whats-up peeps, i need some help on studio equipment to get great sounding vocals, my budget is $1700, im not looking into buying monitors, all i want is equipment to make my vocal sound near quality studio or great. i just bought a sm7b mic since everyone i spoke to recommended my that and i also but a spark mic. my interface is Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and konnekt 6 what do you guys recommend me to buy, mic preamp? new interface? mixer? my laptop is great for recording, i will isolate my room later on when i save up more, got now just looking for equipment to bring out my vocals, thanks guys for rap vocals only by the way

All the vocals on the biggest-selling pop album of all time were recorded with an SM7. That sounds pretty pro to me.

It really sounds like you already have what you need, save for one item. You say you'll work on acoustics "later on" and just want some gear for now. You've got it backward! Acoustics are precisely what will make the difference you seek. And it won't cost $1700, either.

hey there bitflipper, anyone can have a mic and interface and record, but i want some juice on my vocals, sound good enought to lay on the mix, any more preamp or interface to recommend me

Preamps and interfaces do contribute, but their degree of contribution is vanishingly small compared to 1) the room and 2) the microphone. You've got a good mic, so that leaves the room.

If your vocal tracks aren't sounding great, it's most likely the room's fault. It is far and away the #1 reason why the vocals suck in bedroom productions (ignoring the obvious other factor, singing talent). It is almost never the preamp or the interface.

A good vocal space has to either be very large or very dead. Most of us can't make our rooms any larger, so deadening is the only option. Trust me on this. Surround yourself with 3 inches of rigid fiberglass next time you track a vocal, and you will be amazed at the improvement. You wouldn't get better results even if you spent $170,000 on gear.

Listen to Mr. Bitflipper....

i just bought a sm7b mic since everyone i spoke to recommended my that and i also but a spark mic. my interface is Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and konnekt 6 what do you guys recommend me to buy, mic preamp? new interface? mixer? my laptop is great for recording, i will isolate my room later on when i save up more, got now just looking for equipment to bring out my vocals, thanks guys for rap vocals only by the way

FWIW, For your purposes (rap vocals), the SM7b is an excellent choice... as is a RE-20 (both are large diaphragm dynamic mics).  You could get a large diaphragm condenser mic like a U87 (which would capture more detail/nuance in the upper-mids and highs)... but it may not yield a better end result for your purpose.


Though not a "sexy" purchase (because it doesn't add to your sound), monitors are imperative to producing a quality end result.  If you can't hear what's really going on in your mix, it's hard to correct/enhance it.

Sounds like you have a good start.   Getting a good vocal track involves so many things..... 

like BitFlipper said.... the mic and the room are KEY!  

Jim is right that you must have a good monitoring system to hear what you are doing after the vocal take.
I would suggest Ozone if you do not already have it.  I know that for me personally, Ozone brings the tracks (of all sorts) to life and gives them the sparkle that is needed. 


I record my tracks in a room where I can hear barking dogs and traffic and other sounds, and there is no way I can use sound proofing here.....so I have to work with what I have...... be sure the train isn't coming and the garbage truck isn't outside when I'm doing my vocal and acoustic guitar takes....and recording again if I happen to capture that car horn. 

Essentially, it sounds like you are on the right track and have most of the "gear" you need to do it right.

there is nothing wrong with building a nice front end.


in that price range, along the lines of mic preamps, i'd consider a couple or two:

RME




OctaMic II - Microphone/Line Preamp with ADC with this, you not only get RME quality, you get 8 channels and conversion.
that's a lot of bang for the buck.




or, if you want to focus purely on a killer single channel:
Avalon Design




M5 Microphone Preamp

that's pretty sweet.






now me, i have a A Designs Audio MP-1



so, i like the A Designs stuff...
and they dont' make the single channel version of that class A tube amp any more, but they have a DUAL channel version:
MP-2A STEREO TUBE MIC PRE


a killer preamp, but a bit more expensive....$2495






there are so many options out there...
you should really demo a lot, before even bothering to decide.

go to your local studios, and ask to rent some time to try out what they have.
go to GC or better yet, any local pro store and ask about demos....
also, rentals.....

The common breakdown of recording from most to least important is Source (instrument, performance, room) and Chain (mic, preamp, effects, convertor).  Monitoring should also be thrown in there towards the top, cause, as pointed out above, if you can hear it you can't correct the problems.

You have a good mic (esp. for rap or radio announcement work).  If I was in your shoes I'd look to buy 2 things first.  A good monitoring system would be at the top of my list so you can hear to record and hear to mix (that is a 2for1 deal).  Next, simple room treatment.  Unless your room is completely square or has other problems, it isn't too difficult to make it acceptable.  A bed or sofa acts as a good abosorber, book cases (w/ books) does the same as well as adding some diffision.  All you might need is a quilt to hang behind you when you sing to keep the back wall reflections for going directly to your mic.  $25.  I have one I can put up over a cable behind my singer's spot.  You can spend more - a lot more - but there are lots of places to look for cheap, easy to make alternatives.

So, with your budget I would think a couple of hundred $ in room treatment would be all you need.  That also does double duty - recording and monitoring.  Monitoring ...  I'd get the Yamaha MPS 7.  $800, good bass extention and pretty flat.  And if you get bored of doing music, they make a long lasting pair of listening speakers.

Lastly, a nice, high-gain preamp.  The Focusrite ISA One is a good choice.  Enough gain so you could use a dixie cup on a string to record and kinda middle of the road as far as sound.  Neither too clean or too dark, but a Goldilock means.  It should work well with Rap
or just about any style.  The Warm preamp is another lower cost contender.  More of a vintage vibe and really puts through a lot of bass.  Either of those are $4-500, are well built and high-end enough you won't want to sell them when you hit it big.  Professional grade equipment.  Either of those (or the gap, grace, daking etc.) will allow you to use certain techniques that are hard if not impossilbe for built-in preamps to replicate.  If you are a screamer, those techniques might be moot.

That gets you somewheres around $1500, so you have a little left over to start saving for your next purchase or get more room treatment.

@

I'm of the opinion that a great preamp and a ok mic is more useful than a great mic and an ok preamp.

The nice thing about a SM7, and the especially nice thing about the RE20, is that they have very natural sounding off axis response and very little proximity effect so the performer can relax and do their thing wihout worrying to much about working the mic.

If the OP gets a great preamp to go with the SM7 and takes it out to a large room, like a living room for example, it's gonna sound great.

How about one of these? http://www.empiricallabs.com/mike-e.html