jkielq91

Hi,

I want a mic for recording both male and female vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, and some various percussion sounds like shakers. But the absolute priority is vocals.

My styles are mainly classic rock, blues, southern rock and Beatles covers.

I have done some research and found the results linked below. Which would you recommend most? Do you know of any thing better in this price range?

Rode NT1A

http://www.andertons.co.uk/condense...ding-system.asp

(Comes with pop shield, shock mount and XLR cable)



SE X1

http://www.andertons.co.uk/condense...-microphone.asp



Audio Technica AT2020

http://www.andertons.co.uk/condense...ndenser-mic.asp



Audio Technica AT2035

http://www.andertons.co.uk/condense...-microphone.asp

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Remember, vocals are the priority. I can add more mic's in the future.

No USB microphones please.

Thanks in advanced =)

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Sid McCall

Out of those options, I'd go with the AT2020. I don't have much experience with those mics, but based on specs and price point, that's my recommendation.

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oneblackened

The X1 is supposed to be a pretty nice mic - but I've heard even better things about the SE2200a II C.

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jkielq91

The cheapest by a mile. Interesting.

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DeadPolitical

For your style, I would not recommend the AT2020. I own one and it works the best with soft vocals. It is a great sounding mic, but high decibels are not good for it at all.

HeavyKaribean

Well i don't know how professional you want to be but from what i read the ideal for you would be versatility. In that case SM57 and SM58 from Shure are in my opinion the best options. You can record almost everything with them. They aren't the best but they are far from being the worst. The price is a little higher than the AT2020 but they are dynamic microphones. You won't need phantom power and they are more resistant. Give them a search if you want. And good recording =D

kyle62

Please don't listen to this guy.

I honestly think the Behringer B-2 PRO is the best mic in that price range. The SE X1 and SE 2000 are both excellent though.

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PSimonR

All the mics in your list will do an acceptable job. I have an AT2020 and its a good mic, perhaps a little bright for you music styles. Whichever you buy you need a good stand, a suspension mount and a pop shield so if you can get these in a package then all well and good. I would at to the list this mic:
http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product...ack~ID~8809.asp
which I also own and use for vocals.
I would not consider a SM57/8 type suitable for recording use, these are good vocal PA mics (or the SM57 for mic'ing electric guitar and other LOUD stuff, snare for example).

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lockwolf

AT2035 (Same as the 2020 but with a few extra features) or SE X1. The NT1-A is okay but overpriced.

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Artemis Entreri

No.


I like the NT1 a lot, though I'm a big fan of Rode mics in general. It might be a little bright to work well with amplified guitars but I love the way it works with acoustic instruments like shakers and guitars. I'd try to get it used though, they jack up the price for all that extra stuff. The at2020 is a great option too but I think the nt1 is better; it certainly has less self noise - it's nearly silent.

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HeavyKaribean

Lol anyone tried SM57/58 for recording?
'Cause you all seem noob to me sorry. All trying to look smart with technic stuff and probably thinking that microphones make a major difference in how the recording will sound in the end.
Well that's a lie. Cause nowadays microphones have reached a very high level of quality. Besides that you can make every mic sound like every other mic just by working with positioning. This is true, go search and practice a little. It's even possible to make a cardioid sound like omni just by changing position. But if you want to go all specific and stuff yeah go to the specs of the mics and show me the major frequency response differences, signal-to-noise ratio, polar pattern and all that fancy words you know how to say but just don't give a **** of what they mean.
So basically yeah you are all full of shit. =D

ChemicalFire

All mics are good for something. SM58's can work for vocals but only in specific circumstances when the voice is right for it. This happens infrequently and so your best bet is a LDC.

You make half a good point. But since the sm58's eq band is so poor compared to an LDC you don't make a good point at all. You can't simply add frequencies that aren't there in post.

If you want to prove to us that your telling the truth I think we'd be all happy to hear you out; but the burden of proof is with you, not us. Honestly the whole line of "and probably thinking that microphones make a major difference in how the recording will sound in the end" really makes me doubt your credentials. Even I can tell the difference between my SM58 clone and my AT LDC. It's huge. The LDC is so much bigger and so much warmer.

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jkielq91

Thanks for all the great advice.

I wasnt expecting much love for the AT2020 judging by the price.

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Lets make metal british again

Gear:
Jackson DXMG Dinky
Lag 4 Season Summer Acoustic
Roland Cube 20X
Dunlop jazz III picks


I am the table.

HeavyKaribean

Lol well then I would like to know what is a big and warm sound cause thats completely subjective. And eq band is poor? like you need more than 15 kHz for voice? Lol do you know what you are talking about or do you look to graphics and the one with higher values is the better? SM58 needs specific circumstances like what? voice right for it? yeah voices higher than 15 kHz lol do you understand the joke? xD
And thinking that microphones make a major difference in how the recording will sound in the end is in fact a mistake if you can't make a good recording with 100 € mics you won't make it with 1000 €*mics. 'Cause it's not lack of material is lack of technic. And I don't need to prove nothing to you. You are the one that says that a frequency response from 50 Hz to 15 kHz is poor. Great knowledge that you show xD
So yeah i really doubt your credentials =D

HeavyKaribean

Never judge something by the price.

ChemicalFire

My knowledge of microphone eq graphs is indeed lacking. But I know what I hear.

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HeavyKaribean

Lol well sorry but if you hear a voice higher than 15 kHz than you are lying and you are def



this is 15 kHz. So Shure won't record (in linear form cause ir records) sounds higher than this. Very helpful indeed.

ChemicalFire

It's not the high end that's the issue... why would it be? Body never has and never will come from the 15k range...

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Artemis Entreri

That kid's gotta be a troll cause what he's saying is seriously stupid.

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