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Iwant to buy a condensor vocal mike but can only afford 200 - $300 can anyone tell which mike will give me the best bang for the buck, I will be runnin it into a eurorack mx602a into a Roland VS 1680 I will be doing mostly rock vocals and am new to this,the help would be highly appreciated.

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KurtFoster Mon, 03/28/2005 - 16:13

A pet peeve .. in English, it's mic, not mike, no matter what anyone says. In German, which is where I think the confusion sources at, the word is Mik with no "e". They spell it Mikrophone.

The term micro is the root of the word ... meaning small. The term microphone means "small speaker", which in reverse, is essentially what dynamic mics are.

Mike is a good friend of mine although he prefers to be called Michael.

I always recommend on a budget, the line of Studio Projects mics, the B1, C1, C3, ... all list under $500 and can be found "streeting" for under $300, except perhaps the C3.

I also recommend looking at the CAD M9 tube mic. I reviewed this one and was very impressed with the sound. Around $300 "street" as well.

Audio Technicas 4033, is a studio standard because it can be used for many applications. It is not a LD mic however instead it is a medium diaphragm mic with a 3/4" diaphragm. You should be able to find one for around $300.

The newest mic on my list is the KEL HM-1. This is a very cool little mic that uses a small 1" diaphragm in a side address application. Comparisons of the HM-1 to my Neumann U87ai through my Amek Neve 9098 mic pres (eq hardwire bypassed) resulted in a very similar sound to my ear. More in common than not, with the Neumann being slightly less present in the mids and perhaps a tiny bit more silky in the higher registers. However, the difference was very subtle. I have to wonder which I would choose in a double blind test.

The cool thing about the HM-1 is it sells for $99 including shipping and if you decide you hate it KEL will provide a full refund if the mic is returned within 21 days. I don't know of any other mic manufacturer that does that!

sproll Tue, 03/29/2005 - 10:50

Kurt Foster wrote: A pet peeve .. in English, it's mic, not mike, no matter what anyone says. In German, which is where I think the confusion sources at, the word is Mik with no "e". They spell it Mikrophone.

The term micro is the root of the word ... meaning small. The term microphone means "small speaker", which in reverse, is essentially what dynamic mics are.

Mike is a good friend of mine although he prefers to be called Michael.

I always recommend on a budget, the line of Studio Projects mics, the B1, C1, C3, ... all list under $500 and can be found "streeting" for under $300, except perhaps the C3.

I also recommend looking at the CAD M9 tube mic. I reviewed this one and was very impressed with the sound. Around $300 "street" as well.

Audio Technicas 4033, is a studio standard because it can be used for many applications. It is not a LD mic however instead it is a medium diaphragm mic with a 3/4" diaphragm. You should be able to find one for around $300.

The newest mic on my list is the KEL HM-1. This is a very cool little mic that uses a small 1" diaphragm in a side address application. Comparisons of the HM-1 to my Neumann U87ai through my Amek Neve 9098 mic pres (eq hardwire bypassed) resulted in a very similar sound to my ear. More in common than not, with the Neumann being slightly less present in the mids and perhaps a tiny bit more silky in the higher registers. However, the difference was very subtle. I have to wonder which I would choose in a double blind test.

The cool thing about the HM-1 is it sells for $99 including shipping and if you decide you hate it KEL will provide a full refund if the mic is returned within 21 days. I don't know of any other mic manufacturer that does that!

Hey Kurt,

I already have a SP C1 mic. In your opinion would it be worth my while to get an HM-1 as well? What would you say each would be better suited for if this is the case?

Thanks!

Tom
PS - Sorry, don't mean to hijack your thread!