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Best studio mics for singers


tamarapereir397

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Posted

Hi guys

I’ve been working on Fiverr for a little more than 3 months and I am thinking about buying a new microphone so I can improve my gigs.

Which mics have you used? and which ones are best for a contralto Rock and Blues singer?

Of course, I’m on a tiny budget 🤭

Thanks everyone in advance 😃

Posted

I assume you have an Audio Interface, if not get one.

From having done the mixing people’s music thing for 30+ years I will say you don’t need anything fancy to get decent results anywhere near as much as to know how to use what you have. Fancy mics are marginally better but only if you know how to use them - if not, they can be worse, even if only because you think by having a better mic you are better already.

My suggestions for budget buying would be Behringer. I have one of their Ultravoice XM8500 Dynamic Cardioid mics and it does a fine job for peanuts. For the interface again a Behringer or I think right now Steinberg have a USB 3 device that looks solid enough for a good price.

USB Mics will claim to cut out the Interface, they are better than in iPhone but not enough to justify the cost which gets up close to doing it properly, but will almost always have a poor, papery sound which is harder to fix in the mix than room tone.

Speaking of room, get a Mic stand and position your mic 6" from you and about level with your nose and you should get a decent clear sound. If you get loud, move back or turn your head so you exhale across the mic rather than into it. That will deal with the worst polsives, removing the need for a pop shield that only reduces clarity - the #1 thing you want “on tape”.

Avoid those stupid vocal booth/shields you attach to your mic stand, singing in cupboards, or under a ganja flag as it does more damage than good. A normal room with the mic reasonably in the center will do the job best. NEVER hold the mic by the ball or in any other way that blocks the sound received as that wrecks the sound you record.

🙂

Posted

I assume you have an Audio Interface, if not get one.

From having done the mixing people’s music thing for 30+ years I will say you don’t need anything fancy to get decent results anywhere near as much as to know how to use what you have. Fancy mics are marginally better but only if you know how to use them - if not, they can be worse, even if only because you think by having a better mic you are better already.

My suggestions for budget buying would be Behringer. I have one of their Ultravoice XM8500 Dynamic Cardioid mics and it does a fine job for peanuts. For the interface again a Behringer or I think right now Steinberg have a USB 3 device that looks solid enough for a good price.

USB Mics will claim to cut out the Interface, they are better than in iPhone but not enough to justify the cost which gets up close to doing it properly, but will almost always have a poor, papery sound which is harder to fix in the mix than room tone.

Speaking of room, get a Mic stand and position your mic 6" from you and about level with your nose and you should get a decent clear sound. If you get loud, move back or turn your head so you exhale across the mic rather than into it. That will deal with the worst polsives, removing the need for a pop shield that only reduces clarity - the #1 thing you want “on tape”.

Avoid those stupid vocal booth/shields you attach to your mic stand, singing in cupboards, or under a ganja flag as it does more damage than good. A normal room with the mic reasonably in the center will do the job best. NEVER hold the mic by the ball or in any other way that blocks the sound received as that wrecks the sound you record.

🙂

I assume you have an Audio Interface, if not get one.

Yes, I do have an audio interface.

Posted

I assume you have an Audio Interface, if not get one.

From having done the mixing people’s music thing for 30+ years I will say you don’t need anything fancy to get decent results anywhere near as much as to know how to use what you have. Fancy mics are marginally better but only if you know how to use them - if not, they can be worse, even if only because you think by having a better mic you are better already.

My suggestions for budget buying would be Behringer. I have one of their Ultravoice XM8500 Dynamic Cardioid mics and it does a fine job for peanuts. For the interface again a Behringer or I think right now Steinberg have a USB 3 device that looks solid enough for a good price.

USB Mics will claim to cut out the Interface, they are better than in iPhone but not enough to justify the cost which gets up close to doing it properly, but will almost always have a poor, papery sound which is harder to fix in the mix than room tone.

Speaking of room, get a Mic stand and position your mic 6" from you and about level with your nose and you should get a decent clear sound. If you get loud, move back or turn your head so you exhale across the mic rather than into it. That will deal with the worst polsives, removing the need for a pop shield that only reduces clarity - the #1 thing you want “on tape”.

Avoid those stupid vocal booth/shields you attach to your mic stand, singing in cupboards, or under a ganja flag as it does more damage than good. A normal room with the mic reasonably in the center will do the job best. NEVER hold the mic by the ball or in any other way that blocks the sound received as that wrecks the sound you record.

🙂 have a nice day

Posted

No worries at all. We are all here to help.

If you or your clients are ever looking for a vocal mixer…

🙂

If you or your clients are ever looking for a vocal mixer…

Yeah, for sure 🙂

I say the same 😃

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