So I was going to save up, and buy a shure SM7b with a cloudlifter, but I’m going to be short handed for the next couple months. But I still need a microphone that can record loud vocals well...specifically operatic vocals. Is there any possible known/hidden gems that are within the price range of $100-250? I also have a Steinberg UR12 Interface, so it’s something to keep in mind.

 

The UR12 has phantom power so a large-diaphragm condenser microphone in the same price range could be an option.
Try both in a proper vocal booth, experiment a bit and see which of the two microphone types give you the better result.
If done right, I would claim that you can get the sound of the SM7b with a condenser microphone too, but not the other way around.
In the end, the best microphone is the one that works best with your singer.

 

Thank you for the reply! So I am focusing on recording opera vocals. Any condenser microphone you think can get the job done well for vocals like that? So pretty much loud with lots of vibrato

 

I've used a RODE NT1 Black, NT1-A, and a Blueberry Spark on many opera students around my university and it worked well in my case!

 

+1 for Rode NT1 Black. Extremely quiet, response curve is similar to TLM 103 but not as harsh on highs. Picks up subtle vocal nuances very nice

 

These people are singing into Shure SM58s.

Less than $!00. Built like a tank. "The most popular vocal mic in the world".

And you can still save up for a 7B.

 

It's playback though. Recorded in a studio with other mics most likely.
They could have "sung/played" into a potato or a roll of toilet paper.

 

Last edited: May 13, 2019

Is that a statement about the Shure SM58?

 

$30 zingyou
Not bad
Watch comparison of this vs neumann on YouTube (video tests by guy from white sea studio, who makes videos of plugins, Snake Oil series etc, you know)

 

Last edited: May 13, 2019

Like FP Lange said, an SM58 will work incredibly well until you can spring for something..."better". A microphone with a long reach is super important when capturing an operatic performance because of the wide dynamic aspect of the genre. Getting up close will make it almost impossible to get a usable take as you'll wind up not having enough gain on softer passages. And remember, these folk are trained to fill up a large room with their voice, so if recording them in a small space it is super important to tune your room, and what I mean by that is make sure there won't be any sympathetic resonances from acoustic guitar strings in the spacs and stuff like that, and they will also test how well your room is sounding in general as any nodes that stand out will be captured. So, get the SM58 and use what is left of the budget to fix your room if it isn't up to par. Because in this instance since the singer is not up close and personal, lots of the room will come in through a condensor mic, the Shure not so much.

 

I'm also a SM58 lover, and in this budget case that's a very reasonable and sound choice, also because of everything else that @Lois Lane said so eloquently.

However, recording really *pro sounding* operatic vocals would require a good quality large diaphragm condenser, possibly with a "pad" switch and/or huge max SPL. NT1 lacks in that department. Condensers on a budget that would do the job better IMHO are AKG Perception 220 that has a -20dB pad switch, or Sennheiser MK4 that has bigger SPL by default. However 2, the room is *extremely important* for recording such vocals with a condenser mic.

So everything that those who recommended SM58 for this task, stands. Firmly. Dynamics don't care about the room acoustics that much. Still, it would be recommendable to use some kind of a booth, take care of the reflections from *behind* the singer, as well as the reflections from the front. But behind is far more important. It always is.

Cheers!

 

Also, SM58 has a very similar character to SM7B... you can read about it on the net.

I've been using it since the late 80s for my synth and industrial shit. SM57 and Sennheiser MD431, too. Senn has more of a vintage character and a more linear response. I actually prefer that one more often.

 

This sounds like my best bet, thank you. I maybe should have specified that this I am actually going to be doing most of the singing, and I was curious about how maybe running the microphone through something like little radiator would help get more of a vintage feel. I’m kind of new to the world of recording, and it’s kind of over whelming. I have radiator alongside with little radiator, but I don’t have any other digital pre-amps.

 

Do you think mid-side recording is the best way to record operatic vocals. I mean, it would personally be very hard for me considering I am intending to recording in my bedroom with creaky old wooden floors, but you are literally a bible of mixing/recoding/sound design knowledge...I would love to hear your two-sense.

 

The MD431 might be better for my situation, considering most people’s reference for opera recordings are from recordings from the late 60s - through early 80s. Thanks for the help!

 

Cloudlifter makes any mic sound better. Check out the Sennheiser E series. https://en-us.sennheiser.com/vocal-microphone-dynamic-cardioid-e-935 You don't have to use a condenser mic to get good quality vocals. Modelers work too.

 

If you can go a little higher on the price I recommend: Neumann TLM 102

 

If you have a bad room you can record with a Shure SM7b+cloudlifter.

If you have a great room/church I would record with matched omni-directional condenser pair (A/B about 1-2 meter away from you, in a equilateral triangle). I've done this before and the result was pretty awesome. You get a good stereo field and catch the movement of your head and the direction of your projection. If the movement of your head is too much you can tone it down by "narrowing down the panning" (from hard-panned, to be more quarter past/to...or less).
You can also try Blumlein mic technique in a good room, which require two figure-8 mics. I love Blumlein for certain things to catch the room and the direction of things around the room.

But in the end most listeners will not give a shit, so a simple large diaphragm condenser (about 1-3 feet away), a pop filter and a decent preamp will suffice for home situations (you can add reverb/room later). In the end it's about the performance, which overshadows all technical wizardry.

 

Last edited: May 14, 2019

It sounds very much like SM58s though. Doesn't deliver the crispy highs I like to hear from a studio recording.

There's no best way to record anything. That said, recording vocals in stereo is almost always overkill. Unless it's a choir, you don't have much stereo coming from a single mouth anyway, and you can bet the room you'll be recording with doesn't sound good enough to be used heavily.

Honestly, if it's female vocals, I'd try a ribbon. The highs will tend to get shrill in opera vocals, so a ribbon could tame them nicely. There's inexpensive options around. RB-500 is $110 and it's the #1 best selling ribbon mic on Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/intl/the_tbone_rb500.htm

 

No.
The SM58 and Beta 58 are great mics. Although preferably for live performance.
But...where would Bono/U2 be without the Beta 58? Many U2 songs has his vocals through a Beta 58/SM58 in the control room.

 

Last edited: May 13, 2019