Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.
What is Loopy Pro? — Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.
Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.
Download on the App StoreLoopy Pro is your all-in-one musical toolkit. Try it for free today.
Any recommendations for sub $150 mic for vocals
I feel like I’m letting my years of collegiate vocal training go to waste.
Comments
If you can spend a little more, or wait for a sale:
https://www.amazon.com/Shure-MV51-Large-Diaphragm-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B010W6WFEA
EV 635a
Rode NT1 (not A)
@BroCoast based on the two examples given get a condenser mic over a cardioid, yes?
Neat microphones king bee or worker bee. Or anything by isk pro audio.
Condenser means it uses an electric charge between two plates, like a capacitor. Cardioid refers to a polar pattern, where the spot directly behind the mic picks up a lot less.
Condenser vs dynamic may be what you meant, and the answer is “it depends.” Dynamic mic is a speaker wired in reverse.
My favorite vocal mic right now and probably for a long time is the heil pr40, which is a large diaphragm dynamic mic that I have yet to find anything it sounds bad on. You can find them around $200-250 used, it’s $350 new. The also make the pr30, which I haven’t tried, but it’s a very similar mic, and that’s around $260 new.
The neat microphones are both right around $100 brand new. I have 2 worker bees and my songwriting partner has 2 king bees- they punch WAY above their weight. Designed by the original designers of Blue mics in a partnership with gibson. That partnership must have ended, because the price dropped a lot.
ISK is the house brand of a Chinese factory that makes a lot of mics with famous names on them. They make their own capsules there and make them well. iskproaudio.com is the site if you’re in north america.
Also, the lewitt 140 (240? One of them!) is supposed to be excellent, that’s $150 new. You can hear fela davis talking on one on a recent episode of the recording studio rockstars podcast.
Cardioid means the directional character of the mic, which the NT1 is, while the EV635 is omni, picking up sound from all directions equally, but on the other hand has no proximity effect. (which is typical for omni-directional)
You probably refer to dynamic (voice coil) versus condensor capsule, but in this case the 'omni' is also an important difference because such mics pickup up much more of the recording environment than directional ones.
Both mics require quite a different adressing technique.
Mics like the EV635 are almost exotic today, but worth trying out.
The Sennheiser MD21 is the same type (you can get the Grundig GDM21 OEM for about half the price of the Sennheiser version, but you have to rewire it to XLR).
AKG made (excellent) directional mics without proximity effect by using double capsule systems, the D202 falls in your budget range.
The D224 is usually a bit more expensive, but worth it - among the best dynamic mics ever built.
The great disadvantage of all those dynamic mics (high quality, low sensitivity) is their demand for a good preamp stage.
A condensor mic is much more forgiving in that context for it's higher output and buffer stage.
MXL v67g
@audiblevideo MM and BM in voice over here... I know this sounds cliché, but for $100 get a Shure SM58, or SM57 with $5 pop filter. They’re the gold standard dynamic mics used by countless famous singers both in the studio and on stage. So they’re not condenser mics, but most condenser mics at that price point are below average, require a soundproof room to sound good and not pick up all the background noise, have limited directional settings, and are too fragile to bring anywhere outside a studio. A dynamic mic will pick up just what’s in front of it, it doesn’t need phantom power, and you can get an XLR to 1/4 adapter (Shure has one for under $20) and plug it into a million high impedance devices if you need something beyond XLR. With a dynamic mic you can even have monitors playing backing track or whatever directly behind it and it won’t bleed into your take, it’s how the Beatles did it, so you don’t necessarily need to use monitor headphones, though I do anyway. A condenser mic will pick up ever squeak, footstep, room hum, etc... Now if you spend over $400 and want to record something like vocals and acoustic guitar at the same time, a condenser makes sense. Generally speaking condenser records the room so you better have soundproofing, and dynamic records what’s right in front and uses a proximity effect, and the SM58/57 is indestructible. You can probably bludgeon an entire family to death with an SM58 while walking to your studio or gig and still record a perfect take. Honestly, it really depends on your situation, vocal style, room, and set up, but at that price point I still say get workhorse dynamic.
Oh wow. PR40 is also my favorite mic. I've had it for over a decade and it still makes me happy. On pretty much everything.
This is the sleeper and what I'd recommend at this price. Snoop to used as a prop so it must be good.
It's not exactly an all-rounder but on male vocals in particular, it definitely punches above its weight.
@JoyceRoadStudios Has a good point though. SM58 is a solid mic. Sounds good on vocals. Can take a beating. Doesn't require phantom power or fancy shock mounts.
Thank you for this information. It definitely will be in a non treated room and only used for vocals since the rest is synths or virtual instruments.
Thanks for everyone else’s inputs. Now to read up and budget.
Old Faithful:
Shure SM-58
You can also drive nails with it.
I guess I should have asked if male or female vocal. As @syrupcore mentioned, the v67g is superlative on male vocal at that price but it is a one trick pony for sure.
Have a look at this website.
They have a really good microphone database.
They also have links to engineers who
can modify and repair microphones for you.
You can take an affordable LDC microphone
and get some really good results by
changing the capsule and/or some of
the components in the microphone itself.
http://recordinghacks.com/microphones
I’ll have to check, one moment...
Male. Pretty sure male.
You can only drive nails with a 58 if you want to have a completely dented grill where the 58 got the reputation of being indestructible I’ll never know. The mic will still work fine, it will just be dented. If you play enough clubs in your life you’ve no doubt sung into a 58 that has been dropped 1000 times and had all sorts of things growing in it.
To be honest though, I despise the 58 and try my best to only use one (and a 57 as well) when I don’t have another choice or when someone specifically requests it.
