School me on condenser mics

Kevindurant

Kevindurant

New member
Im about to purchase a mic. Im only gonna use it for vocals. Male and Females(rapping and singing). Im looking to spend $100 so heres what im looking at.

Samson
C01U - USB Large Diaphram Condensor Microphone

Audio-Technica
AT2020 Condenser Microphone


ART Pro Audio - M-One - Condenser Mic

Behringer
C3 - Studio Condenser

Behringer
B-1 - Single Diaphragm Condenser Mic

I have a delta 44 soundcard too. Is there a difference in quality if you plug it in through the USB or an audio interface?.
 
Kevindurant said:
Im about to purchase a mic. Im only gonna use it for vocals. Male and Females(rapping and singing). Im looking to spend $100 so heres what im looking at.

Samson
C01U - USB Large Diaphram Condensor Microphone

Audio-Technica
AT2020 Condenser Microphone


ART Pro Audio - M-One - Condenser Mic

Behringer
C3 - Studio Condenser

Behringer
B-1 - Single Diaphragm Condenser Mic

I have a delta 44 soundcard too. Is there a difference in quality if you plug it in through the USB or an audio interface?.
Click to expand...

I'm old school. I look for performance in dynamic range/freq response, signal to noise ratio, self noise, sound pressure level & features (multi-pattern) when I decide to go with a mic.
I also look at what I can add to a good mic like the addition of a mic pre to better the sound quality, or give it certain sound characteristics.

I never swayed towards looking at usb powered mics because I never needed one. I think there's a couple of cons that outweigh the pros in this situation. For general & basic usage, I think it can't be beat. But me personally, I wouldn't bother with any of them.
 
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Kevindurant said:
I have a delta 44 soundcard too. Is there a difference in quality if you plug it in through the USB or an audio interface?.
Click to expand...

The Delta 44 doesn't have mic preamps nor phantom power, so you'd need at least a separate pre to use it. USB mics essentially have a preamp & audio interface built in - which is both their strength & weakness. The good thing is that you don't need anything else; the bad thing is that these mics are usually very cheap to begin with, and when you take into account that the price includes not just the mic, but also the preamp & the interface, you'll realize that these parts are inherently very cheap & there's no way to upgrade them, nor you can use them with an external preamp even if you wanted to.
 
So.. are USB mics just not worth the time? I was also considering one, but I read more recently, I don't know if I should get one? I want one for basic use really, just to try and record vocals, practice new mixing techniques with raw vocals and such... Not sure though
 
Your bankroll is a little thin, but out of the choices you high-lighted, I'd go with the Audio Technica. I'm sure there is an MXL in that range that's pretty decent, and if you get a mike tech to mod it for you, they're actually quite excellent.

As noted, you will also need a preamp. If you want to go really cheap but still decent, $40 or $50 will get you the single-in ART TubeMP with phantom power.
You will also need to spend $20-$40 on a windscreen (or make one with a craft hoop and some pantyhose; no kidding!). Add a decent mike stand, shockmount and cable, and you're good to go.

GJ
 
krushing said:
The Delta 44 doesn't have mic preamps nor phantom power, so you'd need at least a separate pre to use it. USB mics essentially have a preamp & audio interface built in - .
Click to expand...

I have a behringer eurorack ub802 mixer. It has a mic pre and phantom power but I dont know how noisy it is.

So my plan is condenser mic > behringer mixer > delta 44. I wonder if I can achieve a good quality and quiet vocal recording with this set up.

---------- Post added at 11:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 PM ----------
dBmusicalproductions said:
I'm old school. I look for performance in dynamic range/freq response, signal to noise ratio, self noise, sound pressure level & features (multi-pattern) when I decide to go with a mic.
I also look at what I can add to a good mic like the addition of a mic pre to better the sound quality, or give it certain sound characteristics.
.
Click to expand...

Is there a difference in quality between patterns?.
 
If you're doubtful about the sound quality of your ub802, I'd hook it up first and find out. Can't make assumptions without checking it out for yourself.

As far as quality in pattern selections, I wouldn't say it's based on quality, but moreso a difference that's similar to tonal sound because of the change in proximity selections. With a mic that's multi-pattern capable, what makes it different is it houses two diaphrams (multi) instead of one (cardioid). Even though a multi pattern mic has these two diaphrams, when the cardioid pattern is selected, all that does is turns off one of the diaphrams and makes the mic go into that proximity mode.
 
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Save another 3 to 400 dollars... it'll be more pricey, but a mic is one of the most important things you can own... I'd say 3rd most important.... remember, you're in a world full of "you get what you pay for" ... if you record someone rapping on a shitty 100 dollar mic, it'll sound like you've recorded someone rapping on a shitty 100 dollar mic lol
 
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