Vocal Mic Shootout: What Is The Perfect Microphone For Vocal Recording? - TheRecordingRevolution.com 

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The closet audio engineer in me wants to pass along my little nugget of experience to any newbies watching this and actually making it to reading my comment. In the mix, it is always easier to make a mic sound brighter but it is harder to make a mic sound darker and still make it sound great. For this reason, I usually shy away from microphones that have any kind of artificial boost in the mids or highs at all. I always prefer just to hear the capsule itself and then, with post processing ,in the mix it will sound better than if I had to fight an already boosted EQ curve. A microphone that has boosted high-mids or boosted High's is equivalent to a television that has super high contrast and super high brightness on demo mode in your local electronics store. It looks great in the store and looks better than all the other televisions but then doesn't look the same when you get it home. It is basically a marketing ploy to create some sort of hype to grab people that don't know any better. Not to say they aren't usable, but if you have to fight it the whole way, it's not ideal. This is a great comparison, but I would love to see this same comparison with a finished mix of each mic. That way you can see not only the starting point, but also where you can actually take them. Those are 2 very different things. Once you start compressing a vocal, the sibilance that is present will be magnified, and I have a feeling that that's all it would take to turn most people off of the brighter Beringher and Rhode mics. They might seem like they have a better starting point, but not to the more seasoned ears in the room, IMHO.

Behringer B1: 5:18 Rode NT1-A: 6:15 Neumann TLM 102: 7:12 Shure SM57: 8:08 For quick A/B comparisons

The Sm57 is truly a magic wand. Incredible.

Behringer B1: low clarity, strong highs Rode NT1a: medium clarity, strong bass Neuman TLM102: supreme clarity, flat response Shure SM57: Godlike in every way

I feel like the SM57 had the best presence and balance in the mix, the Bheringer was too sharp for your voice. I am really surprised by the Shure in this test. Thanks for the perspective.

Kinda ridiculous how good the humble SM57 sounds here isn't it? :D

Nice shoot out! Gotta say after hearing that verse and chorus 4 times in a row, I never got tired of it! You've really got something man!

It's gotta be between the sm57 and the NT1-A imo. the 57 almost takes it, but I just bought a Rode so I have to trick myself into thinking it was worth it lol

1. Neuman (EQ a lil high!) 2. Sm57 3. Rode NT1A 4. Behringer

I love the sm57, it needs some gain but that’s easily fixable and it gets everything like really raw and real.

The TLM 102 sounds so balanced, full and smooth. A really velvety silky sound. I’m listening with Antelope Audio Zen Tour + Sennheiser HD 598 phones. The Shure has a bit much around 3-5k , a tad harsh for my taste. Great vid Graham.

I like the Rode the best, followed closely by the Shure. The Rode seems to have a nice balance of brightness and fullness, while the Shure is really good for that punchy feel found in a lot of rock songs.

The SM57 did surprisingly well. For my taste the Neumann was my favorite, but the Rode was an extremely close second. For the price though, I'd rather have the Rode.

I hate to be "that guy", but hell - Neumann sounded the best, hands down. Its sound has that rich "silkness" I cannot hear in other mics, that smoothness sounding like top record. I don't mean other mics suck, especially Shure is perfect for this kind of rock performance, but man - Neumann is Neumann. Nice, round, warm sound. Maybe it is some sort of psychological effect, but well - I suppose any of us have his/hers own agenda in liking different mic. For example, because you have it already or you like the idea of cheap mic sounding like top-shelf products :)

Your videos inspired me to build a home studio setup. I bought an Argosy 70 series and few months ago and just got my 32 channel Yamaha mixer for it today. Love your channel!

I liked the sm57 and neumann the best. Honestly between the two, I'd choose the sm57. I love it for its punch and "heft". I'm not a fan of the super bright crystallly top end: I'd rather sacrifice it for some power behind the vocals. Plus, to my ears, it sounds awfully close the neumann in terms of EQ characteristics. So a $99 mic vs a $699 mic...well, that's an easy choice

I think the Rode NT1-A sounded the best overall on this song. Full and balanced, not too bright or dark, and the most natural.

This was super helpful. I own one of these entry level Behringers and it's also served me well for many years but I did notice the warmer, richer tone of the NT1a places vocals in the mix nicely (in most cases). I'm primarily a mixing engineer so the question for me is which mic sounds like the one I'd want to mixdown and the answer is the NT1a for sure!

