Can anyone recommend a pro mic for singers?

[Apollo1]

Hi, im trying to find a mid-high range pro mic for the imac. ie condenser, pop filter...etc and ideally USB connection, but not sure if i would loose/gain quality using this method of connection, any advice would be great!!

[ukuleleman]

I have four AKG C 1000 S made in Austria,Ten or fifteen years old now but still up the job, a great vocalists mike, my quartet used them in several different studios because they were aimed at singers.

Well out of date now, but AKG must have updated them they were so popular, either Battery operated or phantom power. I am in the UK.

[Muse-Med]

If your interest in recording music into your iMac computer, I would suggest purchasing some kind of audio device in addition to a microphone. Although its my understanding that the iMACs have limited ports (FireWire, USB ports, etc), there are work-arounds to this problem. However, purchasing an audio device like a MOTU 828 MK3 (and there are MANY companies that make fine audio devices) will enable you more choice in microphones. There are even MORE non-USB microphones that will help create great sounding vocal recordings. (Heck! Even a Shure SM 58 will create fine vocal recordings.)

Although, it seems that there are more and more USB microphones coming out on the market. (Admittedly, I'm not familiar with them.) I've recently read that there are USB-based attachments that can placed on a regular microphone which will provide direct connection into the computer. Shure makes a X2u audio device which provides connection of a regular XLR microphone into the USB port. Again, such a device will provide more choice in microphones.

[jetglo]

Recommending a particular mic for a singer is fraught with risk, as the human singing voice contains way too many variables to make this a simple choice. There is no guarantee a mic will be "the best" just because it's expensive or was used in some classic recordings. What's best for me probably won't be best for you, there's only one way to be sure and that's try a variety and see. Some find a cheap dynamic mic better for them than an expensive condenser.

If you're trying to avoid buying an audio interface by going usb, I wouldn't be heading straight for the top end of the market in microphones.