Cheap, Good Recoriding Mic

[meTalmessiah]

I need one. Like, really cheap. Let's call it in between $100 and $200. Pretty much anything is better than what I have, but I neither have the need nor the software nor the hardware for a really expensive mic or anything...

Any suggestions?

[bizzle]

What are you recording? Vocals or Guitar amps? Trombone?

I would recommend a Shure SM 57. It's dynamic so it can take loud volumes (like metal music) and can be used to sound good on most things. Most Pro Studios use them too, mostly for micing guitar and bass amps but they've been known to be used on vocals. Ozzy used them for most of his vocal recordings in the nineties.

It's really cheap too. Falls in your budget. They last a long time and its a really good name in professional audio.

If you can afford it, you should consider buying that mic to use for everything and renting a higher quality vocal mic to do vocals. You can rent mics for really cheap now a days.

[meTalmessiah]

I'm going to be recording vocals, guitars and bass. Oh, how I wished I played trombone.

That sounds good, but I don't have a soundboard. Will I need a converter or something in order to record directly to my computer?

[InTransit]

Vocals and guitars should use a different mic. Shures are a good industry standard for everything with the SM57 being good for instruments and the SM58 being good for vocals. If you only want to get the 1 mic, decide what you want to be recorded better, either the instruments or the vocals, and go for that mic.

Yes you will need some sort of pre-amp to connect it up to the computer otherwise you'll find it coming through really quiet and muddy. Although if you have just some kind of guitar practice amp or something lying around that has an effects loop you can plug the mic lead into the effects loop and then from the amp to the computer.

[exetra]

Although if you have just some kind of guitar practice amp or something lying around that has an effects loop you can plug the mic lead into the effects loop and then from the amp to the computer.


The main issue with that being you'll find your recordings to be wicked noisey since you'd be converting the balanced (earthed) signal to an unbalanced signal. Invest a little more in an external USB/Firewire recording device thing like an Mbox (I don't really know the buzzwords for these things). You'll be able to record with less latency too as you'll be using proper ASIO drivers (instead of AC97 adaptions like Asio4All).

If you're going to be micing up bass and guitar amps a lot then the 57 would be more ideal than the 58 since it's a directional mic and wont pick up anywhere near as much spill or room sound. Vocals sound decent enough in a 57 anyway. Considering renting a good condenser like bizzle said. Røde mics are great, though the newer ones don't quite match up to the incredible standard of their early models.

[meTalmessiah]

I'm really not tech-savy with things like soundboards, what do you guys mean by a pre-amp? I have two amps, but neither have a mic jack. Both have a 1/4'' input jack, but not one specific to an instrument mic.

Also, I checked them out, and the 57 seems more suited to my interests. Thanks!

[InTransit]

Your mic won't come with a lead so you'll need to get a lead that converts from the 3-pin mic to a stereo 6.3mm jack. And it's also a good idea to invest in a adapter from the stereo to a computer-style plug (it'll cost like a whole $5 or something).

A pre-amp is used for recording as a way to amplify the sound to the recording device without being able to actually hear it. My setup of putting it through a guitar amp is just a really really cheap crappy alternative that I came up with yesterday for the singing comp. Haha.

My setup is a Shure SM58 --> Cable from 3 pin to stereo jack --> Roland Cube 30 amp --> Guitar lead with an adapter from stereo jack to computer port --> Computer with Audacity.

Edit: An example of a pre-amp is http://www.artproaudio.com/products.asp?type=79&cat=1&id=1. Apparently that one's pretty good for the price though I don't know them TOO well.

[bizzle]

The best thing to do is get some sort of ADAC break out converter with a balanced XLR input and pre amp and a digital out. The next best thing to do is to buy a pre amp with a balanced in and an unbalanced out (you can buy some pretty nice ones for under $150 bucks) and use that in combination with your internal soundcard. If your soundcard doesnt have a 1/4 inch input, go to radioshack and buy a 1/4 inch to 1/8th inch adapter for about 3 dollars.

I would recommend bypassing your internal soundcard and converting the audio to digital before it even touches your computer but not everyone has those means.