I felt we looked at just one part of the equation here. The first step in the recording of the voice. At this stage, the Neumann and the Shure seemed to sound more "fitting" with regards to your voice level, your voice quality, the octave range being used, and the general bluesy rock feel of the song itself. We did not however get into the later stages of the production, the sweetening, the mixing, the effects and the final master. So with that said, just hearing the raw capture of the voice, I felt the Neumann offered the most natural, silky, almost flattering quality to the vocal. It seemed, at least to my ears, to have the most available headroom for sculpting and finishing techniques. I would love to see you take it further and process it and hear what it sounds like once you have done with it. Cheers mate, and thank you for the video!

I liked the SM-57 for that song with your voice, I think it fits better in the mix. The Neuman sounds like my NT-1 with the foam cover on it. My gotos for my voice (depending on song) are NT-1, AT-2020 and SM-57. Same on acoustic guitars... depending on which guitar I am using. Excellent video, as always. Thanks Graham.

Your videos are so good and so helpful, dude. Amazing stuff.

without a doubt the Shure sm57 is the one that best adapts to this voice. thanks friend for your excellent demonstration

SM57 did amazingly well. To me the Rode was best for you, while I still think the TLM-102 would be the most versatile mic if I were to buy one. I do have a 57 and need to consider using it more though.

Cost/Benefit ... I think the Rode is a good investment for the home studio, no matter what the application is. Although in this video I think the SM57 actually sounded best for this track because the vocal track was in that throaty tenor timbre, and kinda needed the 57's low-mid warmth.

Nice shootout and I have to admit that I also thought each of these mics could’ve been worked with. The Behringer and Rode were similar. Basic EQ. Nothing special but no real shortcomings. The TLM was rich as hell. Just a silky sound that maybe could’ve used a slight 3k boost and a tiny drop around the low mids somewhere. The funboy of this show was the old SM57. What a performance. It sounded a bit hotter than the rest but in terms of coloration, distortion and performance, that little booger shined something fierce! If you drop the volume 2db, boost the low mids, cut the 4k-6k just a smidge and run it through a tube preamp, you’d have an $80 TLM. Nice shootout. Thanks.

All around, the B1 all the way! Makes your voice shine!

B1 sounds impressive, I like that crispy sound. I think that´s what I ´m looking for. Great video!

Neumann captures every detail in your voice and sounds fuller, richier than the rest. It doesn't have that harshness on top. I'm listening on Eve Audio SC205 :) The worst one was Behringer (too bright, too sharp, tiny sound) closely followed by SM57 (mid-rangey sounding, harsh). Rode was ok but needs some de-essing

Great video! In my opinion, the Neuman sounds best by far with your voice. You're a good singer, but your voice has a strong tenor quality with a lot high mids as the predominant tonal quality. Therefore it naturally cuts through mixes, but sometimes it is at risk of sounding too thin and tin-like on the brighter and crispier mics. Mics like that Neuman or possibly a Shure SM7b would get your voice a little more meat, fills in the lower mids and smooths out the high mids to balance your voice and make it sound smoother and fuller. I have a similar tonal quality to my voice and have found this formula works best for my voice as well.

All these different answers from people may be on account of them all listening on different types of speakers, all having different tastes and opinions, etc., but the truth is, in the end, all four mics sound good, because you were able to produce a good vocal.

Dude, I love your videos! So much great info!

I def think the neuman sounds better pretty much in every instance but I was surprised with how well the sm57 did in some aspects. Cool vid.

The Neumann sounds super natural, like always the Nt1a has a little too much high frequency and the Sm57 does a wonderful job with the dynamics of rock vocals.

SM-57 was a popular acoustic guitar mic during the Wrecking Crew days. It had a nice midrange boost that complimented acoustic rhythm and natural roll-off that prevented the boominess associated with close-micing acoustics during live tracking dates.

That shure really controls the plosives, great demo!!

In chorus we can clearly hear that SM 57 has a resonant frequency somewhere in highs, but we can always fix it and after that it's overall so great mic.

Hey Graham, been very honest, with the kind of performance you´ve got it almost doesn´t make a great difference between all 4 mics; if you make a blind test I believe only people with very trained ears would guess wich one is wich, wich in the end guides me to the following tought: 1) If you almost always put a HPF to roll some lows, and 2) then lift high frequencies to get more clarity, air and to cut more trough the mix, I will for sure choose the SHURE and I wouldn´t have to do any of these EQ moves, and just to give it a little warmth I would add some tape saturation, maybe I´m wrong, but it seems very logical to me.

great job on this video. For me - shure. Every time you played it I immediately felt it.

I like the Shure SM57 I'm gonna go buy it now.

