Help Gear Up a Newbie

[ludditeretard]

I've been making some great quality commercials as a side-line. My production stud has started flaking on me - I suspect drugs. Station jocks just won't put in the time - even if you pay them. I'm bidding on a shure ksm27 and it looks like I'll take it. If not, I'll get another quality mic. ALL I NEED right now is to record voices. I have downloaded Audacity. I can download soundbeds, even if I have to subscribe to a studio library. Should I buy the 1/4 inch Monster Cable on Zzounds? Do I need a mixer? Where can I find this "Phantom" guy, and how do I acquire his power? Heeellp...

[Adam!]

A condenser mic needs to paired with phantom power and an XLR input. The cheapest, easiest way to do this is a mic pre-amp. I'm guessing you're using a stock / onboard soundcard? If so, you might want to consider a combined mic-pre/external-ADC, which connects to your computer via USB, and will almost definitely sound better than your soundcard's line-in. Lower latency, too.

Full Discloser: I've used both of those, and I hated them. Took them back immediately. But for what you're trying to do, I think either would work swell.

Also: no you don't need a monster cable. Any no-name cable will do. IMO, of course.

[ken]

Puce has great ears, but I think the ART tube mp is a decent enough unit. I suggest you spend a couple hundred buck for a used Presonus Firebox. It will give you the basics, two preamps with phantom power, and comes with a simple version of Cubase. You can pair this with any dynamic mic for doing voice over work. The sm58 is a great place to start and will give very usable results. Otherwise, there are many alternatives like the Audix i5. A cheap condenser would be a little more detailed, like the Studio Projects B1.

Ken

[Billy's Little Trip]

What was wrong with your other mic thread? You seemed to have got some great advice there already.

[ludditeretard]

I contacted one of the posters directly with this more detailed statement of my needs. He advised me to start the new thread under the heading "Help gear up a newbie" since I actually had more than just the microphone query. I am learning that the mic is not the end of what I need to acquire. There is the question of a pre amp and some dude named The Phantom whose powers I must steal in order to cut good commercials. I am not afraid. Right now I am thinking to get the Art tube MP and keep things cheap until I am less retarded and more able to appreciate nice things. Anyone think going with the art tube - remember, this is for voice only - is a bad idea? I don't want to sound like that Mr. Microphone dude. I have to export the finished product - with music bed from a library - in an mp3 format (Apparently the radio stations don't want wav files - too big, I guess).

[jb]

Some microphones require a trickle of electricity running to them from the pre-amp. This is called "phantom power" and it is usually supplied by the pre-amp box itself. You push a button, and phantom power is active. If your mic doesn't need phantom power, you don't push the button.

Some microphones don't require any power, others use a battery, and some have their very own power supply that you plug in.

I was the one who told him to start a new thread.

JB

[ludditeretard]

I didn't get the shure ksm27 - and I'm glad. The advice I am getting is that a shure sm58 is plenty for my needs. Can anyone stack it against the MXL V63M Studio Condenser Microphone? I can score both for about the same money, so any feedback would be great. Thanks for all the help, kind strangers.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Ahhh ha, well then carry on.

[Märk]

You could always just buy Singstar for PS2. It has a USB audio converter (which works in both OS X and Windows) and 2 pretty good quality dynamic vocal mics. It's like 50 bucks.

[ludditeretard]

Sven, are you being serious, or should I be all ? I'm mainly baffled about the need for a pre-amp if I get a dynamic mic, and concerned about the quality if I DON'T go with a condenser mic.

[Märk]

Well, you ignored my suggestion to get a Blue USB Condenser (I'll give you a hint- while that particular mic is not even close to top of the line, Blue mics are generally very good microphones, and if you read the reviews of that Snowball mic, they are mostly very positive)

Your needs are quite simple, as far as I can tell. You need a mic to do radio jingles.

Dynamic mics are more flexible, but lack range. Condensers are hell of sensitive to sibilance, vibration, bumping the table, mouse clicks, etc., but are generally crystal clear and crisp, as long as you use a shockmount (usually included with a mic, but not always), and employ good mic technique and/or use a pop screen. They will literally pick up the sound of the car driving by outside unless you have a soundproof room to record in. Also, they require a power source, whether a dedicated power supply, or a mixer with phantom power built in.

If you go with a dynamic mic, like the Shure, you'll save yourself having to get an extra piece of gear, as you can just plug it into your soundcard's mic in port (using the right cord, and a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter) I won't say this will sound good or anything, but it will work. My SM58 sounds much better using the XLR cable than an XLR-to-phono jack cable. So if you do get a dynamic, you'd be much happier if you shelled out another 50 bucks or so for a little 2 or 4 channel mixer with XLR in.

I still say look into the Blue Snowball, or maybe a Samson C01U. You get the clarity and response of a condenser, without having to buy a bunch of other stuff to make it work.

[Adam!]

Dynamic or condenser...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the best dynamic vocal mic in the world, adapted down to 1/8th inch and plugged into a stock PC soundcard (still presuming this is your setup) is still going to sound worse than the cheapest vocal condenser mic in the world plugged into a pre-amp. To really make either type of mic viable for commercial (the adjective, not the noun) work you need a pre-amp. As Ken says, the ART preamp linked up-page is decent (the problem I had with it was something I realized you won't run into, so feel free to ignore my warnings. Unrelated, let me second his Firebox recommendation: it's perfect). If you are going to get a preamp (any we've linked provide Phantom Power) anyway, then I'd personally recommend a condenser mic. That one you linked looks suspiciously like my condenser mic.

[ludditeretard]

I bought the AKG Perception 200 Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone and the ART Tube MP Microphone Mic Preamp off ebay for just under 200 total. You guys were very helpful and I was a puppy with muddy feet, so thanks. By the way, JB, went to your site and dug your sounds. This is a very cool board.

[Adam!]

Best of luck with the new toys. Maybe we'll hear them some day?

[ludditeretard]

If you ever go to Mrtle Beach, there is a delivery joint called Pizza Shak. Also a pawnbroker called Dick's Pawn Shop. They both advertise across the dial. WKZQ 101 is the new rock/ classic and wave 104 is the Classic - "play the same Pink Floyd over and over" station. You can hear my spots there. I'm fairly proud of the spots I've done. I'm paranoid about trying to match that quality without my previous production stud, but I have no choice. Thanks again, guys.

[roymond]

Post your spots here. We are friends, and we care. It would be cool to hear what you produce.

[Märk]

Aww, jeeze. You shoulda got this.

[ludditeretard]

I would be happy to post my ads here, but look at my screen name. It's not tongue in cheek. When I try to put my tongue in my cheek, I bite it and bleed. Then I punch a wall, usually, which gets me in trouble with the credit agency, which is always fronting for that damned doctor. If you can tell me how to get it from "my music" to "this board," I'll do it. I can follow simple instructions. This Chinese guy has me waxing his car every day. For 13 fucking years.

[anti-m]

Hey LR, good luck with your recording endeavors. I'm curious as to how you got into the biz of recording radio spots... If you'd be at all willing to kick down with some geek love of your own, perhaps you could offer your thoughts and experiences getting onto the airwaves in This thread right here.(The purple text is a link-o)
That'd be shweet!
--M