Good Rock Microphone?

RLV

So I recently purchased a new microphone and I am not really loving it at all. I spent 300 USD on it, it's an AT 4040, and I guess I should have done a little more research on it before buying, but it does not seem to handle rock style vocals very well. I'm seriously thinking about sending it back. My SM57 practically does a better job and it doesn't seem much better than my CAD GXL2200, which are both only $100 mics.

I was looking at an SM7B while shopping and that seems to be the go to mic for most rock musicians and, well, everyone. However I would need a Cloudlifter (signal booster) since my preamp is a lower market interface and all together would be about 550/600 USD, which is why I went with the 4040 at 300 USD. Any advice or recommendations on a good rock suited microphone?

Wigs

I have used the rode nt1 and shure 55 super. I like them both, the rode gets better clear vocals and the shure has a bit of a vintage sound. What I have found though if I were to research and buy again would be to buy a mic that suits the room you record in rather than one for a particular style since to get the best out of a mic your environment needs to suit it. The rode is mine and picks up EVERYTHING! The shure belongs to my partner and is less sensitive to outside noise. The room Ive moved my studio into is more dead than the one I used to use but I still havent treated it.

I know you were looking for a product to reccomend but thats my 2 cents from an amatures perspective. Maybe @Klaus_T can give you an idea since he is a sound engineer?

RLV

Thanks @Wigs . I Was actually looking at the 55 as well II know that's the mic Elvis made famous and James Hetfield of Metallica favors for a live setting. The room I record in isn't very well treated compared to a professional studio set up, so I guess I'd be looking for something like that. The mic I just bought doesn't seem to handle belting or loud singing into it at all due to it's sensitivity. After doing a bit of research (after making the purchase unfortunately) I found that people often claim that the AT 4040 is best for female singers and instruments not so much for males especially rock singers whose vocals need to stand out or sit right with distorted guitars and such. Thanks for the advice!

sjonrokz4u

I almost bought one of those. Glad I didn’t.

Klaus_T

what is it you dislike about the 4040? it would then be easier to know what you are looking for. maybe you also need to change the distance to the mic. the sm7 and 57 are dynamic while the 4040 is a condenser. it is much more sensitive to sound and pics up sibilance and pops more easily. it might sound more hissy therefore, and maybe that is what you don't like?

RLV

@Klaus_T
Exactly.. The top end is too harsh for me and the mid and low range don't seem present enough to ride over top of distorted guitar and bass well at all.. it just all seems a bit "thin". When trying to EQ the high frequencies it gets so harsh its unbearable, though if I back off on the top end the vocal gets berried in the track. I'm not sure a dynamic mic would be able to resolve that problem or not.

Klaus_T

could you post a snippet maybe i could then figure out what you can do. that mic is not known to be a "sh*t" mic, it is budget but not bad so maybe it can be tweaked to suit you more. you could try have the mic's axis face a bit towards your chest, instead of pointing at your mouth straight. try different angles

and remember, how it sits in the mix depends on the processing (dynamics etc) as well

sjonrokz4u

Maybe try getting it at an angle to your voice also try a little below your mouth