Your Opinion on best Quality Microphone

[Sharon Hooley]

Hi all!

A friend and I want to produce CD's of both music and poetry. We
need a microphone for speech that can fit a mixer or external audio
capture device. I'd like to know what your opinion is about the best
kind. Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Sharon

[colin McDonald]

so, you want a microphone for speech and voice application.
When you say music, do you mean you wish to record music? or will you use
prerecorded music?
There are many options for microphones best suited to voice recording.
Are you going to be typically speaking in a normal voice, with some
dynamics, like softer, or louder voice passages? If so, then a large
diaphram condenser mike will work the best.
There are lots, and decent quality begins at around $50 or 60.
You can go all the way into the several thousands from there.
I personally use an audio technica AT2020 side address large diaphram
condenser mike for any voice, or quiet/acoustic instrument recording.
Some people prefer something like a dynamic mike like a shure SM57, or shure
SM/Beta58.
The AT2020 is around $100 I think, but could be lower in price now.
How much is your budget for the mike and additional hardware?
That in itself will give folks on the list a better idea of what to
recommend to you.
You could get a 50 dollar USB mike, or you could get a 6000 dollar ribbon
mike with a tube preamp built in...and everything inbetween.

Regards
Colin

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[Stephen Martin]

i would definately say tell us what your budget is like and we can better make reccomendations from there. Also what is the enviroment like that u will be recording in? If you have a nice quiet and decent sounding room to record in i'd agree with the large diaphram condensor recommendation as well, though probably not that particular Audio Technica mic. If you don't i would say dynamic mic like the shure SM58 or the behringer clone of it the xm8500 thats considerably less expensive and get just as good of reviews if not better.

[colin McDonald]

well, since the SM 58 has literally been on the market since 1958, I can't
imagine the behringer clone, the xm8500 could possibly have better reviews,
or more posative reviews compared with a 53 year old mike.
I'm definitely not saying the xm8500 might not be on par with the sm58, or
perhaps shows some better characteristics or qualities in certain
areas...but better reviews, come on.
The thing about the SM58 is that, though it may not be everyone's favorite
mike, it's definitely a known quantity and it is what it is. It has it's
frequency bumps and valleys, but they're well known and work for what it was
originally designed for.

The xm8500 hasn't been out long enough, or been time tested to know how good
it really is.
Also, unless behringer has drastically changed some of their designs, the
mike won't handle nearly the volume or source input at close range without
distorting or clipping or getting muddy compared to the shure SM58, or even
beta58 for that matter.
If behringer has tightened up the super kardioid pattern of the 58 with the
8500, then perhaps that is an improvement...the 58 is infamously too wide
and picks up too much cross talk and feeds back too easily in loud stage
environments.
I know plenty of singers and back up singers who prefer the 57 for it's
tighter pattern and punchier mid range response.
Anyway, I digress lol.

[Stephen Martin]

Well then i guess that depends on what your opinion of better is. I merely ment that it has alot of reviews everywhere i have looked and a good portion of those reviews favor it over the SM58 Most commonly its said to be slightly brighter/not as muddy as the 58. In the end its amatter of taste and you want to match any microphone with the appropriate voice. It's one of the better products behringer makes and it has won shoot outs for some of my vocal takes against more well known and common mics when doing vocals before. Not bad for a $20 mic when what its supposed to be a clone of goes for $100.

[colin McDonald]

yeh that's cheap.
Perhaps I'll pick one up and give it a trial run on stage to see how well it
holds up.
I know most sm58 clones usually have the increased highs for clerity, which
usually translates into more feedback from the mike on the high end.
Also, we may be comparing apples to oranges here. Studio recording is a
whole different ball game from live sound, and the mikes will react totally
differently in those two very different environments.
Singing a vocal track in the studio with the XM8500 may truly sound better
from a dynamics and response stand point than the SM58, but on stage, the 58
could blow the XM8500 away...unless you were refering to real live
applications with the vocal tests??
To me, as a working musician, a mike really shows it's true colors when used
night after night on stage. You can make almost any cheap mike sound decent
in the studio.

