I have some questions about some equipedment I plan on buying for recording

BRHSM

BRHSM

New member
Hey guys!

I have been recording audio now for 8 years with the microphone I have. as 11 year old I started my first youtube channel and I've been using this mic ever since for lots of other recording purposes. Now I plan on upgrading as the sound quality is pure sh*t, specially background noise is a big problem but it also sound really unnatural.

I'm planning on buying this mic and I have some questions about it. The questions are not in any particular order and even if you know the answer to just one question I would like to hear what you think! Also some questions may be based on opinions!

1. I've seen the word "Phantom V48" or "Phantom power" a lot around the web. What is it? Do I need it or is it just better? Are even other options?
2. I'm planning on combining the purchase with an audio interface and monitors for my studio. Do these 3 items work with each other? Do I need to buy extra cables or something? Are there better combo's for this price range?
3. How is this new equipment completable with recording software like OBS or Audacity?
4. Do I need one of these for better specially regarding background noise? My PC has really loud fans (2*19dB and 2*21dB) which messes up most of my recordings (If anyone knows more about PC fans and specially quiet ones let me know, I have a corsair Obsidian 300D with the H100I cooler. So i would need 1*140mm fan 1*120mm fan and 2*120mm static pressure fans)
5. For anyone who has experience with this mic or other microphones in this price range: How is the quality (also regarding my loud PC at a meter away from it)? Do you need to do post processing? I see a lot of people using it upside down, is there a reason for that?

Thanks to everyone contributing to this post! :p
 
Hi,

I'm not familiar with the brand Tonor, but the price leads me to believe it is a Chinese microphone, which probably will have lower quality and robustness than you would like. I think you should spend something closer to 145.00 Euro minimum.

Condenser microphones need phantom power, dynamic mikes don't. This can come from your mixer, a separate power supply like the one you linked to, or from your audio interface. In this case, the Focusrite Scarlett that you are looking at already has 48V phantom power, so you wouldn't need anything else to power your mike right now. The microphone can be used "up" or "down;" you see it either way only as a matter of convenience.

The audio interface and monitors you linked to are fine and good choices. You will need extra cables, but if you buy through a local dealer, they can help you pick out any accessories that you'll need and guide you with the set-up. Everything will work with your DAW of choice; Audacity would be fine, but I think the Scarlett might come with some software in a "lite" or trial version, so you can get started right away.

Regarding your PC fans, if you can move the PC tower itself away from your mike/recording area, that would be helpful. Some studios have a "machine room." You might be able to buy or build a box to contain the PC (it would need some kind of cooling and/or venting) to cut down on the noise. You could also try a reflection filter like this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...d=ReflexionX&gclid=CILF9sPjjNICFceKswodJE8EEg ; this will help a bit but probably will not completely cut out the fan noise. You may need extra-long computer cables/mouse/audio cables to make this work, depending on how far away you want the computer and how you set it up. Have a look at these articles, they may help:

* Solving Computer Audio Problems |

* How to Quiet Your Loud Personal Computer

* Reducing Background Noise and Ambiance - About Podcasting

* Computer Fan Noise – Keeping Your PC Quiet – NMB

Read this too, on setting-up and calibrating your monitors: http://deviantnoise.com/setup-studio-monitors-best-way/

Let us know how it works out!
 
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Gregg already covered everything, but I'll just elaborate on a few things...

The "Tonor" BM-700 is indeed a chinese LDC. It's sold under a myriad of different brand names; they don't even bother to change the designation - there's at least the Excelvan BM-700, Shenguye BM-700, Aukeys BM-700...and a few others. Apparently the original model is the Isk BM-700, which itself is a pretty low-cost mic at about $85 or so. You can find those knockoffs for as cheap as $14 on Aliexpress...so yeah, just pointing out that well, it's a really cheap mic and might sound like one. If noise is an issue now, I'd be almost willing to bet this won't help it. But this price range consists of almost entirely of Chinese knockoff mics, so it's probably just fine...for the price.

Phantom power is called what it is because it "stealthily" powers the mic through the XLR cable.

And recording software is generally compatible with everything (with the exception of old versions of Pro Tools), so that's something that needs not to be worried about. The computer really just "sees" the interface and whatever you connect to it is handled by the interface, to simplify things a bit.

//edit: needs not to be worried about :)
 
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Rode NT-1A, MXL V67G, MXL 990, Joe Meek JM37, even the Shure PG-42.
Then you start getting into more expensive choices.

I have over 75-80 mikes. The V67G actually gets used quite a bit. If you can get the "Scott Dorsey Mod" done to your V67G, that would be even better. If you could afford a Michael Joly/Octavamod version of one of those mikes, that would set you up for quite some time.
 
Have a snowball & a shure beta 91a myself, I'd recommend saving up for a decent, durable mic like the sm58 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Shure/SM58-Mic-1274034494045.gc?cntry=us&source=4WWRWXGP&gclid=CNyb7Z6LjtICFcS1wAodZqML_g&kwid=productads-adid^172488555108-device^c-plaid^143949706122-sku^1274034494045@ADL4GC-adType^PLA
 
The 58 is certainly an alternative, and compared to the other options, wouldn't need much saving either. But the reason I didn't mention it is because the OP is looking at condensers, and the 58 is a dynamic...
 
Dynamic mics in general are far less sensitive than condensers, thus they won't pick up all the bg noise as easily.
 
But make sure that it's a dynamic sound that you want. Most studio vocals these days are recorded with large diaphragm condensers (but you could certainly use a dynamic as well, and the preamp you use will have a lot to do with the sound/quality).
 
rhythmgj said:
But make sure that it's a dynamic sound that you want. Most studio vocals these days are recorded with large diaphragm condensers (but you could certainly use a dynamic as well, and the preamp you use will have a lot to do with the sound/quality).
Click to expand...

...but of course it's not like LDCs are automatically better, even though they're more detailed - sometimes that detail is just extra noise, so to say. There are also some very famous examples of dynamics on vocals, such as Michael Jackson's use of the Shure SM7B and Bono's Shure Beta 58...

I guess the "problem" with dynamics is that in comparison to any LDC they tend to sound very dark and, well, dull - but that often works very easily in the context of getting it to sit in the mix. It's just easy to dismiss the dynamics as inferior when it in reality is just a different take on, well, reality.
 
Absolutely! Love me some dynamics, although if I'm going for that sound, I'll usually pull out the SM7, or even a Sennheiser 441. But the OP was originally looking to spend something like 30 euro, so I figured those might be a bit out of the picture for now. Honestly, the preamp is a huge part of the equation, as an SM58 will sound pretty awesome through a decent preamp, and pretty "meh" through an MBox or the equivalent...
 
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