Is this a good starter mic ?

I recently picked up a few of these:  http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/behringer-xm8500-microphone - a SM58 clone

They sound great to me.. I think the mic you picked would be awesome.. I dont know about the price.. I didn't google it prior to posting.

I am really excited that the subject of MICROPHONES has come up, and I hope this grows to be a long thread with a lot of input from Part 15 stations.

I have been messing with microphones and get asked to recommend microphones and really am not up to date.

From experience I know that microphones that sound good for radio announcing are a special kind, and microphones that sound good for musical instruments are not necessarilly good voice mics.

I have been listening to podcasts and when I hear a good sounding voice quality I try to find out what model microphone is being used.

I hope you tell us your favorite voice microphone and please post an mp3 sample of how it sounds!

Usually I use a microphone I made myself, but I've just removed it for a project on thealpb.com where I've been asked to post a "How To Build It" so others can try building their own.

As a temporary microphone I am using a Shure SM-33 ribbon microphone, and maybe it needs a new ribbon because the high end is a little dull, which I correct by adding a +6dB boost at 4kHz. But it's a cardioid (directional) pattern, and gives a "dry" intimate sound, with no sense of the room-space. Ribbon mics are prone to "popping Ps."

Radio producer Maria Gilardin at tucradio.org has a wonderful voice pickup, and she told me that she uses a Beyer M88 dynamic microphone, so I searched and found the following: Beyer is a very prestigious and historic maker of high-quality microphones located in the Netherlands, but the M88 is no longer produced. The M88 can be found on e-Bay for typically around $600 !! They are collector mics.

My Lectrosonics Wireless Transmitter Cube is plugged to an Electro-Voice 635A, a popular news gathering microphone dating all the way back to the 1970s. I had two of these in perfect condition, but somebody made a switch and now I have one of them all beat and battered. That thief had good taste in microphones! My opinion is that the voice quality on the 635A is fair. The Beyer M88 is far better, and my homemade mic is still my favorite, but Radio Shack stopped carrying the particular capsules on which it is based.

Tell us more!

Hey Carl, what are your thoughts on the Sennheiser e835 as a starter mic. Is there another one you could suggest for around the same price give or take? Like I said in my OG post, I do intend to move up to a SURE down the road . I just need something that doesnt sound totally horrible lol.

Thanks for all the posts yall, this is awesome !

Mark

The Senny 835 is fine for your purposes. It's got a nice rise in the highs between 2.5 and 11k so it'll have some clarity; and a dip in the bass so it won't be affected too badly by room rumble.

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In spite of the rolled-off lows, the directionality of the 835 is - to be charitable - a bit selective, and is not so great in frequencies 500Hz and under. Make sure computer fans, air conditioners and other rumbly things aren't in close proximity. Even if you point the mic away from low-frequency noisemakers, it may still pick them up.

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If you are plugging into an MI-style mixer, it will likely have 3-band EQ. That can dial in (or out) whatever corrective measures you think might be needed to make it sound the way you want. I think its a satisfactory mic for your purposes, but if you can plug one in and audition it first, all the better.

That's what I mean when I say that I don't know what to recommend. I have never used the mics you are mentioning.

My big mic days ran from the 70s into the early 90s, and stopped when I built a voice mic that did the job for me.

I had a client a couple years ago that needed mics for a new radio studio, and I did not know what to suggest, which was honest, but the client walked away.

Some classic mics have a "roll-off" switch so that the low end can be reduced for voice-only work. The human voice doesn't have the low octaves that music has.

I'll have to rely on others because I'm not about to start buying microphones. But I do want to know about them.

I have a batch of old "throw-away" mics in a box that I ought to fire up to see how they sound now. That is, they were thrown away by past clients who purchased the newest.

If you're looking for a mic under $100 you might want to consider a USB one (I used to use outboard audio processing but now do everything on the computer).  I use a Samson C01U and it works well, at least for me.

Hello Atisan.

Can you post an mp3 sample of your mic?

Groo, is this for voiceover or for on-air?  If its for V/O, save up a few more bucks and go for a condensor mic.

Hey bud, thanks for responding. This mic will be my first on air mic. Its what I will be using to do news, intro songs and to interview guests. I can afford a little more than 100 bucks, but no much:( lol

Mark

I am temporarilly using a Shure SM-33 ribbon mic while my home-made Alpmic is down for checkup.

There is good and bad.

Being a ribbon mic it gives very excellent transient response.

Transient response refers to the speed at which different frequencies are passed across the conducting element, in this case a ribbon of delicate metal instead of an electro-magnetic diaphram or condenser diaphram.

But it's super-sensitive to blasts of air, so I get many over-bursts from popping p's and even a t or two. It requires editing time to fix these over-excursions.

And every recording needs to be boosted 6dB at 4kHz, to bring the top end in line. That takes extra time. Yet, as a temporary mic it's ok.

Since I'm in this intermediate mode I think I'll drag out every mic in the closet and try each one.

I will be posting links to the programs where this is all happening, which happens to be Blare OnAir Lite, the free daily Carl Blare Show free to Part 15 stations.

http://kdxradio.com/blare_lite.html

Groo - What kind of mixer are you going into? If it is a [basic Mackie style] with an "Insert" jack on the mic channel, you might do well to score a simple compressor/limiter as well, for a few extra $$.

Something as plain as a used Alesis 3630 from Craigslist plugged into that Insert jack will give your mic some punch and density, and can handle all those volume swings; from your nice quiet "golf voice" to your best and loudest Kinison. Dial in just enough squish-n-squeeze and you'll sound like you have a nice, pricey mic processor in your rack.

If you can't swing it now, no prob. But keep your eyes open for a bargain. I've seen 3630's go for $50 on Craigslist and they are worth it.

Hey Annandale,

                    Thanks for the reply m8! I could have posted a simple text list of my starting equipment but I thouht this would be a little more entertaining:)

Thanks again for your input, as a noob I learn a lil something everytime you guys post!

GrooTheWanderer

OK, just saw the video. Very cool gear complement.

If you're using a Behringer 1832, the compressors are already built-in. Good, you get to save money!

When you get your mic, just noodle with the settings on the compressor til you like the way it sounds. Just be sparing and make tiny adjustments; compression and EQ are a lot like Hershey's Syrup -- a little is very tasty, but a lot of it is gonna make your pancreas fall out your ass.

Microphones have a wide range of output levels and the preamps they feed must be carefully tailored to accept and treat different situations.

The spoken voice, the announcer, is a somewhat subdued velocity, but is handled quite differently by different mics.

My Alpmic, a condenser type, produces a very strong output, something typical of most condenser mics, and the input to the mixer is way down at "3" to avoid overloading the pre-amp.

But the SM-33 ribbon mic has a low low output and the input to the mixer is topped way up at "10" and is still sort of weak.

Imagine if you were trying to mic a trumpet playing wild jazz!

The design of "pads" or "attenuators" to control pre-amp inputs is an entire science all in itself.