Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

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Phil Lewandowski

Sophomore
Jan 11, 2011
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16
Cleveland, OH
Hi All,

So I'm delving into some recording with a friend of mine as a side hobby. And since I've really focused on live mics over the years I'm wondering what mic one would suggest for recording, most specifically, vocals where I would like to actually get a decent recording, within the budget of course. There will also be piano being recorded, so if it can double on piano as well that's even better as I know most LDC do well on both.

Budget would be under $250.




I'll throw out what my current mic box includes just to give an idea of what I've already got:

-AT 4041
-Rode NT5
-Shure SM91
-EV BK1
-Shure Stereo condenser (Looks like a hammerhead at the top)
-Sennheiser e906
-Sennheiser e609
-Sennheiser e935
-Sennheiser e945
-Sennheiser e835
-Audix i5
-Audix D2/D4/D6
-57/58s
-Beyerdynamic Opus 87/88s


Thanks all,
Phil
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Thanks for the responses; I am willing to buy something else as I mentioned. So feel free to throw something out if you think it would be of good value. (The above list simply listed what I already have.)


Doing some searching online I've found these to have some promise and would love to find a comparison of these 2:

-Rode NT2A
-Audio-Technica AT4050



~Phil
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Phil Lewandowski said:
Thanks for the responses; I am willing to buy something else as I mentioned. So feel free to throw something out if you think it would be of good value. (The above list simply listed what I already have.)


Doing some searching online I've found these to have some promise and would love to find a comparison of these 2:

-Rode NT2A
-Audio-Technica AT4050



~Phil
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Hi Phil,

I work about 60% in the studio world doing music/advertising and the rest doing live work.

There are not many LDC in that price range (sub 250$) which you won't want to upgrade from in the near to medium future.

The AT4050 and the NT2A are really incomparable, IMHO the 4050 is a large improvement and a great utility mic to hold on to... but it also costs around twice as much list.

I really like Rode microphones in general... I personally own a Woodpecker and a Baby Bottle.... the problem is that they are typically very high-output microphones so loud sources tend to clip the microphones electronics. This makes them inflexible for live work.

I think the best value you will find for vocals is finding a SM7B (possibly used).... you should be able to find one used in your budget and it is one of the most popular microphones in the world for top-level vocals.... Here is an example of a recording with the SM7b.... its a one take live music video for a band I FOH for: Smash & Grab Official Video - YouTube

This mic doubles as one of my favorite high hat mics for rock drums, and is very tolerant of not fantastic room ambience.


Other microphones which I think are great values for both vocals and piano would be the Shure KSM32 (cardioid) or the Shure KSM44.

Above this price range, you really want to invest in an AKG414.... it is a gold standard in studios.


Hope this helps a little bit!
 
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Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

+1 to what Mike said. The AT4050 is kind of a poor mans AKG414 and useful on about anything you would use a multi pattern condenser on. The SM7B is excellent also and I have cut many vocals with both over the years. I seem to always get a good sound quick with the SM7B and a really good tube preamp on the lead vocal and I have more expensive choices available but usually start with it. A friend of mine likes the Marshall MXL V69 MOGAMI EDITION for an inexpensive tube condenser. I have never personally tried one but he has told me several times the Mogami Edition of that mic is a different animal and they are $299 or so brand new. Generally a tube mic or preamp tends to color and richen up the sound a good bit which is great for a lead vocal but not for everything. It might make a piano or a background vocal a little more forward in the mix than you would want.
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Mike Brown said:
I think the best value you will find for vocals is finding a SM7B (possibly used).... you should be able to find one used in your budget and it is one of the most popular microphones in the world for top-level vocals....

Other microphones which I think are great values for both vocals and piano would be the Shure KSM32 (cardioid) or the Shure KSM44.

Above this price range, you really want to invest in an AKG414.... it is a gold standard in studios.
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Good advice here from Mike. I'm a little late to the party, but here are my thoughts.

The SM7B wouldn't be my first choice for everything. It is amazing on some voices, but not always, and requires a good preamp with a lot of gain. It is close to the proposed budget range (used), and is definitely worth having.

The KSM32 and KSM44 are vastly underrated mics IMHO. They are excellent, though beyond Phil's listed budget.

The AKG 414 is a great mic, but is at a price point where it would not be my first choice if I was in the market for another mic in this range. Sure, it is a studio standard, but there are many other excellent options once you get into the $1K and up range. It's a bit boxy in some applications.

