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anonymous 30 July 2003

For my band's studio I was planning on buying approximately 5 good ($500 and up) vocal microphones, spending 2-3 weeks testing them to find out which one would be best for our singer's voice, keeping that one, and returning the rest. Then I found out that stores don't let you return microphones because of health issues. So I have to choose one and hope to get lucky.

I was leaning towards the Shure KSM44. I like the fact that you can change the polar pattern. And Anne (singer) is used to singing into Shure mics, having always used 57's and 58's during gigs and rehearsals.

What are people's experiences with the 44? Also, how does it compare to the KSM27. We recorded one thing with a friend's 27 and it sounded pretty good. I would guess that the 44 would only sound better.

Thanks,
Nick
The Kris Special
http://

Comments

Hack Wed, 07/30/2003 - 10:09

I like all the KSM series. But I have never used them for vocals, I always use them for room or overheads. The only difference between the 27 and the 44, I think, is the changable patterns. You might see if there is a studio or sound company near you that has a good collection of mics that you could rent or just check out there.

anonymous Thu, 07/31/2003 - 10:24

First of all the 32 has a completely different capsule - it is not a large diaphragm mic like the others.

Secondly, who told you it was illegal to return mics? I've heard others say this, but I wonder if it is just something sales weasels are instructed to say by their bosses to discourage exactly what you are trying to do.

All I know is, I' ve bought and returned mics at all kinds of stores, and no one ever told me it was illegal. As a matter of fact, I specifically returned a KSM44 to Guitar Center once.
It may be true with swimsuits, but I think someone is lying about mics.

I haven't tried the 27, but I found the 32 and 44 to be a little boring on lead vocals. Not much personality. They might work a lot better on other sources.

Rod Gervais Thu, 07/31/2003 - 13:07

LD - i know we can return mics around here - but here isn't cali - maybe in cali they have more problems with health related microphone epidemics than we do in new englang.........

Personally - i would find it hard to believe because most music stores have floor models for sampling purposes.

Nick,

I would suggest that you verify that with the local health department.

Happy Hunting

And LD - nice to see you today - i miss our little chats.........

Take care buddy,

Rod

sheet Thu, 08/07/2003 - 19:54

All condensers require that the backplate be charged ("externally polarized") by phantom power, unless they have an internal source, such as a battery. None of the KSM's have a battery option. I don't know an example of what a non "true condenser" would be. Either it requires a charge or it doesn't.

anonymous Fri, 08/08/2003 - 15:09

upon checking with Musician's Friend I realized that the "no return on microphones" policy is only a California thing. So if I do it with Musician's Friend I can return them. So I'm back to my original plan of buying 5 or so mics, testing them, and returning all but one. I think these are my choices:

Shure KSM44
AKG C414 (is the TL-II model much better than the regular one?)
BLUE Blueberry
BLUE Dragonfly
Rode NTK

Should I add anything to this list? I was also thinking of the GT55 or 56, and a friend recommended the MXL V77. I have another friend who's going to let me borrow his Neumann TLM 103 to check out and another one with a Rode Classic. My budget is $1000 and down.

Also keep in mind that while we'll probably use it for other applications, the entire selling point is how well they sound on our singer's (a female) voice. For a sample of our singer's voice, check out http:// There's a cover of a Wilco song that we did. The vocals were recorded on a KSM27.

Thanks...
Nick
The Kris Special
http://

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