best vocal mic, $300 range

[charliethunder]

dudes and dudettes,

whats your favorite mic for vocals for around $400?? (I went up a $100 after thinking about it a little more.)

i've already got a sennheiser e835 ($100) dynamic and a sterling audio st55
($200) condenser.

new mic will be used for recording and performing in my small modest home studio.
thanks,
charlie

[Baron]

In that price range, I would suggest a good old RE-20 .

Condensers, at this price point, can be very hit and miss so a good dynamic like the RE-20 is probably a safer bet.

Baron

[brandondrury]

Make sure to get a real RE-20. Like an idiot, I hopped on Ebay without thinking one day and ended up with a "PL" version and I've always hated it. The one I got may even be broken.

I've heard other dudes who were big on the RE-20.

Another mic you can't go wrong with for vocals is the Shure SM7. I use mine all the time.

http://www.echoechostudios.com/capemusicmp3/Deeper.mp3

This song uses one mic for the chorus and a different mic for the verse. One is a Shure SM7 and one is a Soundelux U99 ($2500). Can you guess which one is which?

----

If you have to go new and you MUST have a condenser (I'm not sure why) I've been most happiest with the MXL V69s. These are great mics for the money. The only problem is they need to be shipped back to MXL about once per year because they break constantly. I'd pay $600 for one that I didn't have to get fixed on a regular basis. In fact, I bought two just for that purpose. Their solid state versions may be a better deal.

I bought my AT4050 used for around $300. I use it all the time. It can get a little bright, but this is easy to fix by angling the mic a little.

-----




Brandon

[charliethunder]

thanks you guys.

any and all comments from anyone else will be greatly appreciated.

read about a pearlman tm1 tube condenser mic. its bigggggggg bucks. oh but make sure you get the pacifica pre too. that doubles the investment. yeahhhh, when i hit the lottery.

bought the art mpa gold brandon. just had to see if for under $300 i can get a prettier vocal sound with the mics i already got. feel rather confused as to how to set the knobs. and now i wanna $2000 mic. ahhhhhhhhh.

calm blue ocean. calm blue ocean. calm blue ocean.

[Baron]

calm blue ocean. calm blue ocean. calm blue ocean.

Sharks just below the surface

Baron

[brandondrury]

read about a pearlman tm1 tube condenser mic. its bigggggggg bucks. oh but make sure you get the pacifica pre too. that doubles the investment. yeahhhh, when i hit the lottery.

This sounds like my friend, Mark Warren. He has both the Pearlman and a Pacifica preamp.

Be VERY careful with this Gear Acquisition Syndrome! It's scarier than being addicted to drugs or alcohol....almost.

Brandon

[charliethunder]

i feel like i could be a goner. yikes. "take that mans credit card away from him right now before he hurts himself with it."



thanks Brandon. you are very wise.

[richiebee]

With that money, I'd get a dynamic... one of these to be exact -

Sennheiser MD 421 II from zZounds.com!

[Baron]

Make sure to get a real RE-20. Like an idiot, I hopped on Ebay without thinking one day and ended up with a "PL" version and I've always hated it.

Hi Brandon

According to EV, the PL is the exact same microphone just with color and marketing changes. Is this the truth? I would hope EV could be trusted. Maybe you hated it because of this re20freq.jpg

As you can see, the RE20 is a very 'flat' microphone and this sounds like ass when compared to the SM7 sm7b.gif or

Senn 421 SF41212010.jpg

without compensating with EQ.

When dealing with vocals I prefer to 'add' what I want, not what the manufacturer thinks would be cool.

Having said that, I love my SM7B for other reasons and the 421s are still excellent for things like racks, etc.

The one I got may even be broken.

That would be bad but it can happen. EV backs their products to the hilt so if you are in doubt, send it to them for appraisal.

I've heard other dudes who were big on the RE-20.

And with good reason, it is an amazing mic once you learn the intricacies of driving it but, it adds very little color if any. This can sound flat or dead the first few times you use it. This is a similar characteristic to my NS10s or any good 'flat response' monitor. They sound like poop but they don't add. They leave the creative stuff to you.


Baron

[brandondrury]

Thanks for posting on the RE-20 / PL-20. It motivated me to pull it out of the "don't use" section of my mic shelf (along with my AT4033s and broken MXL V69s).

I fired it up it sounded NOTHING like what I remember it sounding like. I wonder what I did wrong with it before. My memory of the mic was it sounded more like a megaphone, but that is not the case at all. Listening to it now, the mic sounds great!

[Baron]

I fired it up it sounded NOTHING like what I remember it sounding like. I wonder what I did wrong with it before. My memory of the mic was it sounded more like a megaphone, but that is not the case at all. Listening to it now, the mic sounds great!

Megaphone? How the....what the.....

Maybe some kind of phase thing?

Glad it's working so post when you use it for something

Be aware, it is a true cardioid and really likes the on-axis. It is more like a shotgun than not and has very little proximity effect, if any.

Oh, and that little switch is a bass roll-off (HPF) not pattern control.

Be aware that if you use it for close mic kick duty, it will eventually lose some top end and end up as a kick only mic. I have one dedicated for kick (picked up S/H on ebay)and one I use for vocals and stuff (bought new), that never goes anywhere near a kick.


Baron

[1 M.I.C]

u dont use the 4033's?

ill take em :P

[brandondrury]

The AT 4033s are so brittle. I had great success on a certain chick's voice with them, but that's really it.

Megaphone? How the....what the.....

Don't ask me, dude! I have NO idea!

Brandon