Now that you have your mixer connected to your sound card you need to get a quality microphone. Here again I ask the same question How much do you want to spend.
Well there are different types of mics on the market. There are mics for miking instruments, there are hand held stage vocal
mics,
large diaphragm condenser mics, Tube mics.
Are you confused yet?
Also there are two basic pickup patterns for microphones -
nondirectional (omnidirectional) and Uni-directional. Omnidirectional
microphones pick up sound from all directions and are best for most
applications, if there are no environmental problems (noise, feedback from
speakers,etc.) Omnidirectional microphones offer the widest, smoothest response, and lower sensitivity to breath, wind, and handling noises.
Omnidirectional microphones pick up sound, from all directions and are least sensitive to breath, wind, and handling noise. "Shaped-response" omnidirectional microphones have a slight rise in the high-frequency response which provides increased voice intelligibility and a contoured low frequency roll off to reduce handling and wind noise. These mics are general-purpose microphones where you need to capture ambient sound in the background and clear voice reproduction up front. These are used mostly as vocal mics. The disadvantage is a need to maintain a fixed working distance for consistent sound quality.
Uni-Directional microphones pick up sound primarily from one direction
or area and should be used where there are environmental noise problems, where
maximum gain-before-feedback is required, or where there are great distances
from microphone to sound source.
There are three basic types of directional microphone patterns - cardioid,
super-cardioid and hyper-cardioid.
Cardioid microphones are most sensitive to sound from the front of the
microphone, and attenuate sound to the sides and rear in relation to the front
of the microphone. At close working distances the bass frequency response is
boosted greatly. This is known as proximity effect.
Supercardioid microphones have slightly tighter patterns, and are useful
in multiple microphone situations where pickup of adjacent sound sources is a
problem.
Hypercardioid microphones have an extremely focused pick up pattern. This
is where the name "shotgun" derives from. Good for long reach and
selective miking.
All of these mics are priced from around $50.00 up to $1000.00.
We will look at mics in the affordable range
somewhere from $99.00 to $300.00.
In the $99.00 category Shure has two decent mics available...
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The Shure SM57 is widely used in the
recording industry for miking Amps and all kinds of instruments, and also can be
used for a vocal mic depending on what sound your looking for. Specifications
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The Shure SM58 is the
Industry standard microphone for Live vocal performances, and is well suited for the studio as well. Specifications
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| The next type of mic is the large diaphragm condenser microphone. These mics need an external power source. Some entry level mixers have this power source available, It's called Phantom Power. There is usually a button on the mixer which enables this for a number of channels. When engaged it sends 48Volts thru the XLR connectors via pin 3. | |
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Marshall MXL2003 Is a large diaphragm condenser microphone with a 1" gold sputtered diaphragm. The MXL 2003 is a Cardioid with a frequency response of 20Hz-23KHz. It is well suited for any application, Vocal or Instrumental. Specifications
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RODE NT1A Is a great vocal mic with a good sound. Specifications
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The Studio Projects C3 is a large diaphragm dual membrane
condenser microphone employing a 1.06” (27mm) capsule, high quality, low
noise amplifier and balanced, transformerless output circuitry. It
features three onboard switchable patterns, a -10dB or -20dB pad and
6dB/octave@75Hz or 150Hz high pass filter for added control in all
manner of recording situation. The C3 has a precise response and a
distinct sought-after sonic characteristic commonly associated with
large capsule microphone designs. This mic has been toted as the poor
mans Neumann at a great price.
Specifications
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| In the next category of microphones we are going to take a big jump in
price. These mics are called Tube Mics
and like the condenser mics they need an external power source, but not phantom
power. Tube mics need a dedicated power supply and a special 7 pin cable from the PS to the mic. These mics offer the best in warm sounding vocals that only a tube mic can offer. |
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Marshalls entry level Tube Mic the MXLV69 offers this at an affordable price. Specifications
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Which ever mic you choose will effect the quality of your recording. If you just
want to record with an
entry level recording program then you may want to go with the less expensive
mics.
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