Which TYPE of mic is generally best for home vocals?

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:27 am

Hi All,
Ok I have realised from reading many threads that the sound of a mic is all a personal taste, but still I would appreciate some advice on the following before I shell out £££'s on a mic.

Which TYPE of mic is generally best for home studio VOCAL recording (its a quite room):

Large Diaphram Condensor?
Small Diaphram Condensor?
Dynamic Mic (E.g Shure SM58 Beta?)

I just want to make sure I get the right type of mic for the job.

Thanks!
AM.

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:41 am

For most Angry Monkeys, I recommend the venerable Shure SM 58. Yes, yes, it's an inexpensive dynamic but it's probably my favorite sounding all-purpose microphone that's virtually indestructible. I really think people just don't give it the accolades it really deserves? When I want mellow, fat, clean, precise give me a SM 58. OK, so I don't have any but I do have quite a few SM 57's & Beta 58's, along with my SM 53's & SM 7. If you want a condenser that will set you back about 3 times over a SM 58, I love my SM 81's. Much smoother than any Chinese or Russian cheapies. Not brittle or harsh. Mine are about one quarter century old! Don't think you'll find those budget microphones lasting that long?

Somehow that makes me feel old?
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:00 am

Thanks again Remy!

If you dont mind another question when you say "all-purpose microphone" do you mean that its all-purpose for just vocals (as in it can handle from screaming rock through general pop right up to opera) or do you mean all-purpose in that it can do vocals, guitars, drums, etc etc?

Im really after a vocal mic - now if the Sm58 does lots of stuff other than vocals thats fine, as long as it does vocals as well as any decent vocal mic, if that makes sense?

Thanks in advance!
AM.

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:40 am

SM58 will record anything you can hear.
And rather well.

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:47 pm

SM58 is an SM57 with a pop/windshield built in instead of needing an external one (so far I understand anyway).

The SM57, as Greener said, will record anything you can hear (with two exceptions: below about 40Hz and above about 16KHz Laughing

).

Quote from Wiki: "The SM57 is the microphone used on the lectern of the President of the United States."
Also, I was wrong. It apparently stops at 15KHz.

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:27 pm

It doesn't stop, just the response has dropped more than 10bd.

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:16 pm

Yep, the SM58 is brilliant. It is probably the one piece of musical equipment ever that deserves the tag "industry standard". It has been the most used mic in the world for more than 30 years. I have 7 of them, three radio and four standard. There are better mics, but they are all better in given situations. As Remy says, it is easily the best all-round mic ever made. Especially good for rappers who want to swallow the mic and rock singers who shake the windows.

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