Which to buy ? Ordered the AKG C214 !!

For vocal recording, a large diaphragm is preferable. small diaphragm mics are good for micing drums or instruments.

For that price range I would check out the MXL V69. It's a cardioid large diaphragm tube mic for about $300. If you can swing a little more, the Rode NTK would be really nice ($529 at Sweetwater.)

The Rode is definitely nicer, but the MXL will work great if your budget is hard. If you do swing for the MXL one, try finding a NOS Mullard tube to put in it. Mics in this price range tend to be a little brittle around 3kHz and that tube really smoothed out the high end for me.

Personally, if there is any way to test out microphones I always try to, as a particular excellent mic could be a terrible match for your voice.

Also- when you're recording, try stepping back from the mic about a foot. This tends to make the frequency response more even, making "s", "p", and "b" sounds less of a problem. After doing vocals close up to the mic for years I tried this and it definitely makes things more pleasant to work with afterward. 


Peace,


Tunes

my bad....Tunekicker.....sorry 'bout dat...slip of the finger as Ringo would say...

Any thoughts on the AKG C214 ? Or the Shure PG42 Side Address (and what does side address mean ?)

John 

I own one of the MXL V69 Mogami tube mics and it does sound good. I also have a Sterling Audio ST66 tube mic and I have to say I like it even better than the V69...especially for vocals.

Hi jwh,
I don't own a 214 but I do have a pair of 414's. I absolutely love them on certain applications but they probably wouldn't be my first choice on vox.

Oh, and "side address" means you sing into it from the side (instead of from the end like on an sm57 or whatnot).

Dean

Oktavas (both small and large diameter condensor) used to be great buys.  I still use the Guitar Center specials here at home I picked up when they were $100 a pair or for the single LDC.  Great mics.  They are a little more expensive these days (well, a lot more expensive) but M. Joly "mods" them which supposedly takes them even higher.  They are "dark" mics - the 319 and 012's

But you really should try out different mics for your voice.  They all sound a little different.  And the chinese are producing boatloads of LDC which is a big change from the old days when it was buy german or ... not much else.  So the price has come down but there are almost too many to choose from.  Go to the store and try some out - see if they will let you even record w/ them so you can listen.  It is nigh impossible to "hear" your voice through the mic.

Otherwise, it is a crap shoot.  Most mics are servicable, but you just might pick one that sux on your voice or miss the best match for the same price.  I used to use the Oktava 319 on my wife's voice, but as it changed (her voice, not the mic) the 319 picked up too much silibence.  I use the small diameter on her, which is a good choice for females.  Just shows you how different mics work.

@

Right, I've narrowed it down to two, the AKG C214, or the MXL V69 MOGAMI, which would you choose, and why ?

John 

Lanceindastudio


http://www.gauge-usa.com/

ECM-87

          Do you have one of these Lance, I had a look at some reviews, and they weren't great !
 
          John

The AKG should be a pretty good all-rounder.  Comes from a classic family.  I think Beagle has one.

@

The AKG 414 is a great mic, and useful for damn near anything. The less-expensive 214 is, I think, a cardiod-only version that wouldn't have the same breadth of applications as its $1K sibling. I'm sure it sounds good, though I've never tried one.

However, everyone (except Jimbo) is assuming that a large-diaphragm condenser is what you need. It's entirely possible that a dynamic mic might be better suited for your application. If you're looking specifically for a mic for male rock vocals, an SM58 or SM57 will do a fine job for a hundred bucks. If you want to spend a little more, there's the 57/58's big brother, the SM7, for about $350. Or the versatile Sennheiser MD421 for about the same price. All of these mics have been industry standards for years.

Another avenue would be a low-priced ribbon. Cascade mics, for example, are cheap Chinese mics that have been upgraded. Their Fathead model is very popular among home recordists and is under $200. There are a bunch of other low-priced ribbons around (see Apex 210, for example), and although all of them are cheap mics from Shanghai, there are transformer upgrades available for them.

The AKG C214 is a great buy. I've never used mine for vocals but I have sang through a 414 with good results and they are somewhat similar. I use an AT 4033a through a UAD 610 for my own vocals. It sounds honky as all getout on some people but that little mid bump gives a little weight to my reedy voice. 

The best advice I've ever been given, (thank you, James Lott) is to invest in decent preamps. 

A word on Michael Joly's mods. I had the 012 mods done on my matched pair and it was well worth the money.





  

It being a holiday weekend here in the state (Memorial Day), I checked around for the deals/discounts the big guys might be offering.

I needed a couple of mics to use to record in stereo and was drooling over the U-87s for 6 months now... but $7K for two mics was something I was trying to shake off but you guys know all about the lust... once you get a thought in your mind and you start figuring how you are going to pull this off, the begins to build.

Well, I did purchase two Nuemann's yesterday but not the U87..... I started researching and heard nothing but GREAT/GOOD things about the TLM102... I got a couple of them for a bit more than $500 each but less than $600 each.

You can really deal with the smaller guys for prices when the big boxes all have the 15% off sale.

Can't wait for them to arrive by the end of the week.

Jim

About 7 or 8 years ago this forum was recommending this Project Studio C1 claiming the specs for the price range was unbeatable...I bought one and have been very happy with it...except for the stupid basket holder.

The rode nt 1000 prices have dropped consederably over the past few years,best mike for the buck,phantom power nice warm crisp sound.
i have one of the earlier models from the mid 90's i think,when they were just a few guys building mic's.those are the most sought after,those range up somewhere around 4-600 bills.
but they are a beautiful sounding mic.