of Shure condensers (KSM32, KSM44). But I've used cheap MXL and Nady condensers with good results, on such critical instruments as lead vocals, drum overheads, and acoustic guitar. You can do a lot with just mic placement and the right (read: not too much) amount of EQ and compression.
In the perfect world, we would have 100 mics in our little chest of toys to play with, but Brendan O'Brien said he could record the next Top 20 band with an AKG kick drum mic and a pair of Telefunken ribbon mics. A friend of mine recorded a pretty good solo acoustic album with a Beta 58. The whole album. GOOD GEAR IS NO EXCUSE FOR BAD PLAYING! There is an overwhelming tendancy to make bad playing and engineering sound better with great gear. I say that you can give me all the mics I could ask for, and Rick Rubin would kick my ass with a pair of SM57's.
I like that little Neumann. It certainly has it's own sound, and condensers are always more sensitive to abuse than a dynamic. I know Beck is using them, and Dave Matthews switches between the Neumann and a Shure SM86. I've worked with them probably a half-dozen times, and they always sounded good. But a lot of that is that the people singing into them picked that mic because it sounds great for their voice.
Why do you think David Gray sings into a Beta 57A when he could afford one of those Neumanns? Because it sounds right for his vocal. Different mics have different benefits and different detriments, like any great piece of gear. You have to judge which fits your application best. Why does Eddie use an OM7, when he could have mics at double, triple, or quadruple the cost? Because the OM7 is reliable, can take a beating, has great feedback rejection (ever see how many monitors he has around him?) and fits his vocal sound. Plain and simple.
I have to insert my one caveat about this particular mic... I think some certain singers use the Neumann so they can have a mic that says "Neumann" on their mic stand. Simple as that. But the mic does sound quite good... that said, I'd never buy it for me. I work regularly with a singer/songwriter (whose album I just produced) and that Neumann would sound great on his vocal.
God, how I hate that little mic...
It has such good intentions, because it looks cool and captures that vintage vibe. But if you want a mic that sounds good more than it looks good, there are many better options. It's true that the capsule is similar to the 57/58 capsule (those two are EXACTLY the same capsule) but it is a bit different, and the housing completely fucks with the sound response and feedback rejection. I've heard people TALK about popping a Beta 58 capsule into the 55 (the Beta 57 and Beta 58 are the EXACT same capsule, as well), but I've never heard of it being successfully done or if it works better. I almost wish the Shure folks would try to put a neodymium magnet in that housing and try to correct the rejection pattern, but I won't hold my breath on that one. But it sure as fuck looks cool, eh?
Les Claypool and Tom Petty (among others) use nothing but an SM57 for their vocals. Helps get a really super-crisp sound, with full body. They're reliably great on guitar amps, but they are without a doubt the go-to mic for snare drums the world 'round. If you own microphones but don't own a 57 or a 58, you don't really own microphones. Hell, I think every citizen should have one or the other... government issued, at birth...
So you sound like Tiny Tim and want to sound like Henry Rollins? OM5, OM7, or Beta 58. The OM7 is going to give you the best results (in this price range, of course), but the other two are noticably cheaper and are still GREAT quality. I would save the cash and go for either the OM5 or the Beta 58, both being about the same price. The Beta 58 has a better name behind it, but the OM5 is more unique, and it looks like Ed's mic.
Keep in mind that your voices will change dramatically over the next five years (not only as you age, but as you develop your lungs, diaphram, vocal cords, and technique). Any of these three mics will age well with you, so don't be afraid of them... but be willing to go through the process of developing your voice. You may not sound great now, and you want to hide it with a big-bodied mic, but don't get frustrated when the mic doesn't make you sing better! GOOD GEAR IS NO EXCUSE FOR BAD PLAYING! I'd make that my sig, except people on the other threads would be totally lost...
Keep asking if you have more questions... glad to help...
At trade shows, Shure representatives have gotten a reputation for pulling this little trick. They take an SM57 or 58 or Beta 57 or Beta 58. They lay the mic on a block of wood. They then take a pneumatic nail gun and drive a galvanized-steel framing nail through the body of the mic. They then take the mic, with the nail completely through the mic body, and plug it into a PA and speak through it. If that doesn't tell you how much abuse Shure mics can take, nothing will... such amazing, road-worthy pieces of gear...
yeah they are pretty much the industry standard. I've seen Petty using 57's several times. Everybody from the richest rock star to church singers use or have used 57's and 58's at one time or another.
I bought the Sennheiser 835S because I got it for 50 bucks and I like their headphones. It's definately not as crisp as a 57 a more smooth tone but It works great for what I bought it for. When I get a PA I'll branch out.
You can drive trucks over 57 and 58's and they'll work great.
Personally if money is not too much of an option I'd prefer the Beta's for the feedback rejection. One day I'll be rich maybe with a basement full of good stuff. That's my dream anyway. That or becoming a pilot.
oh! Yeah!
I requested the SM58A for Hannukah.
Don't need a hand, there's always arms attached.
Don't get behind I can't fall back.
Why must we trust all these rusted rails?
They don't want no change. We already have.
Ah... you mean an SM58, or a Beta 58A?
Don't need a hand, there's always arms attached.
Don't get behind I can't fall back.
Why must we trust all these rusted rails?
They don't want no change. We already have.
Excellent. You will be pleased.