302efi
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Best vocal mic under $500 ?
Looking to pick-up the best possible sounding vocal mic for under $500. Mic will only be used for vocals (Rap and some singing)
Any ideas ?
I really don;t need to upgrade, my ADK is doing quite well, but I got a couple extra bucks and we all love more gear and choices !
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/12 23:30:37
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I really recommend considering the gauge Microphones. The $150 is really nice man. My friend is sponsored by them and Ive heard stuff recorded through it. It was going through nice gear mind you, but it sounded really good. It will be my next mic purchase. I just sold my RODE NTK because I really dont use it much. I use my MCA SP-1 which is a $60 mic a lot. That gauge mic is sweet. My friend was telling me they had 30 years reputable engineers doing a test of it with the U47 blind style, and the gauge was winning plenty. He doesnt make money off them, but he uses his, and he has a LOT of mics, really nice studio... www.thehiddenstudio.com http://www.gauge-usa.com/ The mics may be on back order ;)
Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS Motherboard i7 3770k CPU 32 gigs RAM Presonus AudioBox iTwo Windows 10 64 bit, SONAR PLATINUM 64 bit Lots of plugins and softsynths and one shot samples, loops Gauge ECM-87, MCA SP-1, Alesis AM51 Presonus Eureka Mackie HR824's and matching subwoofer
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george4th
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/12 23:32:26
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try rmc music ask for erik, i got a brand new rode k2 tube condener for somewhere around that. It is the best sounding mic I have heard anywhere near that price. Erik knows what he is talking about, just call and he will guide you.
X1b PE, Sonar 8.5.3 PE 64bit...Amd Phenom II quad core processor 12gb ram,1tb hd & 500g hd, W7 64bit, Lynx AES16, (2) Apogee Rosetta 800's,Focal Twin6be's,M-Audio Midisport 4x4(64 bit driver), Mackie Control Universal Pro ++,Yamaha 01v96, All Rode mic's manufactered to date, alot of Shure mics,Yamaha XS8, Alesis QS8.1, Kurzweil k2000rs, Yamaha Motif es76, Kurzweil pc88, Roland XV-3080, Way too many guitars, a multitude of outboard processors,Yamaha C1 piano, Bach Strad, Yamaha Xeno, Yamaha 731 Flugel
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ohhey
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/12 23:52:18
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302efi
Looking to pick-up the best possible sounding vocal mic for under $500. Mic will only be used for vocals (Rap and some singing)
Any ideas ?
I really don;t need to upgrade, my ADK is doing quite well, but I got a couple extra bucks and we all love more gear and choices !
For RAP I would go with a Shure SM7 or ElectroVoice RE-20, not a condensor. Get the MCA-SP1 cheap condensor for the other singing stuff.
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 00:05:31
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Wow Frank, I work with hip hop all the time, and they all use condensers.
Interesting notion.
Youre right though the MCA sp-1 is awesome man. I just recorded 2 new songs(my stuff, R&B/POP) with it and they sound frikkin great.
But I heard that Gauge recently and actually had to mix the songs in which it was used. It was REAL easy to get the vocals sounding nice because that mic sounds great-
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 00:07:09
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I just sold my RODE NTK- harsh. K2 is pretty much the same mic but with more patterns....
Might as well get the SP-1 and the Gauge, or maybe the SM7
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george4th
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 00:20:13
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what didnt you like about the k2? We use it all the time, it is the goto for almost all acoustics and vocals. Just wondering, guess thats why there are so many different manufacturers of nearly the same thing ranging from 200-5000. I bought into the studio projects sp1 a few years ago when everyone thought it was the greatest thing on earth, it wasn't. sits in the box and comes out for a bass drum every now and again.
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Rbh
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 00:37:23
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I second the Re-20 recommendation.
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 00:47:09
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Do you mean MCA SP-1? The RODE NTK is harsh in the upper mids... I just figured the K2 is 2 as it is the same mic with added patterns, but, hey, maybe Im wrong ;)
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george4th
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 01:24:29
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No, I dont think we are talking about the same mic, I am talking about the studio projects sp-1, it was hot on the forum a while back and bought one, like 200 dollars, and it wasnt worth that. I looked into that guage and will buy it and test, i read the reviews, looks good. The k2, well like i said it is the goto for us, we do jazz/rock type vocals, kinda dave matthewish but harder, so the vocals are liked by the k2. The pre has alot to do with the mic though, if you have a great mic and a crappy pre, well you know what i mean. Ill check out the gauge and let you know what i think. Oh, I do know that some have traded the ntk for the k2, i never tried the ntk so i cant comment on it. G.
