Microphone for recording vocals

[Casey]

PALE in comparison is a little strong. The SM7 is a great microphone, it is my go to workhorse and I use it daily.

Listen to the vocal quality on "Billie Jean" and then compare it to "She Drives Me Wild".

SM7 is a great mic....but it ain't a U47.

The CO1U (and any USB mic) is a piece of shit.

Why? Because it's USB? You do know that Shure make an XLR-to-USB converter, you can turn ANY mic into a USB mic with NO sound degradation. So, you inferring that USB mics are inferior is just straight up wrong. I'd never use the CO1U for anything more than demo's unless I absolutely HAD to (which I did in that one instance), but with award-winning engineers it's not a big deal.

Apex make good kick drum mics, I own one. Im not sold on the JJ audio mods, and Id certainly never mod the Apex. Something to do with the old saying you cant polish a turd.

I used JJ as a quick example, but there was another guy based in Vancouver modding Apex's and the quality was fucking amazing. I doubted it too, until I heard it.

I prefer the BeezNees and Peluso mics and mods. I was actually going to get a Peluso U47 clone but decided on the Neumann u87 simply because the Neumann name will get people into the studio more than a Peluso (even though the Peluso sounds better).

The U47 clones are amazing, for sure. If you get a chance, get that Peluso, and run it through a Neve 1073. We're recording all our vocals on our new record with a U47 through a 1073 and it is INSANE. We have an unlimited budget for our new album so we went all out, lol.

Anyway, Chronic, my advice is spend about 300 euro and get an RE20 or a SM7b with a good preamp... and DEF stay away from USB mics.

Im out for the night.

Chronic - you said your friend had a CO1U, right? Test it out for yourself. I think you'll be more than happy with it.

 

[Preach]

Does that mean "The Boat"?

 

[Preach]

Why? Because it's USB? You do know that Shure make an XLR-to-USB converter, you can turn ANY mic into a USB mic with NO sound degradation.

I don't know this, so I'm asking, but what happens once the signal is transformed? I'm a bit ignorant about USB technology, but the mic sends out an analogue signal that would normally go to a pre-amp and studio setup, but you just hook a USB converter at the end and plug it in a USB port? Does the USB converter transform the analogue signal to digital datacode? Doesn't it work like an encoder in many ways?

 

[Casey]

I don't know this, so I'm asking, but what happens once the signal is transformed? I'm a bit ignorant about USB technology, but the mic sends out an analogue signal that would normally go to a pre-amp and studio setup, but you just hook a USB converter at the end and plug it in a USB port? Does the USB converter transform the analogue signal to digital datacode? Doesn't it work like an encoder in many ways?

Basically the audio is sent as data-packets. It's not compressed, technically you could say it's encoded because it's sent as digital data, but it doesn't stay as digital data, it reverts back to audio. When you're recording into a digital soundcard with any mic the same thing is going to happen regardless.

With the speeds of USB2.0 and any half-decent computer it's not going to degrade the sound quality. If you tried using a USB1.1 cable and had a shit computer it would probably not work so well.

I mean if you're running your mic through gear, Preamps and such, you're gonna be limited with USB gear. For home studios though, it's all gravy.

Samson actually sell the exact same mics with XLR and alternatives with USB. No sound difference between the two. There are higher-end USB studio mics as well, but I don't have any experience with these.

These kind of cables are becoming more and more commonplace:

 

[Rukas]

USB mics flat out suck. End of story. Go for it if you want to, but they suck. You're limited with what you can do with it, it's just crap, I mean, I cant even believe you would take it serious at all Casey, but whatever. *kanye shrug* I guess you could use a 5megapixel USB camera to take photos too... But I prefer an SLR.

I actually run a sm7 into a Neve 1073 into a Distressor here at home for demos Casey. The U87 will be running into an Avalon 737 though (only as a pre and light compression, I HATE the eq on that unit with a passion).

 

[Jokerman]

Chronic, get the Sony C800G Large Diaphragm Tube Condenser Microphone. It retails for about $7800. Everything else is a piece of shit. The only thing I use a U87 for is to make explosion and helicopter noises for little kids.

 

[S O F I]

I would tell you what the best mic is for the price you're looking for, but it's 3:17pm.

 

[Duke]

I would tell you what the best mic is for the price you're looking for, but it's 3:17pm.

I would rape you to bits but you're thousands of miles away.

 

[Casey]

USB mics flat out suck. End of story. Go for it if you want to, but they suck. You're limited with what you can do with it, it's just crap, I mean, I cant even believe you would take it serious at all Casey, but whatever. *kanye shrug* I guess you could use a 5megapixel USB camera to take photos too... But I prefer an SLR.

