How To Choose Your First Microphone For Your Recording Studio
When it comes to home recording gear, it seams the market is
flooded with thousands of choices. There are so many companies
out there and so much hype. It's hard to believe anything you
read. I've wrote this article to get your started with choosing
microphones. I have no advertisers to keep happy.
So you have decided to buy a studio microphone? The first notion
I'd like to shoot down is the "studio microphone myth". There is
no such thing as a studio microphone. A microphone will pickup
sound anywhere you put it. It doesn't have to be a recording
studio. It can be a kitchen. Granted, some mics are less durable
than others and these mics tend to be used more in the studio
than on stage simply because everything is abused live.
The second myth I'd like to shoot down is the idea that mics
have special features. There are no guitar mics. There are no
vocal mics. There are no drum mics (except for maybe those tom
mounting gadgets that I don't really recommend because of poor
mic placement options). All mics pick up sound. You can use a
mic that some may consider a "vocal mic" on a kick drum. You can
do the same with guitar. In the end, all mics have a certain
sound. You can use them however you see fit. There are no rules.
Regardless of budget, no microphone gets used more in my home
recording studio than a Shure SM 57. Yes, I have a $2500
Soundelux U99 tube condenser microphone. I have a Royer R121
ribbon microphone, but in my studio the Shure SM 57 gets use the
most often. So with that being said, if you don't have at least
2 SM 57s, don't read any further. I'd bet that half the cds you
own (or more) use an SM 57 on snare top and electric guitars.
All these major label cds can't be wrong, can they? In fact,
I've heard stories about a number of major label singers
insisting on a Shure SM 57.
While the Shure SM57 gets use the most out of all the
microphones in my recording studio, it's not right for
everything. I wish it was. It's much cheaper than some of my
other microphones. You have to understand that microphones are
more like colors than anything. If you don't have the right
color, than you will have problems. The perfect mic for the job
will sound great. The wrong mic for the job will require EQ and
still probably never sound right.
Your second mic could be a number of different microphones. It's
recommended that you choose a microphone that sounds much
different than an SM 57. A good choice might be a Audio Technica
AT 4050. This mic can be pretty good on vocals. It's pretty
bright. On some singers I've knocked the high end down quite a
bit. (Actually, after using an AT4050 long enough, I decided I
wanted a "duller" condenser mic. Ironically, dull costs about 5
times as much). The truth is I don't use my AT 4050 all that
much, but I think it would be a nice opposing color to your SM
57.
You have to remember that the more mics you have, the less you
use each one, normally. That's actually the whole point. If you
have 100 mics and you know and understand each one inside and
out, when it comes to micing up a giving source, you are much
more likely to get exactly the right tone without the use of EQ.
When you have 2 mics, this is much more difficult. Of course,
you've got to be in it for the long haul to need 100 mics.
Another great choice is a used AKG 414. They cost closer to
$1000 brand new, but you can usually snag one for half that.
In the end, no one can pick a mic for you. You may hate all of
my suggestions. Make sure you buy your equipment from a store
that allows you to try a mic out. If you don't like a piece of
gear, you are stuck with it. Do not believe articles like
this.... believe your ears!