Each week we open our mic to readers and lurkers alike to come out of the woodwork and tell us your thoughts and opinion, your experiences and mistakes, what you love and what you hate. We want to hear from you, and here’s your chance.
Do you have a favorite microphone or two? One you turn to all the time, or a favorite you have for a specific purpose? Let us know the brand and model of your favorite mic or two, and what you love about it/them.
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By Adrian Try
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Audix D6 – takes all the work out of getting a great kick sound.
yes! great mic, i also love this thing!!
RODE NT1A, Great all purpose mic, and right in my price range (which is pretty much nothing)
Sure KSM27… Great mic for the money. I pair it with my modded art pro vla II and it can do just about anything. I like that it has hardware padding and bass roll-off. Really great do it all mic.
I love…. LOVE… my Heil PR40. It sounds so good on voices. But I really like my Rode Procaster as well. For the price, it sounds great.
I dont have a favorite but i own an sm57 and AT4040, i like the sound of both.
Rode M2 is the only mic I own, but I enjoy using it. <3
EV BK-1 condenser and EV 661 dynamic. These two are great because they’re all I have. Without them, I couldn’t record anything. They don’t sound too bad either.
Neumann U87. Nearly always the perfect solution.
Second the U87 as top of my list; and in a totally different price range I also rate the AKG 414BULS.
I just love my sE VR-1 Voodoo Ribbon. Absolutely fab on guitars :-)
But to be honest, I don’t think there is “the” best mic in my book, for vocals I’d pick the Gemini 5 with it’s genius dual output (FET and Tube), for pretty much everything there’s the AKG C414 and so on…!
So – lots to choose from =)
I don’t have a “favourite” mike as I’ve never owned many to be able to really compare them. Since I’m an amateur musician on a tight budget, I own cheap mics only. I have a dynamic one, a Behringer XM8500 – I recorded entire songs with it (vocals + cassical guitar) and they were good enough to serve as preview tunes. Oh, and for boasting before friends. Also, I recorded a few screencasts with it and the sound quality was decent. For 20€, it can’t get any better.
Some time ago, I also bought a pair of Behringer B1 condenser mics, at 80€ each. That’s a low price, and the quality I’m getting for it is sufficient for semi-professional recordings, something I’d definitely wouldn’t mind putting on a CD. I’m extremely satisfied with the price-quality ratio, and while some “professional” friends keep telling me to stay clear of Behringer mikes, I really can’t hear any difference between them and their several times more expensive Shure/AKG/Neumann/whatever counterparts.
If I were to choose a “favourite” mike nonetheless, I’d probably point at the Behringer B1 :).
If I had to pick a ‘favourite’ mic in my very limited mic collection it would have to be the SM57 or the AT2020. They have served me really well in the past and they’re great for a guy on a budget. However, my favourite mic when im recording is whatever works on the day, in that room, on that particular source.
One of my favorite or “go to” mics for almost anything is the Kel Audio HM-1 condenser. Vocals, acoustic stringed instruments, brass, drum overheads, guitar amps, seems to make anything sound good, and is not terribly expensive.
I like my Rode NT1A, but my friend “borrowed” it so I’m using my iPhone to record at leat spoken word.
I love my Rode NT3, I’ve used it for just about everything. I’m also a fan of the AKG C414
Rode NTA2.. in my opinion a very good mic.. it catches everything.. (vox, snare, charlie, guit).. I use it for everything that comes to my mind..
it’s simply amazing at a good price!
Seems like the Rhodes are pretty popular. I agree. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my NT1A and I had a Se 2200a and sold it because it didn’t beat my Rhodes.
I made a small wish list. Maybe you’d agree:
Audix i5
Audix d6 OR d12
Avant CV-12
Apex 260
Shure SM 94
Shure 57
Now the mics I own are as follows (And I love them)
Rhodes NT1A
AKG D1000E
EV RE10
AKG D190
SM54 (Awesome! for bass cabs and kicks, if you like The Beatles)
Rode NT3 for instruments / female voice
Shure SM58 for cabinets / male voice
Won’t break the bank and is the “standard” sound, no need for pre-amp either !
One of my favorites is the M-Audio Sputnik. This mic will sound great on just about anything. It’s truly a gem in a world of crappy microphones. The Sputnik will capture all the subtleties of whatever you’re recording, and with switchable polar patterns, it’s very versatile. It was certainly hyped up when it came out, and that made me a little nervous because I thought it might be smoke and mirrors, but I purchased one anyway, and I’ve been really happy with it. It’s great on any instrument and male vocals. It works great on most female vocals, but there are some female vocals that it just doesn’t warm up enough, but one microphone can’t do EVERYTHING…however, this mic comes close.
Oh…and I can’t forget the Shure SM57…I have to stay true to my roots.
I went to my music store this morning to buy some odds and ends, and ended up coming home with a new mic. Have you ever done that? I got a Rode NT1-A. I just got home, so it’s still in the box. It’s time to have a play with it.
The AEA R84 changed my life as the SM 57 did long ago.
On a day to day My go to mic is the
Neumann TLM 103 ( male vox )
AKG C 414 B ( I favor for female vox )
I use a Octava MK- 219 or AKG C 2000 on backing Vocals just for a different sound.
Had Mine Stolen, would love to get back in my collection the SE Gemini