recording vocals

[ImmortalTech]

I was wondering if anyone can advise me on what type of equipment i need to record proper vocals. I'm not looking to bring in bands, or anything. Just straight up hip hop vocals, acapella styles. All I have at the moment is a computer haha. What else do I need? I'm not looking to spend much either, its just a beginers thing u know, so I dont wanna be dropping like a grand into it.

.. any suggestions on a mic under $200, and what else will i be needing?

~thanks

 

[PuffnScruff]

what program are you going to use for tracking your vocals?

use a condenser mic for recording your vocals.
http://www.sweetwater.com/c105--Condenser_Microphones/low2high
look through here and you will find some low priced mics that would still be good for what you want. i dont have any experience with the usb mics but maybe that is something that might work for you

you'll need to use phantom power with a condenser mic.

look into getting a preamp. there are decent preamps that dont cost a lot of money
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubePRE/
i've used this. it is not that bad for the price

http://www.sweetwater.com/c662--Single_Channel_Preamps/low2high
you can look at others here

or you could use the preamps on a small analog mixer. there are many small mixers that dont cost a lot of money
http://www.sweetwater.com/c125--Analog_Mixers/low2high

 

[ImmortalTech]

just the man i was lookin for, i tried to pm u before i set this up, but ur inbox was full.. thanks for the help man... Alright heres the 2 setups i've got in mind so far, i dont know if its a good idea:

1) Shure Sm58 Connected to the Mbox-Mini via a XLR cable. And the Mbox connected to the computer via a usb cable

2) Shure sm58 connected to an analog mixer via XLR. which is connected to a M-Audio fat track via 1/4 inch cable, which is then connected to the computer using usb.

.. i'll probably be using pro tools and Fl studio's on the software end of things. Is there anything i'm missing?

~thank man

 

[PuffnScruff]

yea i think the pm's are still fiucked up. my box says full but i dont have any pm's at all

finally a pro tools user. smart man

sounds like your good. the only thing is the 58 isnt really a good mic for recording vocals. i mean you can record vocals with it but it was more designed for a stage mic, live venue type of thing. if you do decide to record with it remeber that its a dynamic mic so dont get right up on it, give yourself some room between you and the mic. maybe 6" to a foot.

just remeber to record your vocals as hot as possiable without clipping.

i dont know what kind of analog mixer you have but you could use it as a preamp and it should have an 1/4" output on it that you can run into the input on the mbox mini

 

[ImmortalTech]

i dont have an anolog mixer or a mic yet, i was just saying shure sm58, cuz i've been hearing some good things about it... Any suggestions other than that for a mic, and for a mixer.

See my biggest problem is money, I know I'm not gonna be making multi platinum records, so i cant afford to put that much into it, i'm doing it more for the love of the art. You know, so i just want some rookie setup, but not something that sounds like it was recorded with a cellphone.

 

[PuffnScruff]

the 58's are good mics...but for live performances. using them for recording vocals is just odd. they werent designed for that. not to say you cant use it to record vocals but condenser mics are usually used to record vocals. not many artists use dynamic mics for vocal tracking, much less that mic, unless your like stevie nicks

look through that sweetwater page i posted if you havent arleady. not all those mics are ment for vocals but there are condenser vocal mics on there


. the problem with mics is that its just a matter of opinion and preference. i've talked to many different enigneers that have been doing this for decades and they all will say they like different mics. of course some will mention the same mics as another but it really just comes down to a matter of what you like. i know this isnt probably what you want to hear, but its just reality. anyone that tells you a brand of mic is better than another is either being biased or is saying that because they heard it from someone else

if it was me and i was on a budget i would go with any of those shure's, akg's, or audio-technica that are about 100 bucks.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AT2020/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Percep100/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/C01/

it's actually funny, the way the industry is changing you could record a hit record and album with just a mbox and some cheap equipment. i was reading an article about this band that recorded their whole album using the free download of pro tools where you can only use up to two tracks at a time. this band was making some noise on the underground rock scene.

