Best Microphone Regardless of Price Range

[Re.Vo.Lu]

What would be the best one of the best condenser microphones out there regardless of how much it could be?

Because I have the MXL 990 right now and it's really time to upgrade. hehe.

I'm running Pro Tools 7.4 LE & M-Powered so it's about time to start messing with a good mic along with the good program.

 

[Morning_Star]

Don't ever ask something like this. First of all there are mics that cost well over $10,000. I doubt you have an unlimited budget consicering you are using a $60 mic. Second of all once you get to the $1,000 mark there is no such thing as better or best. Pro audio is just different flavors and no one can tell you what flavors you like. If you want an amazing mic for a great deal look at Bock Audio first, then OktavaMod, then Mojave. They are pro mics at 1/3 of the cost that they should be.

If I could have any mic right now it would be a Bock Audio 251 or a Neumann U87.

Also the best mic in the world isn't going to help you if you don't have a great mic pre to push it.

I suggest getting a Black Lion Audio Auteur if you wanna spend less than $500 on a mic pre. If you can afford about $1,000 on the mic pre look at the Great River MP-1NV, API 512c with rack, or John Hardy M1.

For mic about $1,000 and under look at Bock Audio 195, Oktavamod MK stuff, or M-Audio Sputnik.

 

[moses]

there's not *one* mic. every situation and instrument and song needs a very specific mic selection and mic technique.

 

[Caine]

Agree with the other 2. Although I'll give you a tip on a pretty good mic. Samson C03U. I have it and I haven't mastered yet, but it can be done for studio quality vocals. Its a USB mic but trust it can be done. I know a few dudes who use it and their sh*t sounds just like it was recorded in a studio. Really is all up to whose mixing though.

 

[Morning_Star]

Agree with the other 2. Although I'll give you a tip on a pretty good mic. Samson C03U. I have it and I haven't mastered yet, but it can be done for studio quality vocals. Its a USB mic but trust it can be done. I know a few dudes who use it and their sh*t sounds just like it was recorded in a studio. Really is all up to whose mixing though.

I don't agree here. USB mics can sound very good but you will never touch a mic in the same price range with a real mic pre and converters. The quality of mics and mic pres have everything to do with analog stage and quality of power supply. Do you really think that the power coming out of a usb port even comes close to stacking up against a real power supply. And the analog stage of the mic pre is built into the mic. There is a reason that mic pre's are bigger than a mic. There is no way to fit all of the high quality components from a real mic pre into a usb mic. Also there is an audio interface built in also and I just don't believe that a mic pre, audio interface, and phantom power can all come off a usb power supply and do it half as well as a real set-up. That's a lot of stress and power starving.

I'm not going to say that USB mic's sound bad because I have been impressed with some but they are dead end road. There is NO room for upgrade later on so you will end up essentially re-buying gear when you want a better sound. The best thing is to do is buy a set-up that can evolve and grow as you and your budget do.

Get a cheap interface with built in pre's and a decent entry level mic. Then upgrade the mic pre. Then upgrade the mic. Then maybe you will upgrade from a $100 mic pre to a $500 mic pre. Then you might upgrade converters. If you have a USB mic and want to upgrade you have to start back over at square one. And that is truely the only problem I have with USB mics.

 

[Caine]

I don't agree here. USB mics can sound very good but you will never touch a mic in the same price range with a real mic pre and converters. The quality of mics and mic pres have everything to do with analog stage and quality of power supply. Do you really think that the power coming out of a usb port even comes close to stacking up against a real power supply. And the analog stage of the mic pre is built into the mic. There is a reason that mic pre's are bigger than a mic. There is no way to fit all of the high quality components from a real mic pre into a usb mic. Also there is an audio interface built in also and I just don't believe that a mic pre, audio interface, and phantom power can all come off a usb power supply and do it half as well as a real set-up. That's a lot of stress and power starving.

I'm not going to say that USB mic's sound bad because I have been impressed with some but they are dead end road. There is NO room for upgrade later on so you will end up essentially re-buying gear when you want a better sound. The best thing is to do is buy a set-up that can evolve and grow as you and your budget do.

Get a cheap interface with built in pre's and a decent entry level mic. Then upgrade the mic pre. Then upgrade the mic. Then maybe you will upgrade from a $100 mic pre to a $500 mic pre. Then you might upgrade converters. If you have a USB mic and want to upgrade you have to start back over at square one. And that is truely the only problem I have with USB mics.

You should give me your email, I'll send you a few songs somebody recorded with the USB mic I'm talking about... perfect quality. They recorded a whole album, had features from The Game, Lil' Flip, Glasses Malone, and the quality was identical.. its really all in the mixing.

Actually I can send you tracks from a few artists who use that mic and get perfect results.

 

[Obitheincredible]

Radio shack realistic 33-922 is the best mic in the world! HAHAHAHA! Yes!

