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[angharadyeo]

Hey there,

I debated whether to post this here or in the Mic Lab, so forgive me if I've gotten it wrong!

I'm looking to pick up a mic well suited to my voice, and would love your guys' opinion.  I've got links for two clips that were recorded with a KSM32 through a FMR RNP.  Nothing spectacular, but should give a good idea of my voice, and how I use it.

Cheers
Angharad

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28633507/Vocal%20Clip%201.wav
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28633507/Vocal%20Clip%202.wav

[Jim Williams]

For a new voice, I put all of them up. Then I patch them in, without notation. Then sing and listen. Mark the favorite. Then have the singer tap on the mics until you hear the one you picked. Be prepared to be suprized.

Changing keys?

Set them all up again and do it all over. Prepare to change mics with key changes. I've had to do that before just to get song to song consistancy, different mics ended up sounding alike when done.

One mic? Not likely. There's reasons folks have more than one.

[Timtape]

Jim,  I have a different stance from you on this issue.

 A vocalist can only sing the same song in a different key if they have the vocal range, let's say two octaves, to do so. Sure, a change from the key of C to C# will often not be a problem for a vocalist but from C up to G, or from G down to C can be really pushing it. So what of a song which already demands of the singer their full vocal range from  lowest to highest register? How do you record it with only the one mic? Or do you need multiple mics for individual notes or bands of notes within the one song? Just taking your argument to what seems its logical conclusion.


Tim

[Jim Williams]

Folks tend to overthink this stuff. It's not complicated. You put up all your mics and pick the winner. If they all suck, then you borrow/rent some.

If a key change forces an unwanted resonance, you pick another mic that works better. Change styles and you may change mics again. Like potato chips, you can't have just one.

The only mic that ever came close to working for almost anyone was a modified AKG 414 B-ULS, a flat mic. Sometimes EQ was used to get it where you want it. Usually, if you have enough choices you would find a better choice than that 414, it's a vanilla sort of mic that covers many bases.

These days, that mic would probably work 90% of the time. I wouldn't stress mic selection too much, unless you have one of those amazing voices (which seem to be missing lately) that requires an amazing mic.

Are you the next Frank Sinatra or Jim Morrison? Then you should be that picky. If not, get back to work, no one but you will notice nor care.

[Timtape]

Jim,
Perhaps you misunderstand. The one who suggested we might not need to be that picky about matching the mic to the vocalist was me.

Tim

[Dinogi]

Difficult if not impossible question to answer because there's just so many microphones out there at a ridiculously wide price range. It really comes down to what you can afford, your microphone technique, where your'e recording, and what is available to audition where you live. I could smugly spout out names all day and really not fairly answer your question. If you record yourself at home with an M-Box and a laptop, your choices will be quite different than if you have access to a studio. I assume your situation is closer to the first scenario because your asking about "picking up a microphone". So I'll go out on a limb and suggest a dynamic microphone that will play nice with a home recording environment. If you can locate a Telefunken M80 you should check it out. Dynamic microphones, especially this one can help to de-emphasize the ambient noise usually associated with non-studio recording environments. Plus it's probably a better buy than many cheap asian condensers. I bet you would be surprised at how well it captures your voice. I truly believe it walks all over many comparably priced Chinese condensers in tonal quality. As Fletcher always says, "YMMV" ....d