Great comparison... very helpful! All of the mics could certainly be made to work in the mix. For your voice in this recording, I thought the Rode probably worked best overall. I was surprised how well the very-bright Behringer worked in some parts of the song. Very instructive. And the SM57?... I'm no longer surprised by anything that little workhorse can do. Thanks for posting this.

Neumann I loved how it did I definitely heard a difference

Im with you 100% on your assessment. I heard the same. The B1, in the end, might take less work to have a final vocal. But say for my voice, which is the same range and sound somewhere between Steve Perry and Steve Walsh, more Perry, the Neuman might work better. Great video. Now do one on mics for recording guitars.

This is the kind of detailed review that actually helps inform a purchase. Thanks.

Only confirms my prevailing philosophy that; if this song (not to denigrate the song at all) was Revolution or In My Life, wouldn't matter which damn mic you're using and that some of us get too far in the weeds on this stuff. As you have correctly said before, it's the song and the performance that matters the most. Great series BTW. Your vids are well thought out and informative

I liked the Neumann for this track. It was easier sounding on my ears and seemed to go with the track best. The shure is a bit bright almost tinny sounding. I can definitely see how it would be handy to have different mics and how any of these mics could work for this.

Hey Graham, Thanks for this shoot out. I have actually been thinking about stepping up to a Neumann TLM 102 actually have one in my shopping cart right now but thought I'd have a listen to your video first. Personally speaking I like the warmth the Neumann brings to your vocal where as the other vocals were a bit harsh to me. I do like the mid highs a bit from the other mics as well but I think the Neumann is just smoother, therefore its my winner. I would just do a db or 2 narrow bump maybe at 2k and 6K bump on it to bring a bit of brightness to it but I personally like the smooth vocal more than the in your face vocal. Just my humble opinion. Thanks you so much for all the work you do, you have taught me so much over the years and it is truly appreciated! God bless you stay healthy in these difficult days.

I just picked up the MXL 770, did an unboxing and started some random recording. I'm loving the great bass and mids it records!

Behringer B1 and Shure 57 are ideal for your voice for me

Really interesting mic shootout. Through my headphones for overall usability as a whole take I'd go with the NT 1 on your voice. Although I did enjoy the richness in the TLM. Maybe a blend of the two... I believe its the right mic if it assists you in giving the best performance. If you like what you hear in your headphones it doesn't matter what mic is, as long as you capture the best performance.

For you voice and the style of this song, I really like the SM57 but the B1 also has a great tone as well.

For your voice I liked theNeumann . Heard the most from it and it can be tweaked to enhance or brighten in certain areas. The b1 and Rode were nice with the Rode sounding smoother like the Neumann . It was slightly brighter like the b1 with a touch of sibilance and falls flat on certain sounds. The b1 sounded bright and full without annoying my ears like the Shure.

SM57 btw ftw, gives a bit of grit needed for this track!

Very interesting how the cheaper end mics performed so well but as you said​ you can work with them all, as they can be EQ, d to smooth out to suit and i guess when added plug ins you would tell the differece. Great test thank you

You have a great Voice man. Gave me chills.

First impressions before your analysis - best matches in order: 1) Røde 2) Shure 3) Neumann 4) Behringer. Neumann was pulling vocal down. Behringer made you sound like you were holding air and not relaxing.

I've been using the same $180 vocal mic for 5 years! It's not top notch (obviously) but always gets the job done for vocals. I just did a comparison between that one and a $5,000 Neumann mic on my channel, in case anyone wants to check it out!

Wow, I can hear the difference . I was torn between the B1and the TLM. Great vocals and song !!

I own the Neumann TLM-102, Rode NT1a, SM57 as well as few others. The Neumann is amazing!! and let us not forget the preamp is important as well as matching the right mic for the vocalist.

Oddly enough, I like the sm57 with your voice the best. Seems odd, but it works

Shure SM57 has a nice saturation and is a very good for this song, imho. It rocks)

Your video's are gold. Thank you Graham. I just noticed what people mean by a "forward" sounding mic... I was surprised at how good the 57 sounded for vocals.

This was a really helpful video... The only mic I currently have is the SM57. I'm in the process of recording (from home) my first EP. Guitars are done and now it's time for drums and vocals. I was originally planning on buying a decent condenser mic for vocals but this has shown me that the SM57 is more than adequate. Especially since the music I make is a mixture of metal and punk, and it seems that the Shure handles louder vocals well. Thanks for putting out great videos! They've helped me a ton on my journey of learning how to record/mix my music.

Why can't I hear the difference in my headphones I got from a 25 cent gumball machine?

