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What should I get?
I want to record better, professional quality vocals.

Right now I am using a Line 6 UX1 Interface and a Samson USB CO1U condenser mic.

It is pretty bad quality mic. But I am running straight through my USB with no sound card. Just using sound processor on me motherboard.

Now I want some good sounding vocals because I am interested in recording Death Growls and Power Metal Vocals. And I also need a mic that picks up a lot and doesn't require you to up the gain and cause a crap load of white noise.

But what should I get?

Should I get a better quality mic, a better interface, or a really good soundcard?

Which would make the biggest improvement in my sound?

Now someone on another forum said that I should just get a sm57 so I could mic my amp but I always thought condensers are best for Micing an amp. Which is better?

thanks

Comments

BobRogers Sat, 10/31/2009 - 05:27

My recommendation for a first purchase is a Shure SM57 mic, a good XLR cable, and a foam pop filter. Use that through the UX1 and see if that's not an improvement over the Samson. While the SM57 might not turn out to be the best mc for your vocals, it is a good vocal mic and it is definitely "pro quality." Pros use it for snare, guitar cabs, and tons of other things. (They even use it for some vocalists in spite of the fact that they have $3K mics available.)

In the long run, you want a better quality interface. A computer sound card is almost never used in serious recording. (Depends on how you define "serious" I guess.) You want a good DAW software package. (What are you using now?) And you want mics that are picked to fit the task at hand.

But it is hard to choose these things if you don't have any experience. So I'd get a 57 and keep plugging away with the equipment you have. You can learn a lot with that equipment, and you will make better decisions about what to buy when you are ready to spend a lot more money.

Kapt.Krunch Sat, 10/31/2009 - 05:58

Cowslayer wrote: Now I want some good sounding vocals because I am interested in recording Death Growls and Power Metal Vocals.

For Death Growls, I would get a fantastic-sounding expensive mic and preamp, and then use plug-ins to make it sound like you recorded it with a cheap USB mic to get that "nasty" sound.

(Sorry. Couldn't resist). :P

Kapt.Krunch

Guitarfreak Sat, 10/31/2009 - 20:44

It's tough to say what is the best way to actually track something like those kinds of growls. I'm not biased or anything, I listen to this style of music among others so I'm not trying to knock it, it's just not like choosing a mic for a normal vocal style.

There are those who prefer a dynamic like the SM57/58 for the warm fuzzy quality the proximity effect lends to their growling when put right up to the mouth. There are those that prefer the clarity of a dynamic with no proximity effect like the EV RE20 or the SM7b. The SM7b also has the benefit of some pretty unique sounds when you get right up on it and scream into it with your hands around your mouth and mic capsule, you'll recognize the sound when you hear it. I can tell by listening that some Behemoth tracks were recorded this way.

Usually however it is preferred to use a dynamic mic for these purposes because we can be talking some pretty high SPL levels and dynamic mics are durable and it's pretty hard to overload the capsule with sheer vocal volume. Also many dynamic mics for vocals usually come with built in pop filtering which can absorb the spit and moisture that would otherwise damage the capsule, condensers don't have this and you would need to buy an external pop filter or two to protect the mic itself.

The mics themselves are not important, I used them as examples, instead now you have some things to look into so you can narrow down the playing field and figure out exactly what it is you want to achieve with said mic. Feel free to ask questions if you are uncertain about something.

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