Question for professional <span title="producers/musicians/people">producers/musicians/peopl...</span> who records with home studio or any other studio?

Question

I want to purchase a microphone..for my house. I bought cheap $15 bucks mic for recording. They worked a while (still are), but then.. sometimes when I sing a bit loud they come up with this staticy sound and when I am recording I could hear background noises.. like the wind..even if the mic is noise reducing.. like it said on the box. Now I'm trying to get a mic to record my vocals and guitar. I've come up with 3 options. Dynamic mic or condenser.

1. This one is a condenser.. I'm not sure about this because of the 'phantom power' I have no idea what it is.. and it looks kinda like a battery box. So I am scared I might have to go buy a more and more.. Waste of time, but I like the look of the mic and its price. (Marshall Electronics

MXL2006 Cardioid Condenser Microphone) [http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=0&TempID=1&DepartmentID=5&STRID=12518&CategorySubID=320&CategoryID=320&BrandID=0&CategorySubPriceRangeID=0&pagesize=10&SortMethod=3&Method=3&PriceRangeID=0&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=Department&GroupCode=&categorysubsearch=true]

2. This one is dynamic. I am planning to buy it b/c it looks pretty good and a musician on youtube use it and it sounded ok. ( Shure

SM58 Cardioid Dynamic Microphone ) [http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=0&TempID=1&DepartmentID=6&STRID=12216&CategorySubID=1168&CategoryID=1168&BrandID=0&CategorySubPriceRangeID=0&pagesize=10&SortMethod=3&Method=3&PriceRangeID=0&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=Department&GroupCode=&categorysubsearch=true]

3.This one looks reasonable, it is cheap..kinda. And raters say that is is better than the Shure SM58. (Samson

Q7 Cardioid Dynamic Microphone) [http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=9&TempID=10&DepartmentID=6&STRID=12216&CategorySubID=1168&CategoryID=1168&BrandID=0&CategorySubPriceRangeID=0&pagesize=10&SortMethod=3&Method=3&PriceRangeID=0&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=Department&GroupCode=&categorysubsearch=true]

Please help me out. I am an amateur musician/singer, but I plan to go a long way. I don't want a cheapy mic. What I want is one that is good, and it cancel background noioses [e.g. like the 'wind' and outside noises like cars] I want it to be good for singing/voice and for instruments like a guitar. I have a baby taylor if that helps at all -.-

Thank you!!

Answer 1

Hi, its been a while since my home recording days, but I hope I can give you a little help here..  I got sick and didn&#039;t quite finish my journey..lol

The condensor mikes should work well for you as long as you have a quite background, they tend to pick up well for vocal purposes..

First off, If you are recording just vocals, you will surely get much background noises if you are not in a padded room or sound box..  I was just like you, recorded without any sound enforcements because it was all trial..  

The plus side to this loose vocal recording with noises is that you can clean it up with good software plugins.. (Steinberg DeNoiser or other good plugin)..  So that&#039;s not a problem for low level recordings..

The price will surely payoff for a good mic..  Just know that if you purchase a good quality recording mic, you will pickup much much more noise than the generic brand you were using..  That&#039;s becuase Pro Mics are very sensative and picks up every part of your vocals.  So if you are in a noisy environment, you may want to stick with a stage type mic for now until you can established a quiet sound environment..

The Sure model may be better for you due to your area of recording..  As for the Static, be sure to check for loose connections or a over driven mic.

Anyhow, Good luck on everything..

Answer 2

Crash course in audio and microphones.  To make it worse, I&#039;m a video engineer who&#039;s picked up a lot from the audio engineers I&#039;ve worked with over the years.  So an expert can give you a more instant answer.  Here&#039;s what I know.

Condensor mics require power.  It can be battery or phantom power.  Phantom power simply means that the power is supplied from elsewhere.  In fact, when a mic is plugged into a mixer, the mixer can supply phantom power to the mic through one of the wires in the 3-wire XLR connector.  It saves on battery cost and having batteries go dead at inopportune times.  Phantom power is swtichable on the mixer, since you don&#039;t want to send it to any dynamic mics that are hooked up.

Because they&#039;re powered, condensor mics are more sensitive than dynamics.  The drawback is that they can also be overloaded by excessive sound pressure.  Condensors are better suited for acoustic instruments and vocals, while dynamics are used more for strong sound such as drums or amplified instruments.

I hate to put it this way, but really, if you find yourself overdriving your condensor, learn to moderate your voice, or learn to instinctively move your mic away when you crescendo.  Condensors also have more uniform frequency response which makes them preferable for voice.

Cardoid, which can apply to either type, means the pickup pattern of the mic.  Pickup from the sides, and partly from the rear, is less susceptible than with an omnidirectional mic.  If you&#039;re experiencing outside noise such as trucks, soundproof your studio more.  Mics are made to pick up sound, not make decisions which sounds are acceptable and which ones aren&#039;t.  If you&#039;re picking up wind or air noise, consider a windscreen on the mic.

Shure invented the SM58 and professionals still use it as a common choice for dynamics.  Shure has, and does, make good microphone products.  Other manufacturers have copied the SM58 design, and added some features.  There may be other brands that are equally good, and even preferable in some situations.  But again, the SM58 is good for sound reinforcement, not primary pickup.  You will be disappointed in it for singing.  It&#039;s not uniform in its pickup capability as it relies solely upon the sound pressure for it to work.

If you really want a mic that will reduce background noise, you may want to look in to a unidirectional mic, but those are expensive, and very picky to get use to.  There is no &#039;one mic does it all for you&#039;, but the condensor is your best multiple use mic.