Guitar Gear Forum

What's a good but not super expensive vocal condenser?

well 57's and 58 can do just fine , a SM7 would be a step up a large diaphragm on a budget would be a Shure KSM27 , Rode NT1 , Kel if you can find one and M-Audio makes a few nice ones . ADK has a few .Audio technica . I have a TELEFUNKEN M80 which is a good all around mic. What is your budget ?

fretless wrote:well 57's and 58 can do just fine , a SM7 would be a step up a large diaphragm on a budget would be a Shure KSM27 , Rode NT1 , Kel if you can find one and M-Audio makes a few nice ones . ADK has a few .Audio technica . I have a TELEFUNKEN M80 which is a good all around mic. What is your budget ?

I have a 414 now but for years i used the Rode NT1 and it worked great! +1 for that one. Not terribly expensive.

I also have a Rode... a NT1A that comes with a shock mount = US $229.00
It's billed to have the worlds lowest signal to noise ratio.

I really like mine; it's got great, warm tone but, like most mics, you have to get up close to get good vocal tone.
Some people have had issues with the NT1A suddenly dying - including Naked Zen.
Mine has about 80 hours on it and it's still working fine... maybe I got a good one?

The plain old rode nt-1 sounds amazing for baritone vocals.
Haven't tried the nt-1a

I was thinking sub $500

for what kind of vocals/range?

there's a lotta mics out there right now that'd work-- but the toughest thing is finding one for what you're doing.

what're you looking for (in terms of sound-- like a recording you like) and what's the vocalist singing into it sound like?

Recording or live?

Live I LOVE the Neumann kms105. It's not perfect for every voice, but man, it just sounds so natural.

For recording in $500 used market...man you could get darn near anything.

Scott stapp used a shure sm7b on "marlins will soar. "

Then, he started seeing people's faces as firey skulls.

Both me and the singer in my band sit in the baritone range.

This would be for recording.

Another vote for the NT-1. Great mic for the price.

This is info I'd like to know also. I have a Seinheiser e835 and e609. Are those decent for recording? I had a beta 58, I still may have it somewhere, but I'm afraid I may have lost it when the band went kaput.

My range is

https://soundcloud.com/primeholy/high-road




https://soundcloud.com/primeholy/imortality-preview

IMHO, you can't go wrong with any Seinheiser... those Germans know their electronics

is this straight up singing pop-vocal style, or do you guys spend a lotta time screaming?

nt1s are alright mics. they fit really well into mixes and make vocals stick out well for male vocals for sure. they sorta have this 7k thing that makes my ears hurt.. but they're good mics, i have a pair of them, but in past years, i've been using them less and less 'cause of that 'thing'.

a mic that really surprised the crap out of me for being cheap and really good in that register has been the mxl v67g. beefy bottom register, not super extra hypey on top-- but also not really fakey sounding. don't get me wrong- it's not a $1000+ sounding mic-- but for $120ish- it's a pretty cool performer for baritones with rock music, and it's useful other places as well because it's not super brassy like the nt1's. makes a decent overhead for cymbal shankers 'cause it darkens a bit of the irritating frequencies of the kit.

i'm in for the ADK recommendation, and definitely look at the AT's-- a 4033 is a long time fave for a lotta folks. i've heard decent things come out of the akg perception series in that price range too. the CAD e series are great performers too for the dough.

anyone had hands on a Sennheiser MK 4?