Shure - PGA181

A simple question, but much more to unpack. Is this for live vocals or are you tracking for a recording? What preamps, audio interface and digital converters are you using? If you're just going into a cheaper audio interface (Focusrite Scarlett) for a bedroom recording then sure, it's fine. If you're trying to get great vocals for a recording in studio environment, are you matching the type of mic to your vocals? Male vocals and female vocals sometimes dictate what mic an engineer may gravitate towards. Are you going to get the same results as a male vocalist singing into a high-quality, large-diaphram condenser mic – like a Neumann U87 or U47 – going through a Neve 1073 preamp and a Lynx Hilo digtal converter, in a professional sounding, acoustically treated room. No. Is the PGA 181 a decent mic that can capture a vocal recording – sure. Can it do 90% of the work, yep. But the other 10% is the difference between decent and great. As professionals all know, that additional 10% comes down to knowledge, experience, room, placement and gear.

Cheap 416 soundalikes? Shure PGA 181 with a pop filter or AT875R. Both need an interface and some room treatment. Please, no Yeti. Despite what many say here about USB mics you could absolutely get away with an sE Neom. I've used a (now discontinued) sE USB mic for hundreds of commercials and promos while travelling without issue. I do use a portable booth to tame reflections however and wouldn't use USB in my primary setup. Have a listen to [this](https://youtu.be/-ahtOmKwGXU)

Y'all my favorite microphone in my kit (Im a live guy who records at home) is the Shure PGA 181. For $150 CDN you cannot beat this mic. I use it for guitars, horns, piano, drum overheads... It does a lot really well. My favorite use so far has been for brass. It kills on trombone. https://www.shure.com/en-us/products/microphones/pga181/

You’ll want to get an external microphone that connects via USB or use an audio interface with an XLR mic—something like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo. A USB mic will be the easiest and most affordable option. I personally use a Shure mic with XLR and audio interface but if you want USB only for simplicity. This one is highly rated and works great with Zoom: https://a.co/d/0kW94MC There’s also a higher-end version here: https://a.co/d/3dMutRA I’ve also heard great things about these mics: https://a.co/d/98s1aEP At the end of the day, any USB mic will work—it just depends on how high you want the audio quality to be and how much you’re willing to spend.