Members Gremson Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 What would y'all suggest for a grungy, distorted, lo-fi vocal mic for live use? I only sing backups, and would like to have something a little different than the usual verbed out smooth backups I normally hear. A lot of what I see is meant to be handheld, and some even need to have a button depressed to turn on the mic. I need something I can have on a stand and be ready to go since I'll have my hands busy on my bass. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miko Man Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Wait. You want recommendations for a POS vocal mic? Go to a pawn shop/second hand store and buy the cheapest thing you can find. Radio Shack ("Realistic"), NADY, and no-name mics probably meet your specs. My guess is that you probably don't really want the absolute "bottom of the barrel" mic, but I may be wrong. Mark C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Realize that your specs may also include a healthy dose of handling noise and low GBF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NUSound Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 If youre just looking for a "crappy" vocal sound (telephone sounding or similar), the mic doesn't matter a whole lot. Use eq - huge cut to the lows ~400, kill the highs beyond 1k or so and sweep what's left to find the sweet (or not so sweet depending on how you look at it) spot and leave it boosted by a couple of dbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Garage sales, get one of those 70's ones with the 1/8" jack, get an adaptor to go to XLR, that outta sound grungy and have an antiquated feel as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 CB mic or a Green Bullet into a passive DI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Anything is better than the bullhorn into mic method I have seen so often around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Realize that your specs may also include a healthy dose of handling noise and low GBF. ^^^THIS^^^ Be careful what you ask for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Anything is better than the bullhorn into mic method I have seen so often around here. I think that it works fine (I mean, for what it's supposed to do). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 The sound isn't the problem, it is the fact that they spring it on you without warning well after soundcheck, somewhere mid-set, and you realize the monitors are NOT going to like this sound. and the clip lights come on, and you wonder why you like doing this work..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 "If youre just looking for a "crappy" vocal sound (telephone sounding or similar), the mic doesn't matter a whole lot. Use eq - huge cut to the lows ~400, kill the highs beyond 1k or so and sweep what's left to find the sweet (or not so sweet depending on how you look at it) spot and leave it boosted by a couple of dbs." This... normal "good" mic + no lows and highs. Plus probably a lot of verb/delay. Plus maybe some kind of distortion or other. Normally I wouldn't suggest it as they seem clunky for making things sound "better"..... but since that's not what you're trying to do you might look at one of the foot pedal vocal processors. In any case, make sure you're working with the sound guy and not against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 The sound isn't the problem, it is the fact that they spring it on you without warning well after soundcheck, somewhere mid-set, and you realize the monitors are NOT going to like this sound. and the clip lights come on, and you wonder why you like doing this work..... Well if they have it set reasonably, it shouldn't be any peakier than their normal vocal. In fact, it should be significantly more compressed. But I agree, nothing should be "sprung", but often is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Just get a voice processor, dial in your sound and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gremson Posted May 9, 2012 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 I realized once I posted that I'd probably be better off with some kinda effects unit. I was just hoping to get something that wouldn't require a power source or extra cables. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rockmonster3000 Posted June 19, 2014 Members Share Posted June 19, 2014 Nah, to heck with the effects unit. I just got a Wasaphone I off eBay and it is really great. They're built using particular vintage telephone receivers and make anything you put through 'em sound gritty and warm. Super for live/studio. Really cheap too. Have a look at the demo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted June 19, 2014 Members Share Posted June 19, 2014 Two year old thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pro Sound Guy Posted June 20, 2014 Members Share Posted June 20, 2014 Shure Green Bullet. Many a blues guy sings through them.It will give you that unique cheap AM transistor radio vocal sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted June 20, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 I realized once I posted that I'd probably be better off with some kinda effects unit. I was just hoping to get something that wouldn't require a power source or extra cables. Thanks guys! You don't need any extra effects in order to do this. Use the mixer's channel EQ and gain. Overdrive the channel to get some edge, and drop the HF and LF EQ to get the poor response curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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