 This is the Neumann U87. Probably the world's most desired studio microphone. It oozes quality in both sound and build. It's also been on countless hit songs over the past 50 years. And you probably don't need it. Hi folks, I'm Mike and I hope you well. When people ask me what's the best type of microphone for their studio, I say probably a large diaphragm condenser. Now the word probably is really important here. We'll deal with that later. When people ask me what's the best service to distribute their music around the world, I say definitely the sponsor of this video, DistroKid. There's a VIP discount link for them in the description down below. Large diaphragm condenser microphones like the U87 are excellent capturing detail in vocals and instruments from low bass frequencies up to higher airy frequencies. That's why they're a primary choice for recording studios around the world. And in fact, when you think of a studio microphone, you probably picture something like this iconic U87, but they don't all look like this. For example, here's the AKG C414, almost an equally legendary microphone as you can see. It looks quite different, but one thing they all have in common is they need an extra power supply. Normally, this is 48 volts of what they call phantom power. But don't worry, almost all, if not all, modern audio interfaces have this incorporated. And you're going to need one of those to connect one of these to your computer. One way in which these microphones may differ is with something called polar patterns. Essentially, this is about how the microphone or where the microphone picks up sound, whether it's just in front of it, whether it's from both sides, whether it's all around or some other option. The U87, for example, has three switchable polar patterns, whereas the C414 has five. However, I find in a home studio for around about 90% of the time, I just use one polar pattern. That's the cardioid polar pattern where the microphone picks up sound just from one side and in front of it. This is excellent for things like singers or even for things like acoustic guitars. So by all means, if you want the absolute best tip top quality of sound recording and budget is no issue for you, follow the links in the description down below and buy one of these amazing microphones. And I'll thank you for that because to be honest, I'll get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. But I have to say, I don't think these high quality microphones are something you actually need. Now I've got good reasons for that. Imagine a scenario in the future where you've released your music to the world. Hopefully you've used our sponsor DistroKid for less than $23. There'll be a discount if you follow the link in the description down below. You'll have done it very easily and got it on places like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, etc, etc. Now imagine in this scenario, unfortunately, your music is not that well received. Well, I can guarantee to you right now, it's highly unlikely that it has anything to do with your microphone choice. It's way more likely it's got something to do with the song, your performance or even the mix way before it has anything to do with your choice of microphone. And for that reason, I'd also like to recommend something much more budget friendly. Now one microphone I've been recommending for many years is the Rode NT1A. In fact, I think this is probably my first studio microphone. Now I reckon this microphone produces 90 to 95% of the quality of those much more expensive microphones at less than one tenth of the cost. It's super clean and it's also super quiet, meaning there's not much noise from the electronics inside. Now I have to say some people find this microphone a little exaggerated in the high frequencies. So if you're concerned, there's a lot of sibilance in your voice, meaning there's a lot of s and t sounds which are a little bit exaggerated. You may want to consider my other choice, which is the Audio Technica 80 2020. Now in fact, on this channel, I did a blind test with these two microphones and another one and you all picked this as the best sounding condenser microphone. Now don't be put off by its very cheap $99 price tag. This really does produce a high quality of sound. Do you remember I said at the beginning that these are probably the best type of microphone for your home studio? The reason I use the word probably is because with these microphones, their strengths are also their weaknesses. They do pick up sound in incredibly high detail, but unfortunately all sound, even unwanted sound, things like the baby crying in the room next door or those low flying military jets which have been flying over my house during the recording of this video. They're also going to pick up unwanted sounds from within your studio itself, especially reflections or kind of echo sounds from hard surfaces like your walls. Now without having to spend too much money, you can do a lot to alleviate this. Things like soft furnishing or bookcases can actually help out quite a lot or you can spend some money on some room treatment. However, if you still feel that this is going to be problematic for you in your situation, you may want to consider a dynamic microphone. This is the Shure SM58, a legendary dynamic microphone, especially for singers on stage for around about the last 50 years or so. It's small, it's rugged and notably it's very good at picking up sound just in front of it, but not so good at picking up sounds further away. So a good solution if you have the kind of problems that we were discussing earlier. Now it only has one polar pattern, that's the cardioid pattern and it's got no need for an extra power supply. If you're already a gigging musician, you may already own one of these. However, you can also pick them up for less than $100. That's pretty good for a legend. So you may be asking, well, why not just use one of these anyway? Well, in comparison to a condenser microphone, they sound a little less detailed, especially in high frequencies. So they kind of lack that lush studio sound. However, I reckon if you're just getting started, these microphones can be a great solution for quite a long time. So if you really want to use a dynamic microphone, but you want that kind of studio sound, then you may want to consider another legend, the Shure SM7B. Now earlier versions of this microphone were used on hit recordings such as Michael Jackson's Thriller. So it's got some pedigree. It's got a really lush low end to it, but it's also got a much better frequency response in the high end than things like the SM58 that we looked at later. But if you are considering buying this microphone, and I do recommend it, you may also want to consider upgrading your audio interface. These microphones require a lot more gain than other microphones. And unfortunately, as you use more gain on some cheaper audio interfaces, you do get noise introduced. Okay, so this is a big consideration. Now a lot of people recommend something called a cloudlifter to boost the signal before you go into your audio interface. But I'm not convinced that those don't also introduce extra noise. In fact, I've made a video about that right here. The microphones that we've looked at so far are good for recording both vocals and instruments. However, if you want to focus on recording instruments specifically, then you may want to consider the following. This is another legend for Shure. This is the SM57. It's extremely similar to the SM58 we looked at earlier. In fact, they both have the same cartridge inside, but they just have a different shaped grill. The SM58 has this ball shaped grill with a built in pop filter, which is great for singers. Whereas the SM57 has a much smaller grill, so it's easier to get into tight spots and also means that you can get the source a little bit closer to the diaphragm of the microphone. You'll see SM57s in top class studios around the world, especially pointed at guitar cabinets or even acoustic guitars. Not bad for a $99 legend. So although the SM57 is great for recording some sources, I still reach for a condenser microphone when I want real detail and refinement in my sound. And in fact, for instruments, I reach for a small diaphragm condenser microphone, something like this legend here, the Neumann KM184. Small diaphragm condensers are useful when you want a really accurate sound, something which is really true to the original source. They are a little less flattering than large diaphragm condenser microphones in this way. Now this particular microphone I absolutely love to use on acoustic guitar. And in fact, sometimes I will use a pair of them for a stereo recording, but they are a little bit on the pricey side. If you can afford it, go for it. But if these are outside of your budget, then I can also highly recommend these microphones. This is the Universal Audio SP1. I've only been using these for the last few months, but I'm super impressed. They come very, very close to the quality of the KM184s at a much more friendly price. I'd like to give a quick honorable mention to another type of microphone, the Ribbon microphone. Now these are far from necessary in a home studio and you can get by for years, perhaps forever without really needing one. They have a really nice quality, natural sound to them, but they're much darker in sound than the other types of microphones that we've discussed. I like to use this SE Electronics VR2 in combination with another microphone to give a really natural warmth to the recording. If you take away only one thing from this video, I'd like it to be this. All of the expensive microphones I showed you in today's video could take a great performance from a great artist and maybe squeeze another 2-3% out of it, giving it a competitive edge over other major releases. However, for us mere mortals, most of our life will be spent on the unending search for a great lyric, a great chord progression, a great melody, etc. And a legendary microphone is really not going to make much difference to us. Thank you so much for watching today and I'll see you in the next video.