[Stephen Martin]

yes true, and i personally haven't had a chance to use one live, but some do like it in that arena as well. It's 20, try one u won't be out much if u don't like it. And let us know what u think of it live.

[colin McDonald]

I'll have to find a local supplier...my favorite music store doesn't carry
them, at least it's not listed on their website with all the other behringer
stuff.
I've used behringer mixers/consoles for years, as well as some of their
guitar pedals.
I don't have an issue with their quality control like some people do.
Even behringer PA amps and speakers aren't all that bad.

[Stephen Martin]

That seems like once u ill have to order from one of the online etailers since i haven't found a local store that stocks them. I haven't really had an issues with their gear either, but i heard ever since they built their factory city in china and build everything in house now the QC went way up.

[Patricia]

Hello Sharon,

I don't know how much money you and your friend can spend for the
Microphone but the Shure SM58 B�ta is a good choice.

Patricia

,

Op 4-9-2011 22:28, Sharon Hooley schreef:

[Clearwire]

Thank you for your response. I plan to produce music using Sonar 8.5,
then add my friend's speech. The poetry probably will not involve
shouting. It's basically relaxing.

Sharon

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[Clearwire]

Another thing I think of is that I have my own studio in my room, and
it can be quiet, though it's not soundproof.

--
Sharon

[Mervin Keck]

That's important to note. I lived from January 2000 to August 2008 in
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in a nice enough apartment. However, the home
office I had turned into a recording studio had the mechanical room right
next to it. Very often the air conditioner or heater depending on what time
of year would kick in and I would hear it later when editing my recordings.
We had an antiquated central heating/cooling system.

I was using an Alesus USB Mixmeister 16 channel sound board and a bunch of
Nady SP 8 dynamic microphones (I think that is the brand name for mics).
They worked fine for spoen vocal and I didn't feel the need to go to the
expense of good condenser microphones even though my board has Phantom
Power.

Now that I'm living down in Florida I my best friend lives within a mile of
where I am living and said if I get into some more ambitious recording
projects again, he can fix me up with some good microphones at a decent
price since he is a manager of a pawn shop. However, at this time I'm not
doing anything that requires going to that expense at this time.

-----Original Message-----
From: audio...@googlegroups.com [mailto:audio...@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Clearwire
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2011 10:41 AM
To: audio...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Audio] Your Opinion on best Quality Microphone

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Sharon

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[colin McDonald]

absolutely.
We used to live right on a busy city transit route...and when the busses
would stop, then start again from the bus stop, the bass from the
excelorating engine would bleed right through the acoustic material I had in
the sound booth...well, walk in closet lol.
So, perhaps a dynamic mike is the best route for you if you don't have a
really quiet space. I say that because you can reduce the input from the
mike and close talk it in order to minimize noise that might be picked up by
the mike.
This is where a more uni directional microphone is an asset. With a more
uni directional pattern, like with the SM57, it is less likely to pick up
spurious environmental noise while you are recording compared to a more omni
directional mike like a 58 etc.
Also, be sure to invest in a wind screen as well to eliminate the pops and
clicks and sharp S sounds found in speech recordings. You can also get an
attachment for the mike head that will help to create a tighter uni
directional pattern.

Regards
Colin
----- Original Message -----

[MICHAEL MORAN]

So when I use my Iphone to record the time of the recording keeps talking.
Is there a setting I need to change?

[Stephen Martin]

u could set the tripple click home to toggle voice on and off and use it to turn off voiceover when u start recording and turning it back on when u r done

On Sep 12, 2011, at 11:54 PM, MICHAEL MORAN wrote:

> So when I use my Iphone to record the time of the recording keeps talking. Is there a setting I need to change?