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microphone advice

12.19.230.80

Posted by PurpleDave on April 1, 2001 at 04:50:02

Toward the end of this summer (or sooner if stumble across $1000 or so laying around) I will be buying a new mic (or possibly several mics) for the recording of my first album. Aside from writing and performing all the music, I am also going to do all the recording/mixing/mastering. Why? Because a.) I'm picky as hell and know exactly what I want, b.) I would be annoying to work with, because I'm the kind of person who would spend a whole night just getting one 30-second fragment recorded perfectly, and c.) (most important) I CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR SOMEONE TO RECORD ME!!! Besides, I'd rather spend the money on......

Nice microphones: here's the deal--I do a somewhat varied mix of electric guitar-oriented folk/rock, with an occasional dash of lo-fi surf-type stuff. What kind of mic(s)do I want? First of all, I'm mainly talking about a good vocal mic. But when I say 'good' I more mean 'appropriate'--I have a general sense of which microphones are good, but it's like Ben & Jerry's Ice cream: it's all good, but it comes in a hell of a lot of different flavors. I'm still rather ignorant as to the 'flavors' of different well-known microphones.
What flavor do I want? I love the slightly edgy but still delicate Cat Stevens sound (I guess that's partially because he has a cool voice, but I'm sure the gear helped), I also like the vocal sound on Closing Time (Tom Waits)....if you haven't heard it, do so soon--it's a wonderful album. And, I've always thought the Beatles' vocals sounded good. I am considering two options: a.) a (new) low-priced ($150-$500) condenser, or b.) an affordable (<$500) vintage mic (or maybe several if I can spare the $$, for more versatility). I would like a recomendation for which of these options to pursue, and within whichever option, some top choices and (most helpful) some detailed characteristics of said choices. <---Jeez, that was a confusing sentence...sorry... I would be first inclined to use an older mic, if nothing else just 'cause they look so damn cool, but if there are newer mics available that have an honest vintage sound, I'd be interested to know which.

If it's any help, here's what equipment I have/will soon have....

HAVE:
--Fostex FD-8 digital multitracker (I wish there was a machine with this layout (real knobs on the mixer!!!!), but that was built better and recorded at 24/96..oh well, at least the design allows XLR line inputs, not just for mic)
--SM-57
--AKG D-880
--Behringer Ultragain Mic-2200 (hybrid solid/tube two-channel mic/line preamp--cheap and useful)
--ART Cheapo Tube MP (hey, at least they put XLR ins/outs on it)
--ART Cheapo Levelar Comp./Limiter (")
--Alesis NanoVerb (the flanger on this thing sounds so bad it gave me a belly ache from laughing so hard)

WILL SOON HAVE:
--Another cheapo ART Levelar (2 channels of compression a must)
--?Behringer Tube Ultrafex? (any recomendations?...the level-independent tube warmth thing sounds like a cool idea, but just because it's a cool idea doesn't mean it sounds good)
--Non-PC CD Burner (?any recommendations?...preferrably dual-deck...preferrably <$500....?)

WILL HAVE ACCESS TO FOR ABOUT A YEAR:
--Four KSM32s (I am banking on these four mics, along with my two dynamics, to be sufficient for recording instrument/drum parts. Am I foolish to make such an assumption?)

As you can see, so far I've skimped and pinched pennies everywhere I could, but I'm willing to fork out the dough for a good, solid, kick-ass vocal recording mic. After all, you craft the whole mix to make room for and emphasize the vocals, so at LEAST the vocals should sound really good, right?

AND...(why did I put this at the end???) if a KSM32 will kick out the kind of sound I'm describing, then disregard the majority of this posting and just say "use the 32." I wouldn't know, I've only heard them used on sax and drum overheads, and they sounded great for both applications. However, I'm assuming they are too flat (I don't mean that derogatorily, of course) for the kind of deliberately colored vocal sound I want....and I certainly don't have the outboard gear to work wonders on a flat signal.......

Sorry about the wordiness, any info will be greatly appreciated....

--PD

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Kimber Kable

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