On a tight budget, one of the good value mics I have come across is the (relatively new) SE Electronics X1 - approx $200. It is definitely worth checking out. It has a slightly "forward" character on vocals which I like in most circumstances. YMMV, there is no "best mic".

Options are essential in the recording world. Finding the right mic for a particular voice is very important, and the most expensive mic does not always win - I have seen countless examples of less expensive mics being the winner, though don't misinterpret me as saying that expensive mics are not worthwhile....
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Placement is likely as or more important than mic choice. It is also more problematic. Is this live or studio?
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Shure's current lineup of inexpensive LDC's is pretty damn good - the SM27 is a very nice mic; used them on a couple recent shows and for one ensemble got a big compliment from the sax player about the sound in his monitor.
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Dick Rees said:
Placement is likely as or more important than mic choice. It is also more problematic. Is this live or studio?
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This will be a pseudo studio situation. We have several baby grands here at school, so we are pretty much going to try and find the best combination between piano and room and run with that. W will have more time to tinker since it won't be a run and gun live situation.

Thanks,
Phil
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Phil Lewandowski said:
This will be a pseudo studio situation. We have several baby grands here at school, so we are pretty much going to try and find the best combination between piano and room and run with that. W will have more time to tinker since it won't be a run and gun live situation.

Thanks,
Phil
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OK. I usually recommend hedging your bets in any live situation with a "57 in the hole" no matter what mics and how many you use. This fulfills the principle of "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it". I think of it as "meat" while all the other mics (LDC/SDC, whatever) are "gravy".
 
Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

Greg Cameron said:
Hey Phil, as an aside, how do you like those Beyer Opus mics?
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I like them a lot; they have become my go-to tom and snare mics. I think they normally work better overall for toms, but the clamping mechanism is just too convenient to not throw it up on snare for basic gigs. I have wanted to do a side by side test with the Audix D series for a while but haven't gotten a chance yet. But from just general listening when using them over the past couple years, I have found they sound good to great on most toms, and while there may be some mics that sound a tad better on some toms, the clamping mechanism makes me stick with them.

I know that Jeff Babcock has worked with them a bit and has some experience with more mics so he might be able to give some better comparisons and more in-depth thoughts.

Take Care,
Phil
 
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Re: Affordable/Value Mic for Recording Vocals/Piano

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Phil Lewandowski said:
I know that Jeff Babcock has worked with them a bit and has some experience with more mics so he might be able to give some better comparisons and more in-depth thoughts.
Click to expand...

I've said a fair bit about the Beyer stuff in the past. The Opus 88 is renamed and is now the TDG 58C (I have ranted in the past about Beyer switching to difficult to remember product names, and it still irks me)

I have 5 Opus88's in my personal mic collection (they follow around with my big DW kit when I play), and they are wonderful mics. Their greatest asset of course is the mounting system. It is a joy to use.

They have held up well, they have been smacked, soaked in downpours and used on many different types of kits, even with wood hoop kits. Never had a problem mounting them, never had a failure, they always sound great.

If you think I like them just because they are easy to mount and hold up well, that's not the whole story. They are my favorite sonically also, and I've used all of the usual suspects. Years ago there was a tom mic shootout with probably 30+ mics and audio samples. The Opus88 was my pick - I liked the sound, but also liked the lack of bleed - much better than some other popular choices in this regard. Traditional favorites like the Sennheiser 421 sound good in isolation but have a lot more bleed than many people think. Opus88's are not overly hyped in their frequency response, and therefore present a fairly accurate picture of the source that you can tweak to your desire. As a result, they are more versatile IMHO across genres. If I'm going for the rock thing I'll often notch out a bit in the low mids to tame ringing overtones and add some LF and HF shelf, presto. On a jazz kit I'll often leave them untouched.

They work fine on snare too. They aren't my first choice (I5 is), but perfectly acceptable.

I have no desire to use anything else, both on stage and in studio. Toms are a done deal for me. Wish I could say the same for other instruments and mic choices......

YMMV.

Attached is a shot of them in use on 5 toms with my personal setup. I have since switched from 57's or PR20's to I5's on snare.
 
Maybe a just a tad bit above your $250, but not by much is AKG C214. A single diaphram version of the c414. Cardiod only, and sonically pretty close to the newer 414XLS, just a slightly more scooped response by +/- 1/2dB (don't have access to older 414 at the moment to compare).

I'd only take 414s over the 214 in live situations on piano for the lo side for the variable pattern control, with how much pattern I can use before feedback.

Not a vocal mic, but I like the new beta 91a over the original beta 91, and the sm 91 (unless it has the loooong preamp, or project box rectangle preamp).
 
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