Quality Microphone for Recording Vocals

[Daltanian]

Anyone have any suggestions or know anything about mics for recording vocals?

[ALwin]

Vocals for singing or just talking?  And what is your current audio setup?

[Daltanian]

For Singing. Currently I don't have much of a setup to mention. 

[ALwin]

6 minutes ago, Daltanian said:

For Singing. Currently I don't have much of a setup to mention. 

Ok and you are singing just for fun, like you just listen to some music and sing along, or will you actually be recording?

[Daltanian]

I am wanting to pick particular songs and make the sound somewhere in the direction of professional. Whatever that is lol. Yea I want it to sound good.

[ALwin]

1 minute ago, Daltanian said:

I am wanting to pick particular songs and make the sound somewhere in the direction of professional. Whatever that is lol. Yea I want it to sound good.

A nice mic will start you off, but you will also need to do a bit of sound editing in post or use a live mixer to get the quality.

 

So how much are you willing to spend?

[Daltanian]

I was of course looking at a Blue Yeti. I was not even sure it would be the quality that I wanted either. But I honestly wouldn't know of anything else to start out with or what brands to trust.

[Daltanian]

Editing software was definitely another thing I would be curious about. But I know some of that gets up in price. I have audacity and its alright ya know. But I probably lack knowledge on using it. So I was just starting on the mic. I'm thinking $115-$250 for a mic depending on what I need. I don't really know whats gonna make one mic better than another besides someone saying it "sounds of better quality".

[ALwin]

For vocals, singing, I like dynamic mics like a Shure SM58 or ribbon mics like a Rode NTR.  If I'm recording interviews I like my Sennheiser shotgun mics.  Pure out of the box sound is nice with these mics, then with a mixing board or even just doing a bit of post processing they sound even better.  These are from my own personal experience with them when recording audio for my work.

 

It's all about what you plan to do and what kind of expectations you have.  Perhaps something like a Blue Yeti is enough, or perhaps it isn't.

[Daltanian]

Can you hear a $600 difference in song vocals?

[ALwin]

30 minutes ago, Daltanian said:

Can you hear a $600 difference in song vocals?

It depends on the person's voice and behaviour of the mic (some by design, some by accident).  Some mics are flat by default, others are warm or colored, etc.  But yes, I can hear the difference, especially if I listen to them side by side.

 

EDIT: The differences are not quality, the differences are how they sound.  People have different voices, and they sing different type of songs (pop, rap, opera, etc.) so depending on what they are singing, how their voices sound like and what preferences you have, as someone who records audio (for video, since I'm a documentary videographer) you can choose the types of mic you want to use.

[Daltanian]

Well, I'm not looking to drop $600 right now for sure. But I want something I can put a back track to and do cover songs. I can make a make shift sound booth np. But I guess I don't know where to start when it comes to mics. I would just get the Yeti but I'm afraid Ill wish I put my money on something more expensive to begin with.

[ALwin]

11 minutes ago, Daltanian said:

Well, I'm not looking to drop $600 right now for sure. But I want something I can put a back track to and do cover songs. I can make a make shift sound booth np. But I guess I don't know where to start when it comes to mics. I would just get the Yeti but I'm afraid Ill wish I put my money on something more expensive to begin with.

OK.

 

I was just about to post my recommendation:

• Shure SM58 or Rode M1 for the mic
• Zoom H4n, for the audio recorder.  (I believe you can also use this as an audio interface connected to the computer.)
• XLR cable
• Mic stand or something to hold up the mic if you do not want it held in your hand.

This is if you want to record the audio, then plug the memory card into the computer and edit the audio files later.

If you want to record directly to the computer, you will need an interface with a XLR port.

 

EDIT: the above recommendation will also give you a bit of good resale value if you ever decide on something else in the future.

 

SM58 vs Rode M1 vs a Sennheiser

 

[Daltanian]

11 minutes ago, ALwin said:

ommendation will also give you a bit of good resale value if you ever decide on something else in the fu

That does give me some idea. I will definitely consider these. Most likely I will buy one of these two you suggested at this point. I think they both sound good. I think I like the sound from the Rode better in the video. Out of curiosity have you used a Yeti and how would it compare in your opinion to the Shure and Rode?

[ALwin]

Never used a Blue or Yeti mic before.  They're not of any use for my work.

[Daltanian]

So how necessary is the Zoon H4n if I am running straight to my computer?

[GIRTHQUAKE]

The Pyle-Pro PDMIC78 on amazon is a super cheap SM-57 clone, people seem really, really happy with it despite it being basically a knockoff. I have two and they sound really good for voice chat/guitar recording. Definitely better than a Blue snowball. It's an XLR microphone, so you're going to need an audio interface, but you can find some fairly cheap ones. I have a presonus audiobox USB, which is about $99 but also comes with audio editing/mixing software. (There's plenty of alternatives, and probably better alternatives to this interface)

The thing I like about this setup is it's not "I'm going to record a studio album" high end, but performance to cost (<$150) is amazing. The quality will be good, and it will put you in a situation where you can expand. It's definitely a way to get started, and used to recording, and able to learn what you want BEFORE you drop a buttload of cash in to it.

[ALwin]

8 hours ago, Daltanian said:

So how necessary is the Zoon H4n if I am running straight to my computer?

If you have an audio interface (e.g. a Scarlett Solo) you don't need the H4n.

 

If your microphone uses a USB connection, you wont need the H4n.

 

You will need the H4n or an audio interface if your microphone uses an XLR connection.  The H4n is mainly a portable audio recorder that can double as an audio interface that feeds XLR mic to a computer.

[Luke Wells]

I'd go with a Shure SM58. They are about 100$ and sound great! They seem to be pretty durable as well.