Digital Home Recording Tips, Part 2
Pages: 1, 2, 3

Basic Gear Recommendations

With the room ready, it's time to gear up. Here are my recommendations for microphones and associated hardware — stands, cables, shockmounts, and pop filters.

MXL V63 on the left, Rode NT1-A on the right.

Microphones

The microphone is the most important part of your audio chain, and you can spend anywhere from 30 bucks to 20,000 on one. There are exceptions, but generally dynamic mics are used live, and condenser mics are used in the studio. Dynamic mics are more rugged; less sensitive to moisture, smoke, and rough handling; don't require phantom power (see sidebar); and don't feed back live as much. But condenser mics generally sound better for studio recordings. That's because their design, based on a charged diaphragm rather than a moving magnet, allows them to respond more quickly to transients and capture higher frequencies.

I'd recommend not going for a $30 mic. The best one I've seen is the Sennheiser E822S, and it pretty much sucked. Two inexpensive mics I can recommend are the MXL V63M (a good entry-level condenser mic at $69), and the Rode NT1-A Anniversary Model ($229). The Rode is much better than the MXL-V63. It's also the lowest-noise mic under a grand, anywhere.

Tip: If you smoke, cover your microphones with a clean, dry T-shirt or towel when they're not in use. It's easier than putting them away every time, and almost as good. Smoke damages the condenser element, and the mic smells like smoke — forever. I smoke non-stop in the room with my condenser mics, but keep them covered when not in use, and they don't smell like smoke. They do look like ghosts, though.

Cables

Unless you're using a USB mic like the Rode Podcaster, you'll need a mic cable. The Musician's Gear Low-Z XLR cable is a reasonable choice. It's offered in multiple lengths. Don't buy a longer cable than you truly need, as length can increase noise, although balanced XLR cables like these are less susceptible to noise than unbalanced guitar cables. [Ed Note: "XLR" refers to the three conductors in the cable — ground, left, and right. In a balanced setup, the left and right sides carry the same signal, but one side is reversed in polarity. At the receiving end, that side is subtracted from the other. This technique doubles the signal level (because you're subtracting a negative number) and cancels out any electromagnetic noise the wires picked up (because the induced noise would be essentially the same on both wires). In other words, the equation is (Signal – (–Signal)) + (Noise – Noise) = 2 x Signal.]

Stands

You can hand-hold a vocal mic, but that's tiring and produces thumps — and for recording instruments, hand-holding mics is awkward or impossible. A microphone stand like the Musician's Gear tripod offers an inexpensive solution. Tripod stands are typically more stable than weighted ones, and this model includes a telescoping boom for additional placement options.

Shockmounts and Pop Filters

Now you've got your mic steady, but you still need to worry about mechanical noise, such as the rumble of a truck going by outside, or the vibration of your foot tapping the floor while you listen to the music on headphones and overdub a quiet background vocal. To keep these noises from reaching your mics, shock mounts are invaluable. Shock mounts are little cages of elastic bands that decouple your mic from the mic stand. Upscale mics come with them, but you can also get generic ones or make your own.

Expensive microphone with pop filter and shock mount; the pop filter is the stocking-over-embroidery-hoop design.

Miking is an art in itself, and there's no substitute for experimentation. You want a mic close to the sound source, but not so close that you get distortion or, with voice, plosives ("pop" sounds from words with the letters "P" "B" "D" and "T") and sibilance (harsh noise from any words with an "S" sound). A good distance is between 4 and 15 inches, depending on the mic, the desired effect, and your preamp and mixer settings. Experiment to get the right distance for the right sound. Also, with vocals, pop filters, such as this model from Nady, will help minimize plosives and sibilance cheaply. If price is more important than aesthetics, you can even convert a coathanger and an old nylon stocking into a passable pop filter.