I think I am about to open up a can of worms with this blog. The very best microphone to buy for your vocal performance is ... the one that suits your voice. If that sounds a bit glib it is not meant to be.
Human voices come in all sorts of different tones, pitch and delivery and I am not just talking about your vocal chords but the way you pronounce words, your accent and delivery. So it's worth trying out a number of different microphones until you find one that suits you.
At the moment I am baby sitting a Neumann TLM 193 it's been around the block and I guess it is at least 20 years old but still works well. I like the naturally warm sound and I have to do less processing to get a pleasing sound from the TLM 193.
I think you can look at microphones the way you might look at a car, so I am going to compare car with microphone and see if you can find one that fits your vocal style.
The Fiat 500 - The Blue Yeti silver edition
The Fiat 500
This nippy little well-designed car has a retro look. If offers a great deal of bang for your buck, you can buy a sporty Abarth version as well as a modest 1200 litre model.
The Yeti
This is a nippy little well-designed microphone with a retro look. It offers a great deal of bang for your buck, you can get an XLR pro version as well as a USB - plug it in and off you go. Four polar patterns including cardioid for vocal work and stereo for recording live music. It gives you an awful lot for about £100.00
The Ford Focus - The Rode NT1-A
The Ford Focus
A safe pair of hands, sturdy if a little mass produced, the Focus gives you a quiet ride and though its quite a bland car delivers a lot of extras at modest cost
The Rode NT1-A
A safe pair of hands, sturdy if a little mass produced the Rode gives you a quiet response and though it has quite a bland sound you get a lot of extras at modest cost. Pop shield and shock mount and a cable for £120 ripper mate!
The Audi A5 Saloon - The Audio Technica AT2020 USB plus
The Audi A5 Saloon - a sophisticated family saloon car, but has a sporty look to it. It handles well but is an expensive buy.
The Audio Technica AT2020 plus - has a sporty look to it. Handles well and is NOT an expensive buy, it comes with a high quality A/D converter and a headphone jack allowing you monitor without delay. So this is a microphone that punches above its weight.
The Mercedes A Class - The SE Electronics X1
The Mercedes A Class - A smart and stylish a top end family car that still looks good and performs well. Again expensive but you get a great interior that exudes luxury.
The SE Electronics X1 studio bundle is smart and stylish a top end performer with a bargain basement price. I like the sintered grill that does a great job with plosive sounds. This whole bundle will cost you just £180. It's a phantom powered XLR so you will need an audio interface to connect to your computer, but like the AT2020 it punches way above its weight.
The BMW 3 series - The Neumann U87
The BMW 3 series - a car that has an upmarket image and great driving dynamics make this beautifully engineered German baby purr. Reliable and versatile with great specs this has a refined and comfortable feel. But you do pay £££ for all that engineering skill.
The Neumann U87 - a microphone that has an upmarket image and great driving dynamics make this beautifully engineered German baby purr. Reliable and versatile with great specs this has a refined and comfortable feel. But you do pay £££ for all that engineering skill.
So there are plenty of great microphones at equally great prices but for top of the range results always choose a Neumann microphone it should never let you down.
For equally good sonic quality Audio Technica and SE Electronics turn in a good product.
For cheeky price and great quality and polar versatility the Yeti stands out as the best entry level podcasting mic.
Human voices come in all sorts of different tones, pitch and delivery and I am not just talking about your vocal chords but the way you pronounce words, your accent and delivery. So it's worth trying out a number of different microphones until you find one that suits you.
At the moment I am baby sitting a Neumann TLM 193 it's been around the block and I guess it is at least 20 years old but still works well. I like the naturally warm sound and I have to do less processing to get a pleasing sound from the TLM 193.
I think you can look at microphones the way you might look at a car, so I am going to compare car with microphone and see if you can find one that fits your vocal style.
The Fiat 500 - The Blue Yeti silver edition
This nippy little well-designed car has a retro look. If offers a great deal of bang for your buck, you can buy a sporty Abarth version as well as a modest 1200 litre model.
This is a nippy little well-designed microphone with a retro look. It offers a great deal of bang for your buck, you can get an XLR pro version as well as a USB - plug it in and off you go. Four polar patterns including cardioid for vocal work and stereo for recording live music. It gives you an awful lot for about £100.00
The Ford Focus - The Rode NT1-A
A safe pair of hands, sturdy if a little mass produced, the Focus gives you a quiet ride and though its quite a bland car delivers a lot of extras at modest cost
A safe pair of hands, sturdy if a little mass produced the Rode gives you a quiet response and though it has quite a bland sound you get a lot of extras at modest cost. Pop shield and shock mount and a cable for £120 ripper mate!
The Audi A5 Saloon - The Audio Technica AT2020 USB plus
The Audio Technica AT2020 plus - has a sporty look to it. Handles well and is NOT an expensive buy, it comes with a high quality A/D converter and a headphone jack allowing you monitor without delay. So this is a microphone that punches above its weight.
The Mercedes A Class - The SE Electronics X1
The Mercedes A Class - A smart and stylish a top end family car that still looks good and performs well. Again expensive but you get a great interior that exudes luxury.
The BMW 3 series - The Neumann U87
So there are plenty of great microphones at equally great prices but for top of the range results always choose a Neumann microphone it should never let you down.
For equally good sonic quality Audio Technica and SE Electronics turn in a good product.
For cheeky price and great quality and polar versatility the Yeti stands out as the best entry level podcasting mic.
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