Recording vocals on the road

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:14 am

Hi there,
I'm going to Costa Rica in a couple of months to help a mate record a demo.
He's a real groovy cat with some very catchy tunes and a good vocal range. He accompany's with his Acoustic Guitar.
I want to do the best job I can in recording his music for him; especially his vocal talents.
I was looking for some guidance on what's the best microphone to make the most of the sessions?
Sadly I'll have no Creamware interface. The best he can offer is a Line6 Toneport on some ghetto rig in his cabin in the jungle. I can engineer the production back home but it's the initial takes I want to shine like diamonds.
Budget isn't excessive but I will listen to all advice with gratitude.

Lima · Post by **Lima** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:51 pm

What are you meaning with "budget not excessive" exactly?

Just a couple of ideas:
With few money and seeing you have to record only two parts you could go with a minidisc and a couple of microphones (one for the guitar and one for the voice (you could record them one totally on the right channel and one on the left so you could do a kind of multitrack). With a bit more money you can buy a small mixer (for example a control room with amplified inputs) and record with 4 mics (guitar, voice + 2 panoramic) in stereo on the minidisc.

Prices example:
cheap but nice mic (for example shure sm57) about 100 euro
minidisc recorder about 300 euro
control room about 150 euro

so for the first option the effort is about 500 euro
for the second is about 850 euro.

But for this prices maybe there's a better solution... maybe buying something used.

Lima · Post by **Lima** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:54 pm

Sorry, I think I've misunderstood your request...

If you need a suggestion strictly related to the microphone I can't help you, because I'm not so expert.

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:08 pm

We'll have a PC, a Line6 TonePort, some reasonable monitor speakers (I hope) and an amp (again... the quality of which might not be top class)
That's the tackle I'll have so I'll have to make the most of it.
I can work Cubase no problem, although now I'm hearing off people that Ableton is better. Either or really. My main concern is the Mic. Not an area I've had much experience with and when you start looking it's a black art it appears.
SM57 is apparently gods gift to cheap Mics and all round recording? It baffles me how something so good and held with such acclaim can be so cheap??
So then I look at Mics at about £400 but again... there's hundreds of variants and are they going to really give me the pot of gold recording??

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:16 pm

I can work Cubase no problem, although now I'm hearing off people that Ableton is better.

Well if you like loop-based glitch music yes. Doesn't sound like that;s what you're doing. Long time Cubase user here and i can tell you i tried the Live5 demo and had no idea what was going on. i hate Cubase but stick with what you know for now.

I'd go SM58 for the voice and SM57 for the guitar if cheap is your bag - they are OK, but a decent capacitor mic is going to make both voice and guitar shine. There are lots of cheap but good options about these days thanks to China and Russia, so delve around some Sound On Sound reviews.

moxi · Post by **moxi** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:25 pm

hi,

yes the sm58 and 57 are good choice, don't use static mic if you don't have a great preamp (i.e. if you plan to use the preamp integrated on a cheap mixer, result are best with sm58 + cheap preamp than with cheap static mic + cheap preamp..i say that cause now, for the price of a sm58 , you can get some static preamp).

and for the price of anew minidisc device, you can now find second hand DAT device that will work fine too...maybe better.

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:27 pm

For recording why not use the new Zoom H4, surely cheaper than those other options mentioned, plus easier to archive and you can connect mics directly to it.

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:28 pm

Thanks Mr Arkadian. I'll research and spend good money on one decent Mic. I want this session to work. You don' t fly 5000 miles without putting some thought into what you are going to do when you get their

The SM58 and SM57 Options sound viable, but If a decent capacitor mic is really going to lift the game on the whole project, then that's what I'll buy

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:37 pm

He's got the Keyboard version of this rigged upto his PC
http://line6.com/toneport/hardware.html
That's surely a good enough interface for a shed in the Jungle?
God know's where he gets his power from. Probably got some monkeys outside working a water wheel. Looking forward to the trip immensly.

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:40 pm

Don't forget that you'll need some phantom power if you go capacitor, plus maybe you could hire a half-decent portable preamp for the duration.

