First, I'm not here to debate, just suggesting a good mic under $300.00 and No disrespect fam, I hear all that you've said, but it's all nonsense in a real world sense fam.
One thing I've learned over the years is when people say they are "not here to debate" or "no disrespect" they usually try to debate and usually do end up saying something that one may consider disrespectful.
What is "nonsense" is the fact that you are telling this man that ANY mic is going to sound muddy without the use of a pre amp or eq. What I am telling you is that is 100% false. The reason being it is false is because NO MATTER WHAT YOU
RECORD YOU ARE USING SOME TYPE OF PRE AMP. There have been PLENTY of professional records that have used the STOCK pre amps in the 001 and many records where the vocal tracks have been processed with compression only.
He's obviously not using a preamp or EQ on the mic (regardless of which brand it is) or muddiness (or lack of clarity) wouldn't be the issue.
First of all he IS using a pre amp because if he wasn't using a pre amp he wouldnt be able to record the SIGNAL!!! Now if the pre amp is a 48v pre amp remains to be seen, but any input that can be controlled via gain and accepts a signal to be recorded is a pre amp.
Muddiness and lack of clarity are not always the result of lack of eq or a weak pre amp. You can sit a vocalist to the side, have the mic too low in placement and get mud, OR you can place the vocalist to the front, have the mic tilted at the wrong angle and end up causing the track to have too much sibilence.
Back to the NT1A, I put up a song as an example of vocals done on a NT1A to show it is a excellent mic at the price (and I did the song without a vocal booth). I'm no expert at talking tech language on mics or any other piece of equipment, but I do have real life experience at recording and putting records out, so most of the shit I spit is proven facts (found through trial and error). No more no less
Thats all fine and great, and I'm sure if he had used the SEARCH engine before he made the post, he would have found a long list of mics in his range that moe, sickwidtit, jayda, d-sane or myself have suggested. You have real life experience at recording? So do I. I have real life engineering experience, and just because I don't advertise my products or accomplishments at the bottom of my sig doesnt mean I am NOT capable of telling you to tune into your local rap station to listen to a song I mixed. Do you HONESTLY believe the room does not play a factor in the way the mic sounds or that the placement of the mic doesn't come into play? We can prove you wrong very easily. Record a verse at your spot. When you are finished come to my spot, step a couple of inches to the side, let me angle the mic and record that same verse.
I GUARANTEE THE VOCALS SOUND DIFFERENT, AND I'LL PUT MY ENTIRE STUDIO ON LINE TO MAKE THE BET.
Now, if what I have said has struck a nerve, your bad for taking it that way, but people have a right to disagree.