Budget Recording Gear Recommendations: Microphones

[Peter]

Hi Everyone.

I decided that it might be useful for you home recordists to have a little guide to budget recording gear in these parts so that I don’t have to answer so many questions about it. I’ll start with microphones.

Microphones On A Budget:
Shure SM57 – the workhorse. Very commonly used on electric guitar amps, drums and on a rare occasion, bass guitar amps. New for $90, but easily found used on eBay for less.

Shure SM58 – the most standard vocal microphone in the industry. Not incredible on recordings, but if you just need a basic vocal mic, this is it. New at $100, again, cheaper on eBay.

Studio Projects B1 – I haven’t personally used this mic, but I’ve read a hundred great reviews of it. Word on the street is that it’s great on acoustic guitar, drum overheads and vocals. $100 new at sweetwater.com

Marshall MXL V67 – Another cheap large diaphragm condenser mic. Gets similar reviews as the B1. $100 new at zzounds.com

Audio Technica 3035 – Great on vocals, acoustic instruments, piano. A bit bright sounding. $200 new.

Audio Technica 4040 – The next step from the 3035. Kravitz’s live sound engineer uses these on all of the electric guitar cabs in the show. Also great on acoustic guitar and piano, drum overheads. $300 new.

Studio Projects C1 - A little bit lower quality than the Audio Technica mics, but a good quality for a solid vocal microphone that can cross over into acoustic instruments. $200 new.

Sennheiser e609 – Known for it’s electric guitar amp recording ability.. $110 new.

Sennheiser MD421 – Most commonly used on tom-toms. Also works well on bass guitar amps and electric guitar amps. $350 or so new.

That’s about all I can muster now. Does anyone have any other microphone applications that I didn’t cover here that they’d like help with? Other instruments you need to mic?

[Six Ways]

Nice idea, good stuff. Looks like a useful addition. :yes:

EDIT: I've just looked up that Studio Projects B1, and it looks pant-cummingly good. I have a pretty good mic, but I'm already seriously considering looking for one on Ebay.

[SlingeroGuitaro]

beyerdynamic m 88- one of my favorite all around mics. usually my first choice for kick drum or floor toms. amazing on bass guitar cabs, and very clear with certain horns or woodwinds, and really good for certain vocals. about $370. probably cheaper on ebay

[Trickster]

Hey,
Will a decent mic greatly improve recording quality onto my PC? Currently the main problem I have is with volume levels, and background hiss... Not sure if a new mic necessarily covers this. Anyway, I currently have an Audio Technica - can't check the model no cos i'm not at home, but just a general question really about whether making an investment into something new will really make a difference.

[Six Ways]

Originally posted by richardfish
Hey,
Will a decent mic greatly improve recording quality onto my PC? Currently the main problem I have is with volume levels, and background hiss...

Damn fuckin' straight, homeboy. Should help get rid of hiss and noise, they tend to be mainly the mic's fault unless you got some feedback happening with your PC's speakers.

EDIT: You'll also suddenly realise (if you currently have a shite mic) what kind of general sound quality you've been missing out on unwittingly.

[Peter]

The mic may not be the only problem. What are you using in order to get the mic signal into the computer?

[Six Ways]

Originally posted by Peter
The mic may not be the only problem. What are you using in order to get the mic signal into the computer?

True. I keep forgetting that a lot of mics don't have an integrated lead. and the sound card might be shit.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Six Ways
True. I keep forgetting that a lot of mics don't have an integrated lead. and the sound card might be shit.

Word. You can plug a $3000 mic into the mic input on any computer and it will be noisy and crappy sounding, straight up. In truth, all audio gear adds noise to the signals that run through it. The better the gear is, the less noise they will impart and even sometimes the noise gear imparts is pleasant and desired. Like old compressors and EQs can add a great deal of noise or "color" as they call it and they sound fucking great.

[Six Ways]

Originally posted by Peter
Like old compressors and EQs can add a great deal of noise or "color" as they call it and they sound fucking great.

Yeah, unfortunately though they tend to be the ones that cost a lot.