I watched this a couple of years ago and I think I preferred the Rode. On rewatching though I prefer the Neumann - it's less bright, yes, but it seems like a great, super clear, flat foundation to build from with a good EQ, rather than a brighter recording that I'm going to have to tame in places. Maybe my taste will change again in another couple of years, though :) Interesting stuff!

Very cool video. I've been listening to video after video of mic comparisons for vocals. The Neuman has a very polished sound - almost processed without being processed but the 57 holds it's own for the difference in price ! Great vocals too BTW !

Well I'm sold on the Rode. You and I have similar voices and I liked the sound of that mic at the price. SM57 sounds surprisingly good too.

I'd just like to point out that Graham here improves his vocal performance with each rendition. I've only so far seen comments preferring the SM57 which is why I'm giving everyone a heads up to be a bit more clinical in their observation because, not having yet made my decision, I did notice how Graham drops the "D" sound in the word "world" only on the SM57 recording. Dropping that hard-sounding D decidedly improves the performance as far as base enjoyment. It's not only here that improvements particularly on the SM57 rendition seem to stand out from the former microphone performances. Edeetorino: Out of these I'd choose the NeumannTLM 102 if I were Graham in this moment. I'd like it to enter another face-off against a separate group of mics, though.

Shure SM57 that suites this song. It feels nice and fat to me. And it rocks. ;)

This was great and good ear training. Behringer and Rhode were pretty similar, both sounding harsh in the upper midrange. Neumann very rich in the middle midrange but too rich not allowing the vocal to blend with the music as well as the Shure Sm57. The Shure would sound better in the verse if positioned closer, but sounds good as is in the chorus. I love it when cheap gear gets the job done.

THanks Graham--Very helpful and practical. My take was 1. Neumann 102; 2. Rode; 3. Sm57; 4. Behr.

omg I actually love the SM57 one . Oh my gosh, i never knew you could use the SM57 for vocals haha

First of all can the one that downvoted this Video please get an Internet ban. I cannot believe such a Thing. Here is someone trying to Help us .. and all You ( Yes you .. ) find something u don't appreciate. Great. Secondly: Thanks Graham. Most of us don't have the luxury to even test multiple mics and thus werent even aware of this issue. This video shows, in a very impressive way, what mics do to your mix. I for sure will go out to friends and have this done to / with my voice. Last: That B1 sure is impressive, its only in the chorus that it falls back a bit to my taste ( too nasal ). The Neumann just totally dissapointed me, on this song. I guess i would have expected a €700,- mic to also make my coffee. Longest in the race was that shure .. i kinda like the "electric" vibe it puts to ur voice. But .. overall. I guess i agree with most comments here: Rhode won the race because overall twas most natural to the song and voice. Just my 2 cents :) Keep up the Great work. Thanks for lettin us have part.

Man awesome video! Very informative and very well done comparison. That SM57 hung in there pretty well...especially considering the typical EQ highpass during post! For your voice I actually preferred the Rhodes. Thank ya sir! Learned a ton as usual

Overall the Rode NT1a was the one that had the punch on the high end and had the clarity and best tone, without sounding muddy or thin. Appreciate your videos, and happy to add opinions.

For price to quality comparison, the Shure and Rode are the best. The Rode takes 1st place for me, because (common quirk in vocals) the N and M sounds are more pronounced on the Rode than the Shure, at least in the full mix. Sometimes in recordings those sounds get a little too hidden. The Noymann is actually quite underwhelming for the price in my opinion, it's just so dark.

The Neumann TLM by a mile. The Shure was a passable 2nd. :)

Thanks for this, very useful - I'm shopping for a large diaphragm mike, atm. I do prefer the sm57, though. It has a nice presence to it that, although makes it the least natural, sounds the best for your voice on this particular track.

I really like the SM57 for vocals in that mix. Cuts right through. Surprising.

Personally, I found the hook to be the most obvious. Maybe not for some people, but it was for me.. 5:45 - Behringer B1 6:42 - Rode NT1a 7:39 - Neumann TLM 102 8:36 - SM57 NT1a>B1>SM57 Neumann is too different to compare My opinion...with MID/SIDE processing, use the Neumann for the MID and the NT1a on the sides. I'm sure you're double tracking right? If I had to choose only one... it's not such an easy decision because the song has a lot of dynamic range. So...just one huh? Here goes...the Neumann. Why? Well, it seems to NOT capture harshness and what it does capture seems more musical and may be easier to EQ because the harshness isn't there, which in turn makes the De-Esser work less...which can be a huge deal for some people. Anyway. Good luck.

