Microphone Help!

[Coldfuzion]

Hey Guys,

I've been thinking and debating for a long long time about picking up my own Microphone (I used to use my buddies), and now I finally decided i'll be pulling the trigger soon. I'll be using the microphone for vocals, and mainly female vocals. I've been looking around and I have my choices pulled down to one of these two mics ->

Blu Blueberry:
http://bluemic.com/blueberry/

Blu Woodpecker:
http://bluemic.com/woodpecker/

If anyone has any other options I should consider please feel free to let me know, and any and all opinions are welcome!

[botstein]

Woah -

One of these is a condensor and the other a ribbon, which are really different. Also - why Blue?

If you're looking in the $1000 range, which too me seems like a no-man's-land between vocal microphones I would be delighted to use and the realm of the low-end gems, there are some nicer options, in my opinion.

Honestly, for the kind of work that you described, I would look at some U-87 clones.

The Atlantis, which I love, is 50% more expensive new, but plenty are available used. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Atlantis

The same company makes this http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Clarion/ which is less U-87ish but also nice.

Here's one from Neumann themselves that's pretty well regarded: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TLM103

[Coldfuzion]

Appreciate the reply! I've been looking online for a little while now and I have read up on the technical differences between Condenser and Ribbon, and I was wondering if you could help me by explaining to me what the biggest difference is? I've google'd it and looked through quite a few links but I am still not too sure about sound wise what the difference is.

And to answer your question as to why Blu, it's because i've heard great reviews on the Blueberry and as I was looking on their site I stumbled onto the Woodpecker. I'm going to look into the one's you posted as well!

Thanks for your response .

[botstein]

Appreciate the reply! I've been looking online for a little while now and I have read up on the technical differences between Condenser and Ribbon, and I was wondering if you could help me by explaining to me what the biggest difference is? I've google'd it and looked through quite a few links but I am still not too sure about sound wise what the difference is.

And to answer your question as to why Blu, it's because i've heard great reviews on the Blueberry and as I was looking on their site I stumbled onto the Woodpecker. I'm going to look into the one's you posted as well!

Thanks for your response .

Condenser and ribbon mics are really different. It's worth googling and looking at the wikipedia article, several gearslutz's members thoughts, etc if you're looking at contrasting them. For vocals, though, I'm in to high-end condensers.

I'm concerned that the condenser you linked to will be too characteristic. What kind of signal path are you using - what preamps?

[Coldfuzion]

Condenser and ribbon mics are really different. It's worth googling and looking at the wikipedia article, several gearslutz's members thoughts, etc if you're looking at contrasting them. For vocals, though, I'm in to high-end condensers.

I'm concerned that the condenser you linked to will be too characteristic. What kind of signal path are you using - what preamps?

Actually I google'd it before replying, and I read the technical differences and what not, but I am still not sure how it effects the sound quality or makes the vocals sound different. I honestly used to produce hip hop and worked with my friends Rode NT2A and we just had it connected to a Soundcard and then into our DAW. So I was planning on doing that as well.

[botstein]

Actually I google'd it before replying, and I read the technical differences and what not, but I am still not sure how it effects the sound quality or makes the vocals sound different. I honestly used to produce hip hop and worked with my friends Rode NT2A and we just had it connected to a Soundcard and then into our DAW. So I was planning on doing that as well.

Yep, the NT2A was a U87 clone - Neumann sued Røde over it and everything. Take a look at the 87, the Atlantis, and the TLM103.

A ribbon mic is just not going to sound like that.

The preamps in the soundcard matter a lot. I use Apogee stuff (Symphony/Duet/etc) a lot and like their pres for most work but there are many out there.

[Coldfuzion]

Yep, the NT2A was a U87 clone - Neumann sued Røde over it and everything. Take a look at the 87, the Atlantis, and the TLM103.

A ribbon mic is just not going to sound like that.

The preamps in the soundcard matter a lot. I use Apogee stuff (Symphony/Duet/etc) a lot and like their pres for most work but there are many out there.

Ahh I see, I think i'll stick with a condenser. I'm currently using a Komplete Audio 6, any idea about the quality of its pre-amp?

On the NI site it says:
High-quality pre-amps with individual gain controls

And here are the specifications:
http://www.native-instruments.com/en...pecifications/

I'm not sure how exactly to tell. And Botstein I appreciate your help my friend! It truly means a lot to me!

[tgcasals]

With a $1000 mic you may want to invest in a better preamp option. It isn't a bad preamp, but you might not get the most out of your mic investment. That being said, you can always record with it until you have the inclination to use something better.

[tekki]

Dude...

Buy this in stead: http://www.thomann.de/nl/rode_nt1a_c...cal_bundle.htm

At €189,- you can't go wrong.

This mic has such astounding quality, I'm betting you won't even know/hear the difference with the Blue mics.
Trust me, we have used this for trance vocal recordings with an awesome female vocalist and we could almost pass the vocals one on one to the reverb settings without regular (EQ) polishing.

So for Homestudio (or startup studio) recordings, these would be the best bet to go for!

[Coldfuzion]

Dude...

Buy this in stead: http://www.thomann.de/nl/rode_nt1a_c...cal_bundle.htm

At €189,- you can't go wrong.

This mic has such astounding quality, I'm betting you won't even know/hear the difference with the Blue mics.
Trust me, we have used this for trance vocal recordings with an awesome female vocalist and we could almost pass the vocals one on one to the reverb settings without regular (EQ) polishing.

So for Homestudio (or startup studio) recordings, these would be the best bet to go for!

Ahh, maybe i'll just buy another Rode NT2-A instead then! I've used the NT2-A and I was happy with it, but it was my friends whom I produced with at the time. So I figured when investing in my own mic I could invest a bit more. I saw this review on Guitar Center's site, and that's why I was asking!

Read the review:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blue-Blu...17-i1127332.gc

And usually I don't go and buy just based on one review, but this was pretty compelling!