I actually run a sm7 into a Neve 1073 into a Distressor here at home for demos Casey. The U87 will be running into an Avalon 737 though (only as a pre and light compression, I HATE the eq on that unit with a passion).

My point is that USB mics don't suck simply because they are USB. As stated, the Samson Mics have exactly the same sound quality in both their XLR and USB versions.

You could use the Shure XLR to USB converter on a U47 and it's still a U47.

Now, they are more limited than using XLR simply because using USB for recording is still a new phenomenon. But a budget mic is a budget mic. USB budget mics are a simpler process because you can just plug-and-play without needing a soundcard. It's really that simple. If you spent $100 on a USB mic and $100 on an XLR mic the sound is gonna be the same. But if you don't already have a soundcard then you're gonna need to buy one of those, and possibly even a pre-amp with phantom power (if the soundcard doesn't have it which many do not) to even use the XLR. So if it comes down to it, it might be more beneficial for Chronic to buy a $200 USB mic that he can just plug in and start recording, rather than a $100 XLR mic, another $75-100 on a low-end audio interface and perhaps even another $50 on a low-end pre-amp with phantom power.

I haven't used the Avalon I don't think - what's the problem with the EQ on it?

 

[Prize Gotti]

Talking of USB, I tried using the new prototype Zune media player this weekend which uses USB 3.0, transfering video onto it usings Windows 8 IS FAST AS FUCK. Think of its like a minigun firing mp3s and divx files at you.

(Yes, Windows 8)

 

[Casey]

Talking of USB, I tried using the new prototype Zune media player this weekend which uses USB 3.0, transfering video onto it usings Windows 8 IS FAST AS FUCK. Think of its like a minigun firing mp3s and divx files at you.

(Yes, Windows 8)

Motherfucker. You're getting to test the new Zune and Windows 8? Super jealous. Is the new Zune running on the Windows Phone 7 OS? There was speculation that it would be and that makes the most sense. I was thinking of getting a Zune HD but I figured I might as well wait for the new one.

And an early Windows 8 beta too? That is dope. Anything interesting you can share about it?

 

[Prize Gotti]

Motherfucker. You're getting to test the new Zune and Windows 8? Super jealous. Is the new Zune running on the Windows Phone 7 OS? There was speculation that it would be and that makes the most sense. I was thinking of getting a Zune HD but I figured I might as well wait for the new one.

And an early Windows 8 beta too? That is dope. Anything interesting you can share about it?

Eh its a bit like the current ZuneHD firmware, but thats written in the same language as Win Phone 7. As for Windows 8, theres wasn't a huge amount I could play with, theres alot of web integration in it like remote applications run over the internet instead of from your HD, but I couldnt test that either being as where I was had no internet, and I doubt I could of connected to microsofts servers from outside of campus. My step dads developing media integration between new hardware and Win8.

 

[Casey]

Are you in Seattle right now? I am going to be in Seattle in a few weeks.

 

[Prize Gotti]

Are you in Seattle right now? I am going to be in Seattle in a few weeks.

Nah, my parents came over for my cousins wedding, I stayed with them up on some farm in Derby. We were also discussing plans on me and my brother moving back there permantly, I missed the Seattle like crazy.

 

[S O F I]

fuck seattle.

summer is over, now it's just shitty fall rain that seattle is known for.

 

[Prize Gotti]

fuck seattle.

summer is over, now it's just shitty fall rain that seattle is known for.

Yes, but at least you have a summer. In Seattle I can happily stand in my garden at 7am smoking a cig, in nothing but my PJs in late November without being cold because of the lack of wind like we have here.

 

[Casey]

/\ Truth. Portland's climate is basically identical to Seattle and I'd much rather be there than here. Last time I was there this time of year, it was still really warm in October.

It's cold as fuck right now in the UK. Summer was pretty much over here by the end of August.

 

[Duke]

Summer is supposed to be over in august.

 

[Prize Gotti]

Summer is supposed to be over in august.

Thats cause you all most share our shitty climate.

 

[Rukas]

You could use the Shure XLR to USB converter on a U47 and it's still a U47.

No it wouldnt, it would sound like a U47 through shitty USB converters. Come on you should know better than this. It's like a U47 into an mbox sounds like ass too. There is so much more to consider with a signal path than just the MIC.

If he goes straight into USB he will limit the future possibility to expand with better out board gear. If he decides he wants to upgrade his sound quality he'll end up buying another mic anyway.

I haven't used the Avalon I don't think - what's the problem with the EQ on it?

Its not that bad, I just dont like it, I find that its fine when boosting EQ but I dont like to boost on the way in I like to cut what I dont want and I find the cuts to be a bit harsh and obvious. That is just my personal opinion though. Id rather use other EQs.