[SlingeroGuitaro]

my all time favorite compessor is an RNC 1773, and they run about $100.

im not kidding when i say this is the best comp ive ever heard.


i had a chance to make these. the guy that started the FMR company (which literally stands for Fuck Me Running) was a teacher at Austin Community College, in Austin, Tx. I was in his class and as a project he had us build a compressor so we knew how it worked and what not. He then packaged them up and sold them. In fact, 1773 was the course number at school.

[Peter]

ah, yes...the "Really Nice Compressor." It's a great tool. FMR Audio also makes the RNP (really nice preamp). Next up! Preamps!

[tomm barse]

Originally posted by Peter
Word. You can plug a $3000 mic into the mic input on any computer and it will be noisy and crappy sounding, straight up. In truth, all audio gear adds noise to the signals that run through it. The better the gear is, the less noise they will impart and even sometimes the noise gear imparts is pleasant and desired. Like old compressors and EQs can add a great deal of noise or "color" as they call it and they sound fucking great.

that noise is usually "total harmonic distortion" as i'm sure you know. it's best to find a piece with the least amount of that. but older equipment is really the only way to go. it's just made better. but look at soundelux mics! good god! what beauty!

[Peter]

Originally posted by tomm barse
that noise is usually "total harmonic distortion" as i'm sure you know. it's best to find a piece with the least amount of that. but older equipment is really the only way to go. it's just made better. but look at soundelux mics! good god! what beauty!

most folk around here aren't audio cats, so I tend to skip the technical mumbo jumbo and use laymen's terms.

[revgoozen]

the b1 is pretty good for a poor man's mic... unless you were wanting to get really ambitious, id say you'd probably do okay having one of these bad boys and a few sm57's... i'm sure peter would tell me i'm a ninny, but i love how a 57 sounds when recording a acoustic guitar. when i'm feeling sassy, i'll use my rnc to compress the hell out of it, so that the soundwave looks like a big turd.

[MovingInSloMo]

cool stuff peter, looks like this musician forum actually gets used.. which is cool since I'm a huge analog gear whore.

[Peter]

there's a guy on gearslutz.com selling alllll kinds of great vintage gear...a pultec meq-5 for $1750, for instance. those things sound soooooooo gnarly and awesome. aggressive as hell.

[Hi There, Am Pam]

Say Peter, do you have any opinion on drum microphone kits? They seem like a cost effective way of covering drums, but are there any really good ones for the price? Shure & AKG look like they have the best ones in the price range, but that's just an impression.

[Peter]

Strangely enough, you can get away with SM57s for snare and toms and those aren't a bad price. for a kick drum...you really don't want to fuck around because it's really important to any drum mix to have a good kick sound. I recommend the AKG D112 and the Shure Beta 52. The Shure Beta 56 is also good on Toms....but def. a SM57 for the snare!

So those are my recommendations.

For cymbals....my my my.....i'd go back to the Studio Projects B1 and C1, personally.

[smitholden57]

Personally I would never buy anything off eBay.
For the Australians reading this, there is a few Korean sellers advertising brand new Shure SM58's and SM57's. They are fake microphones, and the seller changes his/her name or something so you cant find them afterwards.
You can tell if they are fake because the paint peels off easily and they are poor sound quality. I have used one, and it's very annoying.
I found out about this in an Australian audio magazine, so im not making it up.

You are much better off buying one from an authorised dealer. They are very cheap these days and you have somwhere to take it back if it stuffs up on you.

So be carefull if you are buying one off eBay!!!

[Wayne Arnold]

If you don't have a budget for a bass drum mic, would you use the same ones?

[Peter]

I suppose if you're pressed for cash you could use a 57 on kick drum. The only thing I'd say is don't put the mic inside the kick because the sound pressure will distort the capsule. maybe 3 or 4 inches off the back head. hell, you could mic the beater side and it might sound good.

[Trickster]

EDIT: I just realised... although this post started off as being about mics, it really should have been a new thread.

Go here:
http://www.blamonet.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69866