The Neumann captures EVERYTHING. For a rock song, however, do we need, do we want to keep "everything"? No, we would EQ the track with a hi-pass filter, lower some more frequencies here and there and then boost some of the higher frequencies. The question is: if that's what we want, then why not just use a microphone that doesn't capture the frequencies we would cut or lower anyway? It's like driving a Rolls Royce to work everyday. Wouldn't it be easier to drive a smaller car or even a bike? It's not because it's very expensive that it will make things better, easier. At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself what you want and what you need. Of course, it would work (just like you can drive a Rolls Royce to work everyday) but does it make it easier? Is it what you need for what you want to achieve? Again, this is a very eye opening video! Thank you for making this video and sharing it with us!

Such an excellent video! Thank you!

Wow I am landing on this as a new one in the industry. Like it with you brother. This is very good.👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾best stuff ur doing.

I liked Shure as the most unexpected one. But Neumann is unbeatable in the mix context.

For me the best is in this order. 1/2.Shure SM57 2.Neumann TLM 3.Rode NT1-A 4.Behringer B1

I was really impressed with the rode it’s sounds rounded and smooth a sound I like in vocals

I love these comparison videos but I think it should be mentioned that this also depends on where you're recording it (room treatment) and it also really really depends on the person's voice and the type of song. Some mics work very well for deeper voices and so on. Great video here :)

Am I crazy to prefer the SM57 over all?

Bono uses a 57. Handheld, rock singer. $100. A mic that is built like a tank. Why spend more. For your indy rock delivery- thats all you need. Forget Neumans, that for Tony Bennett shit, with a big plate. I would say the preamp is more important. Just like a good tube amp will make a so so guitar sound good. A very good preamp will make any mic sound good. I use a Great River Preamp with various mics, and they ALL sound great, including SHure 57s, sE mics, ADKs, Studio Projects and Audio Technicas. It also depends on the range of the melody.. and how much vocal skills you have. Learning to sing from the diaphram and not always using ones head voice - will give a vocal a richer tone. I feel like everyone is way to precious with recording theses days. Back in the day, youd hit an 8 track or 16 track studio and jam it out and mix it down.. and it sounded alive.. and in your face... now with computers and digital its become more science fiction than songs.. Rock on Sir Graham! thank you.

Couldn't resist jamming along on guitar. Keep up great the work.

Great review! Well done! 👏🏼

Rode NT1a is remarkable (can be even better with a Michael Joly mod par Neumann U87ai). The SM57 held its end up very well indeed. Sell the Neumann 102, you should have bought an SE Gemini... or even 2200a (listen to 'I love the warmth, fullness, presence and the fat sound of the sE Gemini, and every studio should have an sE ... The Gemini II is a versatile vocal/room/general purpose mic which is never left in the box on a session. .... JAMIE CULLUM) Amy Winehouse uses the sE Electronics sE 2200a while performing her song "Love is a Losing Game."

3rd

Very informative, well done video. I'm almost totally with you on all that you said. I'm stunned that the TLM was as muddy sounding as it was, to me at least. I can hear the presence part of it which is nice, and maybe it sounds more muddy because I'm an old guy and may have lost some of my highs, but I would defiantly add some treble to the TLM if I used that one. I almost think the 57 had the most sort of "presence" or in your face sound, if you will, but it didn't have as much roundness or maybe "beefiness" as, say the TLM. Amazing how good the Behringer sounded, and the NT1a had a lot of "cut through appeal too, with a little less treble than the Behringer. Wow, to me it's a tough call. I would almost have to EQ or process each one of them in the mix to see how the final sound would be. Thanks for a very well done, and thought provoking video. Marc Trainor.

That Rode adds some beautifull harmonics and also boosts the low end and the high end a little, the Neumman is heavier on the low end, cuts some high frequencies and adds a great character, both sound great!

What about using the Behringer and Neuman, recorded together (one stacked atop the other), and recording them simultaneous on the same track? They both have a really great sound that I think would blend together very nicely.

i have always loved the RODE NT1a i swore by it for years... but after hearing that nuemann just wow..... i love that tone... i need one !

Thanx for the lesson. That's a great song, and great voice too. well done. For me, Neumann TLM 102 captured your vocals nicely.

1. barringer=Thin too much highs 2. Rode= warm, big and Round 3. TLM-102= smooth & Natural 4. Shure= Thin and too highendy

I think the TLM 102 sounds amazing for voice over or voice acting, cause it sounds very authentic, well rounded, present, open and neutral. But in a mix it might not stick out as much as others, so thats where it goes up for debate what mic fits the most for the mix