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:46 pm

Aye, the Line6 has Phantom Power.
I'm needing a portable pre-amp anyway so I'll buy one. Any suggestions?

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:55 pm

i suppose size-wise something like those Joe Meek half rack jobbies might do the trick. Don't know how good they are (maybe check Sound On Sound again

)

bassdude · Post by **bassdude** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:12 pm

I've used a rode nt3 micing both vocal and acoustic guitar at the same time with excellent results. The rode nt3 can also be battery operated.
I've also used an At4033 in the same situation once again with great results.
Both cheap mics.

Actually the nt3 pleasently surprised me what it could do on several occasions!

eliam · Post by **eliam** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:08 pm

If you need to be running on batteries I'd rather suggest a portable DAT than a MD. It will be more expensive but worth it imo. As for mics, there are thousands of possibilities, depending on your budget and tastes... What is your budget actually?

edit: why don't you check this site: www.lineaudio.se I got their quad mic and I totally love it on a multitude of sources. For the price, their stuff is an incredible value, I'd seriously check into it for a transparent signal chain. If I were in your position, I'd bring a very transparent preamp set and as many mics as possible. If you can bring only a few mics, get something as transparent as possible, you can always process and color during mixdown. A sm-57 could be nice, but I would not put it so high on my list because it has its own character and may end up not being used at all, depending on the sound you're after. A LDC sounds much more detailed and open and than a dynamic mic. It could be desirable to record in stereo I think.

Michu · Post by **Michu** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:27 pm

Preamp quality-wise, i cannot see how a joe meek could give an advantage over the line6 or eg. my audiobuddy. they sport a nice compressor tho'

sm57 is always a good thing to have around, even if one has a condenser mics handy. having a rode nt1000 i can say i'm plenty pleased with it (tho' i'd not describe it as a warm mic

). from smaller diafragm mics it would be either nt3 or akg c1000, those things have certain bright sound that can work nicely with stuff like acoustic guitars for example.

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:11 am

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I think I'm going to take a mixture of various Mics and see how things sound after a few takes. A mate is giving me an SM58 for free so that's a start...
I'll buy an SM57 cos they are virtually free and if they are that good and everyone should have one then I want one - just like Creamware cards... everyone should have at least one

For what I will achieve and the surroundings I'll be in, I reckon these 2 along with the Line6 will get us at least somewhere close to a suitable recording.
I have not heard a bad thing said about these 2 Shure mics. Every review says they are rock solid and highly thought of.
That's great then. That leaves me cash spare for the Mix 'n' master pack on my return from paradise

Post by **garyb** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:02 am

get a Heil PR40. it's smooth like a ribbon, has the frequency response on a condensor, but it's a dynamic mic so it needs no phantom power and it's really durable. this mic sounds like big $$ and it only costs about $325.if that's too much money, get a PR20, it's about $150. if that's too much, an Audix OM3, about $130 or an Audix OM2, about $100....

here's a cheap firewire micpre:
http://www.music123.com/Phonic-FIREFLY- ... 2652.music

a cheap usb mixer:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALEMULTIMIX8USB

dawman · Post by **dawman** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:43 am

We bought the Heil's last winter to replace the good old generic 57's. They are a great mic for just about every kind of scenario.

BeachDrifter · Post by **BeachDrifter** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:40 am

Aye, those Heil's sure do look like nice Mic's. You say you replaced your old 57's with these last year. So... in your opinion are these going to be the new standard or is it just horses for courses?
The PR40 does look more like the kind of mic I thought I would be needing. I think the artist will feel more 'special' if i turn up with a PR40. That matters alot... make him feel like God and he'll perform like Zeus! ... way to go

Post by **garyb** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:22 am

a "standard" is a point of comparison, not a sign of a good product. the current sm57s are a far cry from the mics that were made in the '50s to the 70s. also, back then there was a lot less competition in a mic of that price range. i doubt i'd ever buy a shure sm57 or sm58 ever again. an sm57 is really an instrument mic. it has a frequency response of something like 50hz-8khz....

the Heil is a fantastic mic. be sure to notice that the PR40 is an end address, not a side address mic.....