 

[Morning_Star]

You should give me your email, I'll send you a few songs somebody recorded with the USB mic I'm talking about... perfect quality. They recorded a whole album, had features from The Game, Lil' Flip, Glasses Malone, and the quality was identical.. its really all in the mixing.

Actually I can send you tracks from a few artists who use that mic and get perfect results.

I work at major studios in ATL and I know what quality is. Focus from Aftermath uses a $99 dynamic mic. But he runs it through a $2,000 Focusrite Red mic pre. David Banner is known to use a SM7b which is only $350 but runs it through a $1,500 Neve. I have recorded with mainstream artist. I don't care how good you think your recordings are. No offense but I know why pros use the gear they do and why it cost what it cost. I have recorded tracks with a Bluebird and a Presonus Tubepre that you wouldn't believe but I also know there is nothing that has the same sounds as a U87 through a Neve 1272 running through a Tubetech compressor.

Fine send me a track. EpithetMusic(at)Yahoo(dot)com

 

[Caine]

I work at major studios in ATL and I know what quality is. Focus from Aftermath uses a $99 dynamic mic. But he runs it through a $2,000 Focusrite Red mic pre. David Banner is known to use a SM7b which is only $350 but runs it through a $1,500 Neve. I have recorded with mainstream artist. I don't care how good you think your recordings are. No offense but I know why pros use the gear they do and why it cost what it cost. I have recorded tracks with a Bluebird and a Presonus Tubepre that you wouldn't believe but I also know there is nothing that has the same sounds as a U87 through a Neve 1272 running through a Tubetech compressor.

Fine send me a track. EpithetMusic(at)Yahoo(dot)com

Its fine that you work with major artists and those artists use cheaper mics and that you don't care how good what I'm talking about is, the point is your saying a USB mic can't achieve studio quality, I'm saying it can... thats the whole point. And Ill send something to your email.

 

[staxx111]

the point is your saying a USB mic can't achieve studio quality, I'm saying it can... thats the whole point.

<whisper> I agree with you 100. </whisper>

 

[Morning_Star]

Its fine that you work with major artists and those artists use cheaper mics and that you don't care how good what I'm talking about is, the point is your saying a USB mic can't achieve studio quality, I'm saying it can... thats the whole point. And Ill send something to your email.

I never said that you can't get good tracks done with a USB mic but it doesn't come close to real gear. I consider studio sound that clear detailed and sweet sound. Not something that is just good enough. Cause your never going to impress a real engineer that's use to hearing real gear with a USB mic. It's just not going to happen. And especially not a $100 one at that. I guess we just have different opinions on what studio quality is.

 

[malki]

u can get pretty close with cheap gear and the right ear. i say in the 90 percentile. the last 10 percent is what u pay for though. in a few years i think an affordable solution will come out that will make the gap smaller. they coming out with this 192k sample rate 32 bit recording studios and crazy new plugins vsts sounding better than keyboards etc its already happening

 

[malki]

as far as mics i like the neuman tlm 103 better than the neuman u87 - the u87 is too airy imo.

akg 414 is a pretty good vocal mic.

i still got that $50 dollar MXL 990 works fine for me. once its mixed u cant tell i recorded on a $50 dollar mic. I will admit the vocal is not as full sounding as a neuman through a nice preamp but once all the background instruments are added its hard to tell imo. this is why i think you can get away with recording on a usb mic. i wouldnt be suprised if something on the radio was recorded on a cheap setup. look at MAC DRE he used to record all his **** on cheap setups and he has classic albums out and is regarded as one of the best west coast rappers ever. rip mac dre

 

[deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup]

My dream setup...AEA A440 chained through a UA 610. Sounds AMAZING!!!!!

F**k what everybody else is talking.

Any mic can make a "quality recording" as long as the music and mix is "quality". I've recorded more than a few major artists at more than a few major studios and still only have around $10k worth of gear in my personal studio, but still manage to steal clients from major studios when they realize I can give them the same quality out of my crib.

 

[Morning_Star]

u can get pretty close with cheap gear and the right ear. i say in the 90 percentile. the last 10 percent is what u pay for though. in a few years i think an affordable solution will come out that will make the gap smaller. they coming out with this 192k sample rate 32 bit recording studios and crazy new plugins vsts sounding better than keyboards etc its already happening

You guys are preaching to the choir. I'm currently working on what I call the "poor man's studio project". A demo of 5 songs recorded on nothing but low end gear with free software and free plug-ins on a old out dated computer. I wanna show everyone that you can get quality recordings at a budget but that doesn't mean that it will be the same as a high end studio.

 

[deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup]

^^^So what's "high end quality"? Seriously asking. What song have you heard that really takes advantage of the million dollar enviroment.

I can name alot, for instance....Celine Dione "It's all Coming Back". But that's due to the micing of everything. The engineering of the instrumentations boggled me more than her vocals.

But c'mon? Kanye, Wayne, even Jay's newer material? Beats can be made on FL Studio if you know what you're doing, vocals may as well have been recorded on an AT2020 the way they were squashed all to hell, and once it was ran through a decent board in a mastering house...Wa-La.

