AT2020 and other microphones

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

The 2020 is actually a quite decent LDC in the “cheap and best” mic category. For the right source it can sound as good as anything out there. And the price is under a hunned even without a discount.

If one is looking for a nice LDC to get their mic collection started, one could do a lot worse for the money.

For me personally, I’m having a serious infatuation period with higher tier dynamic mics. Especially GASing for any discounts on this one:
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/ksm/ksm8-dualdyne-vocal-microphone

But also stuff like Electro-Voice RE20 and the venerable SM7B, the classic sennheiser dynamics and so on… IME dynamic mics are better for “the rest of us” with shit sounding recording rooms than condensers, which love picking up just how afwul your rooms really sound, especially off-axis :diddly:

Deals -- Perennial List of Things on Sale - GAS Warning!
#2

I’m also about to make my “big, vocal mic” purchase fairly soon and I just can’t decide between SM7B or the RE20. Every podcast I listen to uses one of those two mics. Apparently Michael Jackson sang into a 7B and Thom Yorke sings into an RE20. They’re both similar prices.

It honestly might just come down to a coin flip unless one of them gets some special discount or bundle or something. Another mic stand an XLR is always a welcome addition… I would like for one of them to double as an acoustic guitar microphone if possible, but it seems I’d need another, better mic for that.

#3

My current dynamic mic craze started when I bought a Telefunken M81. Its a very nice multipurpose mic, almost everything sounds good with it (especially transient heavy zingy stuff like acoustic guitar and percussion which can sound terribly harsh/raspy with a SDC).

I’ve read that the SM7B is more picky when it comes to vocalists. Terribly gain hungry too. Not sure a RE20 compares exactly but I’ve never heard anyone complain it would sound too shrieky at least, whereas I’ve heard that the SM7B can sound too HF heavy with certain singers.

Then there’s the venerable sennheiser MD 421 II, which seems to be a real “desert island mic”, as in, sounds good for whatever you throw at it.

Sorry for offtopicness btw! Looks like we got too derailed and the mods cut us off from the BF discussion :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#4

You’ll need a good (decent) preamp to drive the SM7B…but for what it is, it’s a great sounding mic!

Also, there is no such thing as a golden bullet mic. Different singers will sound better with different mics.

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#5

I don’t know anything about mics , but I’m always suspicious of marketing / adverts that have ’used By xxxxx,yyyyy’ , especially when there’s a studio shot with particular product and grinning musician ‘this thing is great’ … I just suspect they’ve been given a product to use for a few hours and a small bit of cash .

I suspect many artists use whatever is at hand , and just because an artist might have used a particular mic , bass station , akai sampler, plug-in etc , doesn’t mean much apart from they used it , it’s not the key to their success , why they’ve sold records etc … most material is produced , engineered , edited etc.

But i’ve not always been immune to this hype , it can help direct purchases but not to make a decision on the purchase.

#6

I would always have it hooked up to my Scarlett 18i20 whenever I use it so no worries there.

That’s the other thing…Idk if my voice would sound better on an SM7B or an RE20. I suppose if I’m not happy I could always sell it on ebay and buy the other? I’m not even a one-trick pony kinda singer, either. I’ll do low, I’ll do nasal, I’ll do falsetto, I’ll go all over. I would also be using it to record friends too…

Still a tough decision lol. Again, maybe some black friday deals could help me out.

#7

Fair enough. In the two cases I pointed out, it’s a bit different because as I recall Michael Jackson’s recording engineer always had him use some SM7B that may have been modified (by the engineer himself?) unless I’m mistaken. For Thom Yorke, it’s literally the only mic I see him sing into on In the Basement recordings and stuff.

And from what I’ve sang into so far, I just feel like my voice isn’t captured how I want it to be. As another user pointed out, it could be the crappy room+the condensor mics I’m using Blue Baby Bottle or Aston Spirit), so maybe a high quality dynamic would alleviate the problems I’m having. The only other dynamic I have is an SM58 which I love for live performing, but for recording not so much.

#8

There’s a reason why some of these mic designs are still adored decades after their introduction. SM7B is a mic locker staple and for a good reason. But so is the RE20.

I don’t think you can go wrong with either unless your voice is very strident/sibilant and your micpre inadequate for high mic gains. In that case I would try the RE20 first.