MIC and PREAMP Combo

I am looking for the best MIC and Preamp. I am running protools with an MBOX. I wlling to spend up to 1500. I need real clean vocals for hip hop tracks. Any suggestions??

Feedback is appreciated. Thanks

AKG 414 with a Joe Meek VC1Q or FMR VNP

The pre-amps on the MBOX arent to bad, why not just use that? Then you have more money to drop on a Mic.

With 1500 I would upgrade to the digi002 rack and get a studio projects c1 mic and sale the mboox. Overall if your using a mpc and have the 8 outs or want to get them, then by getting th 002 will be a good choice. If you learn to use your plugins you'll be suprise in what you could get out of them. The c1 only cost 200 dollars but don't let the price fool ya. Man this mic sounds great. I myself was gona get a mic for 1000 or better yet the neuman 103tml and I found the c1 sounded better. I plan to get a pre amp later on but I have found that unless your gona sped about all of that 1500 on the pre amp. Your not gona get top rate.

If your looking for the "Best"

A Neumann M149 mic and an Avalon VT737sp pre.

Oh, and a savings plan!!

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Doh!

Deta!L wrote:AKG 414 with a Joe Meek VC1Q or FMR VNP

haha! expensive mic and a crappy preamp...


seriously, the studio projects c-1 with vtb-1 preamp beats a lot of other combos... get that and use the rest of the money to build a vocal booth (if you don't have one yet).

good mics don't come uder 1000 or 2000, and you sure as hell ain't getting a really good preamp under 2000. if you wan't the best, you need money.

$3000 to track a hiphop vocal?
That's crazy. A $300-400 mic and a $700 pre-amp should easily do the trick. Unless your mc sounds like Aretha Franklin.

"$3000 to track a hiphop vocal? That's crazy. A $300-400 mic and a $700 pre-amp should easily do the trick."

For sure dude. I dont record vocals but whenever you read info from respectable sources they all say the same thing: Mics and pre amps are rarely the cause of bad vocal recordings. It is nearly always down to bad singing and/or bad production techniques. People put way too much emphasis of mic/pre amp combos. Countless truly great albums have been recorded using mics like the Shure SM58..

Good mics and pre-amps will give better results but what they will never do is make a bad singer sound good or make a bad track better. You will never make or break a truly great song with your choice of mic...

Loads of info can be found at: www.sospubs.co.uk

i have studio projects vtb-1, it's amazing.

Appreciate all the feed back.

So basically if I upgrade to the Digi 002 and get a really good MIC, I really don't need the preamp.

I am in the processes of building a booth so that will help.
I am just looking for the best bang for my buck with the MIC. I dont wanna spend loot on a really expensive shitty mic.

I read some good feedback on the CB 1 and the price looks good. Thanks again.

Get an avalon 737 and call it quits all you need for mic/preamp combo.

CueBiz wrote:Appreciate all the feed back.

So basically if I upgrade to the Digi 002 and get a really good MIC, I really don't need the preamp.

I am in the processes of building a booth so that will help.
I am just looking for the best bang for my buck with the MIC. I dont wanna spend loot on a really expensive **** mic.

I read some good feedback on the CB 1 and the price looks good. Thanks again.

I'm not sure if you read up on the c1 but give it a good read. Man this mic sounds great. With the digi 002 preamps you'll be good but I would get a single pre amp later. Right now I'm doing all my boy vocal tracks with my motu 828 pre amps and I think they sound good. I did a a/b test with the jayz black ablum accapellas and I found my vocals to sound almost as good but with out the coloration. Once paying off my depts I plan to buy a pre amp later. I have connect that's gona show me some good pre amps that's just as good as the avalon for less or the same price. Right now I'm really trying to create my own sound from the beats to the records and I don't plan to use the avalon just off the hype everybody else is using it. I want to let my ears hear what's good for that price.

you are gonna laugh but i spent $180 on my mic and $100 on my preamp......

and i'm getting some pretty damn good recordings off of both. in hip hop, you're often eqing the vocals to fit the beat anyway - more high mids and trebs for a more angry type song, higher lomids for a ballad and/or slower vox, etc....not to mention distortion and other gimmicks...

if you have a good emcee or singer and relatively good engineering skills (i haven't gone to school or anything) you can get good quality. you might not make any money off of it (ie no shondo will come and record in your studio) but you can get some damn good usage out of it.

i'm pretty sure one of my favorite emcees (Noah23 of plaguelanguage) records at home on his computer with a mic/preamp combo that's of less quality than mine. he sends his stuff to be mixed professionally, though, i think. the end result is fine by me.

do what you can with what you have. i'd rather spend more money on actual production materials than vocal enhancers at this moment.

OH before i forget, someone else was talking about sonic exciters earlier. applying those lightly to vocals boosts the "quality" a good healthy deal for a reaaal low price.

Antonym wrote:you are gonna laugh but i spent $180 on my mic and $100 on my preamp......

your setup is pretty good balanced... i think the sp c-1 is in that price range. the point i was trying to make is if you have an expensive preamp and a cheap mic or the other way around, there is no point spending the money on the expensive bit.