Vocal Mike for recording

[Brow]

What would be a good choice of mic for vocals between this

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/akg-c-414-xls--72455

and this, considering i do have a SM57 for instruments already

http://www.dv247.com/microphones/akg-akg-perception-820-tube--66425

Thanks :)

When I was at the studio I always loved the 414 on acoustic guitars, brighter Electric guitar tones, drum overheads, Flutes and Violins. I only very occasionally used it on vocals and then it was usually a female singer. I always found them to be quite warm sounding mics.

[Johnny Mac]

Great, thanks for the informed opinions Brow & JJ :-)

Neumann are a bit pricey for me! Great vid though.

[gwEm]

I'm sure the mics discussed will all be much better than this.. But if you were after a more bargain basement option, I'm using an Audio Technica 2020 for vocals and am more than satisfied with it.

[AndyR]

Yep, all the ones under discussion seem to be slightly up a step from what I use as well! :lol:

I use a either a Rode NT1000 or a Shure SM57 depending on what type of vocal I want. The Rode has been my "go to" for vocals for a few years now. But I threw an SM57 at it out of laziness a while back and was surprised at how good the results were. (I've also been known to use a rusty old SM58, my old gig mic from 15 years ago - still works but lacks some top end!)

[Johnny Mac]

Yes I'm sure some of those Mic's you use are great and have worked well for you.

I tried looking for those Groove Tube Mic's on eBay but nothing doing.

I had my heart set on a 414 type mic for a long time now. It was probably reading this a few years back that did that
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov04/articles/akgmics.htm

Here's an interesting article based on what MDV was saying.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may08/articles/qa0508_4.htm
Good points. Ideally I'd need a lot of Mic's but that would be at the expense of guitars and amps though.  :?

An old friend of mine and myself are hoping to do a lot of recording together in the future. He is an amazing bass player and brilliant at arrangements but can't even send an email on a computer. We've done a lot of rehearsals together when we were trying to get that Ian Dury trib' started. We had to give that up as time became a real problem for both us and an even bigger one for the vocalist as he got 6 months inside!  :lol:

[Johnny Mac]

I got a new mic yesterday one of these
http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,1129,pid,1129,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html
My home studio/stuff in my room, is pretty much complete after a good few years of getting things.

I've got to learn how to use it properly now. I've got a good shield, pop screen and boom stand to go with it.

:-)

[Plenum n Heather]

Nice, the 414 is a great mic that can fill many roles. It's NEVER complete, btw ... :)

Remember that the 414 is an omni mic, so you may have to use absorption behind the mic to prevent too much room pinging to get into the mic...

[Brow]

I got a new mic yesterday one of these
http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,1129,pid,1129,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html
My home studio/stuff in my room, is pretty much complete after a good few years of getting things.

I've got to learn how to use it properly now. I've got a good shield, pop screen and boom stand to go with it.

:-)

I always used to love 414s during my engineering time at the studio. They were my 'go-to' mics for acoustic guitars, female vocals (always found them a tad too warm for male vocals), brighter sounding electric guitars, Woodwind Instruments, Drum Overheads plus others.

As Ben already said, it's a great mic that can cover many bases  :D

[AndyR]

Nice one :D

[JJretroTONEGOD]

you chose well! you will soon be amazed at how versatile it is.

[Johnny Mac]

Thanks a lot for your help with this. I really appreciate it.
I'm not in a position to buy lots of mics for all different things so this and my SM57 will have to do. If my ears and techniques improve then I may.  I don't always get he time to record but I love it when I do. :-)

I've got a big foam lined shield to put around it, to take care of room reflections. I'm going to get some acoustic foam to absorb behind the vocalist to. Which will amount to
Sticking it on a wardrobe door!

[Johnny Mac]

Here's a pic of it all set up

[Plenum n Heather]

Looks great!