I should have gotten one many years ago when I wanted one, finally got it 8 months ago and there hasn’t been a gig or session where it hasn’t been used since. PR30 is next for me, I’m going to sell a few mics I don’t use.
@mrufino1 @syrupcore At that price point ($350) I really can’t argue against the PR40, I’ve used it on two occasions and it’s a unicorn. I have the shitty AKG C3000B (free gift) and the good Røde NT1 (bought in 1999), and the PR40 outshines them both. Curious about the Apogee HypeMiC Plus, but skeptical of USB condenser mics. I mean what even is that?
But since we’re talking sub $150 in an untreated room why even bother with a condenser? The V67G right price, the blue yeti is usb (wtf), and the SM 58/57 is the old trustee gateway drug. I’m just not sure there’s a better deal at $99 directly from Shure with a case and stand clip, unless it’s a used one from some gutter punk for $25. I understand hating its ubiquitousness but I record with one every day and it just sounds good in whatever room. Of course an expensive condenser is better but it still needs the right room.
The SM57/58 is always a safe purchase because those 2 mics score highest when you want to get rid of them in a 2nd hand sale.
They are much better mics than price suggests because Shure literally sells millions of them. When released they were in the $300 region iirc.
But 'room suppression' only works due to extremely close adressing (eating the mic).
As soon as distance and preamplification are identical, any dynamic versus condensor mic will perform according to it's respective directional character in picking up influence from the environment.
A dynamic mic is not a magic wand against the laws of physics
The final result depends a lot of the kind of sound you want to record:
With a strong, trained voice dynamic mics may deliver a (surprisingly) solid level of signal.
A sentimental ballad may be a very different story, if more amplification is needed.
Then the preamp's (or respective interface stage's) noise figure becomes a huge influence when it comes to compression and gain staging of the vocal track.
The very common Rode NT1a is (in)famous for it's high mid exaggeration, but this flaw often helps in 'true bedroom' tracking, when an untreated room is 'muffled' to the max.
There are at least 2 versions of the original NT-1 (non-a):
1st a discrete, all transistor design, capsules were chinese origin, but selected by Rode before mounting, resulting in at least slight variation from mic to mic.
(I bought one out of curiosity, but didn't find it worth keeping)
Later the circuit was modified (ICs added), and possibly Rode used their own capsules.
The successor NT-1a was a new design (very low noise) with capsules from Rode's own automatic production line.
Unfortunately they named the successor of the successor NT-1 again, so it can be confusing.
@JoyceRoadStudios You make a good case for the Shure to be sure.
I think a condenser is still going to yield the best results by simply googling techniques for working in a sub optimal room. I'm a complete doofus when it comes to audio engineering and I even figured it out. That said, I don't disagree that a 58 isn't a good starting point on the journey.
Sm58 wold be my choice. Sounds good. So durable you can will it to your children. There is also the beta58 but it has a 2.5k spike that really sticks out in digital recording. The beta is also more expensive.
@Telefunky @lukesleepwalker all solid points, as a trained singer standing 3-6 inches away from a 58 I’ve been very happy, but frankly I only stepped in to the situation because I’m using it with a single channel Apogee Jam+ with its 1/4 input, and plugging the 58 in with an XLR to 1/4 high impedance converter. For alternating electric guitar, bass, and dynamic mic this has been great. There is no doubt that a good condenser mic is more rewarding and nuanced, but my experience with the cheaper condensers is they mostly sound airy thin and brittle and you gotta go $300-$400 for something decent imho. The AKG C3000B I got free from a friend is a real piece of shit, the Røde has been more than serviceable. If I’m tracking overhead drums or simultaneous vocals and acoustic guitar, a solid condenser no question.
Totally agree. Even said so in my original post.
Yes, that's true - but even at $500 there are just a handful worth investing.
The main aspect of high quality (brand) condensor mics is constant quality over decades.
You may score an exceptional LDC mic for (say) $200, but that's kind of gambling in the end.
On the other hand it may still do the job - it depends on personal demands and taste.
The C3000B was developed when AKG already was in serious financial trouble - then Harman saved the company for a symbolic price of 1 Austrian Shilling and quality went down the drain. Harman later became part of Samsung...
I'm a confessing fan of 'vintage' dynamic mics with a deep distrust in modern products...
Due to location (Germany) my collection is focussed on AKG, Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser.
Most items fell either in the 5, 50 or $100 region, the AKG D224 my most expensive one for about $250 in top condition.
All the 'cheapos' are great performers in their domain and I like the choice of soundprints.
The Audient ID22 retains all those details and is very low noise and also serves (via return input) as a converter for my Telefunken V676a preamp.
Audient really did their homework, considering a racked V676a is a 4-figure investment.
(in my case restauration was a diy project, but it's a challenging piece of gear...)
Low cost capsules sound very brittle and most of the
sub £150 mics tend to source their capsules from the
same places hence the brittleness in low end condensers.
Really good microphone guys can tune microphones for your voice.
Some of the top end microphone companies such as 'Peluso',
sell capsules and you can order replacement ones from
various other companies.
Here's their website.
http://www.pelusomicrophonelab.com/parts/Capsules.html
you guys are making me miss hanging around the tape op message board.
I still remember being delighted with my red, plastic, 1/4 jack plug mic I got from Tandy for around £20 when I started my first band. Lasted years once I discovered the joys of gaffer tape. Never recorded with it though and I probably wouldn’t recommend trying to seek one out for that purpose.
Ah, I miss that one too! It’s still in operation, although I don’t go there much.
I forgot I do have a 58 I like- I removed the transformer and capsule and put a KAM RT-1 capsule in ($17 on ebay)- now it doesn’t have the upper midrange edge that I dislike.
We just tracked guitar and bass amp today with pr-40 and another is on floor tom. Working well as always.