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[yodadbl07]

I record a lot of Hardcore Punk Rock and Screamo type stuff is there a mic and is better for screaming vocals? I think i heard some where the Shure SM7B is good for screaming but does anyone have any suggestions?

[Jim Dugger]

I surely wouldn't subject a really expensive mic to the kind of handling and torture and active punk singer would give it!

The SM7 has a great sound for vocals and will also be good for horns and anything else kind of raspy you want to smooth out.  I am also very, very fond of the Senheiser 441 for the same reasons.  I have very extensive experience with the 441 and consider it one of the most useful microphones ever made even though it can require a very large (65db+) amount of gain for softer sources.  They are expensive new, but can be had on E-Bay for $300.  I'm a bit of a fan of "large format dynamics".

Also consider a Punk vocal might be as much about the singer's dancing and thrashing about and "getting into it".  Give him a 57 and let things happen.  You might be surprised and what you get.

[yodadbl07]

thanks for the post


theres not a lot of dancing and thrashing in the studio so mic safty isnt an issue.

[Klaus Heyne]

Redirecting traffic- have you checked in with Harvey Gerst's excellent forum? His audience may know quite a bit more about this field of recording.

[Zoesch]

In artistic and technical terms, dynamics are preferable for singers who scream for multiple reasons, one of them is the abuse the diaphragm gets subjected to, another one is a slight smoothing of the transients which leads to a more controlled sound, another reason is that generally speaking dynamic mics that have been optimized for kick drum applications tend to cut a lot of the most offending frequencies from a screamer.

And those are also reasons why most condensers are unsuitable for recording screamers... first is the issue of SPL handling (And fragility), second is the issue of moisture getting trapped in the mic (All the screamers I have recorded tend to spit an awful lot, more than what a pop filter or a windscreen will be able to cope with), then is the issue of frequency hyping, the problem being that the frequencies that get hyped tend to be around the same frequencies where the screamer's voice starts to break.

Funny enough, I've done my share of growlers and low pitch screamers in my death metal days, and for those applications I'm ambivalent, a good dynamic can help you tame and overly throaty singer but a good condenser will raise the singer in the mix, provided that he/she (And yes I mean she, take Angela Gossow as an example) has good volume control.

Hope this is helpful.

BTW, Possible candidates include the Audix D6, AKG D112 and EV RE20... some unlikely candidates that sound good include the older Shure Unydine mics, Soundelux U195 and the U47-fet.

[Jason Phair]

I did a hardcore "screamer" band for the first time this psat fall. Did the main vocals with an M88, then later did backups with a 421, both handheld.  If I'd had time, I'd have gone back through and redone everything with the 421.  It smooths those transients pretty well, yet doesn't muddy things up.

[hargerst]

Klaus Heyne wrote on Thu, 03 June 2004 00:29

Redirecting traffic- have you checked in with Harvey Gerst's excellent forum? His audience may know quite a bit more about this field of recording.

Klause, thank you for the forum plug.  For screamers, we use the Shure SM-7 and the discontinued Beyer Soundstar MK II - both work very well for that purpose.  Add a decent compressor and you're good to go.