X1b PE, Sonar 8.5.3 PE 64bit...Amd Phenom II quad core processor 12gb ram,1tb hd & 500g hd, W7 64bit, Lynx AES16, (2) Apogee Rosetta 800's,Focal Twin6be's,M-Audio Midisport 4x4(64 bit driver), Mackie Control Universal Pro ++,Yamaha 01v96, All Rode mic's manufactered to date, alot of Shure mics,Yamaha XS8, Alesis QS8.1, Kurzweil k2000rs, Yamaha Motif es76, Kurzweil pc88, Roland XV-3080, Way too many guitars, a multitude of outboard processors,Yamaha C1 piano, Bach Strad, Yamaha Xeno, Yamaha 731 Flugel
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Mykuhl
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 02:31:35
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I'm not sure what they cost in your part of the world, but one that I have tried, and loved is the SMPro Audio MC-03 Tube mic. A friend of mine who is a mc/producer borrowed it, and he thought it was the best mic that he'd ever used.
I like it, for lovely warm vocals, and also sounds quite nice on bongo's. It will probably cost about $500 in the US.
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batsbrew
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 10:29:06
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Shure KSM44.
it will be slightly out of your price range, but better than all the rest.
in your range, the Shure KSM32
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krizrox
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 10:41:42
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When I was doing hip hop I almost always used my Studio Projects C1. I referred to it as my hip hop microphone. It tended to add the clarity I felt I needed for most of the rappers that passed through here. I think they are around $300 brand new.
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/13 23:35:18
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I am really interested in trying the SHURE KSM44 as well...
Heard nothing but great things about it-
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Middleman
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 01:55:09
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The Maillard Reaction
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 07:24:16
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Gauge has a a few prototype SM7/RE20 clones that we've been auditioning... they say the production cost may not be suitable... some one should pester them to bring it too market. http://www.gauge-usa.com/ best regards, mike
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ohhey
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 10:23:00
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mike_mccue
Gauge has a a few prototype SM7/RE20 clones that we've been auditioning... they say the production cost may not be suitable... some one should pester them to bring it too market.
http://www.gauge-usa.com/
best regards,
mike
Yeah.. we have enough condensors and ribbons on the market now. We need some more good high end dynamic mics.
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zippsinc
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 14:52:48
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Lanceindastudio
I am really interested in trying the SHURE KSM44 as well...
Heard nothing but great things about it-
I'm not absolutely s hure about this (pardon the pun), but wasn't the KSM27 (which is now the SM27) the cardioid version of the multi-pattern KSM44? I'm positive I read this somewhere several years back. Mind you, the source may have been misinformed. Does anyone know? Zipps
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Beagle
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 15:14:15
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zippsinc
Lanceindastudio
I am really interested in trying the SHURE KSM44 as well...
Heard nothing but great things about it-
I'm not absolutely shure about this (pardon the pun), but wasn't the KSM27 (which is now the SM27) the cardioid version of the multi-pattern KSM44? I'm positive I read this somewhere several years back. Mind you, the source may have been misinformed.
Does anyone know?
Zipps
yes, that's correct. I have the KSM-27. the SM-27, however, has upgraded electronics.
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skullsession
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 15:26:08
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HOOK: Skullsessions.com / Darwins God Album "Without a doubt I would have far greater listening and aural skills than most of the forum members here. Not all but many I am sure....I have done more listening than most people." - Jeff Evans on how awesome Jeff Evans is.
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batsbrew
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 15:58:35
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i have to say, i really like my ADK Hamburg.
i did a session just last night with it, running it into a ART DPS, and it sounds excellent.
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batsbrew
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 16:04:08
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batsbrew
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/14 16:08:21
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zippsinc
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/15 15:10:54
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Beagle
yes, that's correct. I have the KSM-27. the SM-27, however, has upgraded electronics.
Thanks for clarifying that Beagle. I have a KSM27 too. It's a good mic.
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/15 18:14:39
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So I can get the KSM27 for vocals, and it will have the same sound as the KSM44 when in the same pattern mode? I dont mic drums and other stuff at this point, and when I have to mic amps, I use my sp-1 or my am51 like 2 to 3 feet away and an sm58 close mic'd.
So, I would only want the shure for vocals.
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MemphisJo
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/15 18:20:57
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Shure SM7B, probably the best all round mic under $1000.
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/15 18:22:27
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batsbrew
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Re:Best vocal mic under $500 ?
2010/04/16 12:36:33
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no, the ksm does not sound the same as the ksm44.
i've a/b'd these two mics side by side, and the ksm 44 is clearly superior on every level.
the 27 is still a nice mic for the money.
but the ksm series, and the SM7, are two different animals
condensers, versus dynamics.
the sm7 is more like a shure SM57
the ksm's, require phantom power, and their elements are physically different.
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