Music isn't made the same way anymore. Vocals don't need the best mic especially when they're blended in with the perfectly mic'd digital samples and softsynths we use today. Then you can throw emulation SSL's and Compressors over the top.

Time to get real. You once referenced Justine Timberlake's second album as taking advantage of the same enviroment. I'm sorry, the mix on his first was amazing, but Futuresex while mixed well, falls waaaaaayyyyy short of an album engineers should be impressed by.

Anyone with a computer and even the crappiest mic with the right knowhow can mix an album as good as Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die" in 2009. 10 years ago, that mix was brilliant. That should say enough in itself.

If we were talking rock band, makes sense. Jazz instrumentalists, of course.

But for a few tracks of vocals? Just sit them well in the mix and keep it moving.

Not trying to argue at all, just fail to understand how as an engineer you don't get that. It would be different if I was talking to an engineer in 1990, but what music released this year took advantage of that million dollar sound?

Times have changed. Even if you did mic up a $10,000 chain, by the time it was pressed to commercial CD of uploaded to iTunes do you think it would make a noticealbe difference? Again, not arguing asking trying to see where you're coming from with all this.

 

[moses]

a wise mic selection and technique is much more important that the mic itself.

good recording studios have plenty of mics, sometimes a 5$ toy mic is just the right thing, sometimes a Brauner mic does the trick. flexibility is much more important than one single high end mic.

it's not really productive to search for the "best" mic.

 

[staxx111]

^^^So what's "high end quality"? Seriously asking. What song have you heard that really takes advantage of the million dollar enviroment.

I can name alot, for instance....Celine Dione "It's all Coming Back". But that's due to the micing of everything. The engineering of the instrumentations boggled me more than her vocals.

But c'mon? Kanye, Wayne, even Jay's newer material? Beats can be made on FL Studio if you know what you're doing, vocals may as well have been recorded on an AT2020 the way they were squashed all to hell, and once it was ran through a decent board in a mastering house...Wa-La.

Music isn't made the same way anymore. Vocals don't need the best mic especially when they're blended in with the perfectly mic'd digital samples and softsynths we use today. Then you can throw emulation SSL's and Compressors over the top.

Time to get real. You once referenced Justine Timberlake's second album as taking advantage of the same enviroment. I'm sorry, the mix on his first was amazing, but Futuresex while mixed well, falls waaaaaayyyyy short of an album engineers should be impressed by.

Anyone with a computer and even the crappiest mic with the right knowhow can mix an album as good as Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die" in 2009. 10 years ago, that mix was brilliant. That should say enough in itself.

If we were talking rock band, makes sense. Jazz instrumentalists, of course.

But for a few tracks of vocals? Just sit them well in the mix and keep it moving.

Not trying to argue at all, just fail to understand how as an engineer you don't get that. It would be different if I was talking to an engineer in 1990, but what music released this year took advantage of that million dollar sound?

Times have changed. Even if you did mic up a $10,000 chain, by the time it was pressed to commercial CD of uploaded to iTunes do you think it would make a noticealbe difference? Again, not arguing asking trying to see where you're coming from with all this.

 

[Morning_Star]

Usually when a cheap mic is better for the job it's a Shure SM7b or a Bluebird. Not ever a $5 toy mic. Even if I wanted a toy mic sound I would still use a good mic and then use AudioEase Speakerphone to sound like anything I want. Hollywood Undead is some "friends" of mine and they don't have the best quality sound but it matches their style and they use a Rode NT2a but it goes straight to a high end pre and a Distressor. Even when you want the sound of a cheap mic you usually run it through some great gear to properly capture that sound.

And the thing I like about FutureSex is the vocal mixes. Not the whole mix. I mean Ja Rule (don't really like his music) has some of the best sounding vocals I've ever heard for vibe, quality, mix, and smoothness and they used a U87 to a Avalon 737. And I hate the 737. But it's still good gear. I've never heard a vocal mix that impressed me and then found out it was a USB mic.

All I'm saying is that although you might get something you can live with out of a USB mic it still doesn't compare to any mic through a real mic pre and converters.

And I do believe that the chain still matters by the time it hits iTunes. Another amazing recording is Listen to your Heart by DHT. M49 mic to all boutique gear.

Name one quality recording pressed to cd on a usb mic. I'd be surprised if there is any.

 

[deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup]

^^^Ask that question next year. It's still new technology.

I actually remember a similar convo when someone asked me to name a quality mix done using an M-Box without any outside pres. Then came songs from Sheryl Crow, lol.

I remember people asking me to name a quality production made on computer rather than hardware. Hell, right here in this forum there was a time when people would ask you to name 1 pro who used FL Studio.

Don't fear evolution. Embrace it.

http://www.mxlmics.com/products/USB/USB_009/USB_009.html

Now tell me why that won't trump a bullsh*t hardware chain?