 

[ImmortalTech]

thanks alot man, I apreciate the help. i guess ima just have to fuck around with some things before i figure stuff out. You know what to me its not even about making $, or even selling records, we just wanna do some shit ppl will look at and be like, damn thats dope. We're actually just planning to do an album, and just hand it out to ppl. Anyways we'll see how it goes, hopefully i can have some good shit to shae with streethop by the end of the summer.

~peace

 

[PuffnScruff]

thats good man, it should be just about having fun really, like it used to be. if you really want to get a professional sounding album you can do all your tracking and pre-production stuff at your home on pro tools and save up a bit of money and pay some local studio to have one of their engineers to mix it for you and they might even be able to master it for you.

if you need any help with pro tools holla at me. i know a few nice tricks in there especially on how to make some nice sounding drums and overall low end

 

[ImmortalTech]

^tru, thanks alot man, yea, first ima have to cop this recording equipment,, after i lay down some vocals, i'll look for ppl to help me mix it down n shit.

~peace

 

[Casey]

The usb Samson c01u condenser is sick.

 

[ImmortalTech]

yes militant my man. Thank you for that. How does that work? No preamp, no mixer no nothing? Just straight to the computer and ur good? if thats the case, then damn, this is the shit i need to get my hands on QUICK... my broke ass cant afford too much equipment right now, although i would like to invest in it later on.

~peace

 

[ImmortalTech]

sorry, just another question.. anybody ever use the c03u? is it better than the c01u??

 

[PuffnScruff]

is it better? that is just going to depend on your opinion and what you need the mic for.

the only real difference, that i can tell since i have never used this mic or any usb mic, is the pickup patterns

the c01u has a Hyper Cardioid while the c03u lets you switch between supercardioid, omni and figure-8 and it also has a high pass filter plus a 20dB pad that can be switched on.

 

[ImmortalTech]

alright tru, so I guess Ima just talk to a few guys before making my purchase, and probably go with a usb mic to start with. And then I'll post up some comments on what I thought of it after.

 

[Casey]

yes militant my man. Thank you for that. How does that work? No preamp, no mixer no nothing? Just straight to the computer and ur good? if thats the case, then damn, this is the shit i need to get my hands on QUICK... my broke ass cant afford too much equipment right now, although i would like to invest in it later on.

~peace

Software Preamp, straight into your USB, works like a charm. Recording quality is excellent, the vocals come out clean as hell.

What are you using the mic for? If it's for vocals/acoustic guitar, get the C01U. If you want to be able to record a bunch of different instruments, get the C03U.

 

[ImmortalTech]

right now, we're looking at strictly vocals. So I guess I will go with the C01U. Thanks alot for the help.

~peace

 

[Casey]

No problem IT. I highly recommend the CO1U, it's excellent. Let me know when you get it.

 

[DarkPhantom13]

Software Preamp, straight into your USB, works like a charm. Recording quality is excellent, the vocals come out clean as hell.

What are you using the mic for? If it's for vocals/acoustic guitar, get the C01U. If you want to be able to record a bunch of different instruments, get the C03U.

Do the vocals actually come out sounding good? All my experience over the years of trying different mics along with different usb mics, i've found that i've never liked the quality that usb mics produce. It seems like i always got some sort of distortion or feedback from who knows where whenever i used a usb mic. But then again i tried usb mics a few years back when my setup wasn't even that good.

 

[Casey]

Do the vocals actually come out sounding good? All my experience over the years of trying different mics along with different usb mics, i've found that i've never liked the quality that usb mics produce. It seems like i always got some sort of distortion or feedback from who knows where whenever i used a usb mic. But then again i tried usb mics a few years back when my setup wasn't even that good.

Yeah this one just came out and the quality is fucking excellent. Were you using a dynamic or a condenser? I'm pretty sure this is the first proper studio USB condenser mic.