Quote:
Originally Posted by usb_chord
I'm pretty surprised that with such a large gap in price difference, my ear really didnt single anything out as "bad". However, if I were forced to choose, I would say that the 2nd one was my least favorite. The 4th one sounded the best to my ears. If my ears aren't really justifying it, I can't see a reason to buy an expensive mic. .
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There _are_ reasons to spend more for a mic - things like build quality, self-noise, consistency, reliability, and, for a commercial studio, name recognition.
But for those of us recording at home we can get some pretty wonderful results with a reasonable investment.
I'll PM you the key to the clips.
After studying and experimenting and recording at home for a number of years now, I've come to the conclusion that decent quality switchable large diaphragm mics are good place to start. This style of mic was only produced by a few high end manufacturers a few years ago, and the AKG 414, for instance, was the low priced spread in those days. Now we have decent multi-pattern LD mics under $200.
The reason I prefer switchable mics is the extra flexibility that comes with the multi-pattern feature. The common advice that "SDs are for instruments and LDs for vocals" falls into the category of bad information given weight by constant repetition on the internet. As is the idea that LDs are "warm" and SDs are "bright" as a category.
I would also caution that a preamp might not be the best place to look for a "warm" sound. A preamp at its heart should not color the sound at all, and in my experience it's much harder to hear a real difference between level matched preamps operating in their linear range than it is to hear a difference in mics. I've compared preamps from $150 to $1500 and I'm not hearing any detectable difference in double blind level matched comparisons.
As with mics, this doesn't mean there's no reason for spending more on a preamp. There are issues of build quality, reliability, resale value, ergonomics, and more. But if I were to run across a preamp that has a distinctive sound, I'd call it broken.
Fran