Which Mic To Buy? Options

[rcross73]

Hello everyone.

I'm about to throw down some of my Christmas gift money for a better studio condenser than the functional but low-end one that I have now (an MXL 990). My question is simple: what should I get?

In the running:
Rode NT1a ($199)
Rode NT2a (is it really worth the $399?)
MXL 3000 (pre-amp built-in, I can get it new for $129, list is $399)
Studio Projects C1 ($240)
AKG Perception 200 ($159)
M-Audio Solaris ($299)

I want the best quality mic in this mid-price range for my male vocals (big range baritone-tenor, strong and clear) and acoustic guitar (high-end Taylor, steel-string, mostly strummed). I am a singer-songwriter playing modern rock (I don't know, think Radiohead, Counting Crows, and Coldplay). I can get a separate small-diaphragm condenser for the acoustic if it will really make a difference. But if one of these above is both a fantastic vocal mic and versatile enough to get the best sounds for the acoustic too, that would be best. I don't have all the money in the world.

I'll be recording into the system you see below, into Logic 7 through either my M-Audio USB Mobile-Pre, or my Line6 TonePort - lots of preamps to choose from. I'm also thinking of springing for the new Alesis iO/14 at some point.

So, which mic would you say?

[rcross73]

Hmmm...seems like the original post never made the daily e-mail. And after a couple of days, no one seems to have an opinion yet.

Narrowing things down: At this point, I'm looking at the Rode NT1-A ($199) vs. the MXL V67i ($149) [or the MXL V67g ($99)]. Opinions? All things being equal, I'd go for the one that's cheaper, but I'm thinking that the price difference might indicate here the difference between cheap-but-good on the one hand and low-end-but-puffed-up on the other. What should I do?

[TKO]

Hmmm...seems like the original post never made the daily e-mail. And after a couple of days, no one seems to have an opinion yet.

Narrowing things down: At this point, I'm looking at the Rode NT1-A ($199) vs. the MXL V67i ($149) [or the MXL V67g ($99)]. Opinions? All things being equal, I'd go for the one that's cheaper, but I'm thinking that the price difference might indicate here the difference between cheap-but-good on the one hand and low-end-but-puffed-up on the other. What should I do?

Hi There,
Maybe you just narrowed it down too much... Studio Projects have an updated line out now, and if the specs are even better than the original models´they should be serious contenders. The main thing here is to choose the mics that suit your budget and then narrow the choices down to which mic suits your VOICE.

best regards,

[eaks]

I'm very late and you probably already spent all your precious money but...not to repeat that in certain quality ranges mics are good depending on the sound you are looking for.

Personaly, I have a rode nt1a and an nt4 and am veeery satisfied with both. some folks told me they were easily breakable with high voices and screams...well I made all the vocals (scrams) on our latest album with the nt1a and it still works like a charm. I totally enjoy the low-cost for high quality I get with these mics! the nt4 is mostly used for sound fx's and outdoor captures...

to understand the kind of vocals I'm refering to: www.myspace.com/serenityinsilence (the song on top -2007-)

Of course I made tons of other, different vocals with the nt1a, but I wanted to emphasize on it's strength so to point out it's a very versatile mic as well...

I think that for the price, rode mics are powerful workhorses!!!

my 2 cents...


have a nice day all!