I'd like to get two mics, one for vocals, one for mic'n a guitar amp. I was content with the sm57 & 58, considering price and durability, but the amount of complaints I've heard about the actual recording quality of these (especially for vocals) is making me reconsider.

Can anyone suggest better options in the same price range? Durability and versatility are also considerations...

Sennheiser 609

I have seen some good reviews (new tape op) on the AT 2020. Its a large diapragm condenser for $99.

Pretty versatile.

Maybe an SM57 and one of these would be a pretty good starting point (depending on your funds) and you would most likely use these later on after you get some more mics as well.

But damn, don't get them started on the 57...

DefinitelyNOTtheSWEDE wrote:I have seen some good reviews (new tape op) on the AT 2020. Its a large diapragm condenser for $99.

Pretty versatile.

Maybe an SM57 and one of these would be a pretty good starting point (depending on your funds) and you would most likely use these later on after you get some more mics as well.

But damn, don't get them started on the 57...

Yea I'm trying to do it fairly on the cheap for right now, with the expectation of making a significant investment once I really have an idea of what I'm doing. Didn't seem like a good idea to buy expensive mics before I get a feel for what I like and don't like...

I didn't see the majors short lil post, but the e609 is a great guitar cab mic, relatively on the cheap. I think new it's $119.


And that will ease the ire of the SM57 haters out there!!!

For electric guitar (and maybe vocals, though I havent had any luck with them for that):
Oktava MC-012
AT Pro 37

For vocals it really depends on your voice, but lately I've been loving a relatively cheap Shure dynamic, the PG-52. It's like the little brother of the Beta 52, and doesnt have the bottom end of that thing, or the "presence peak," but for bass guitar and vocals it's smooth and a lotr more detailed than I'd have thought if I hadnt heard it myself.

All of these are in your price range.

endofanera wrote:For electric guitar (and maybe vocals, though I havent had any luck with them for that):
Oktava MC-012
AT Pro 37

The Pro37 or Pro37R is a very well regarded mic, if you search around on this site you'll see that.

With you being a self-proclaimed novice, I think it prudent to point out (in case you don't know) that there are different types of mics, the primary ones being Dynamic, Condensor, and Ribbon, in order of commonality.

Dynamic mics are what the Shure SM57 and SM58 are, and they're pretty much intended to be tanks that you can drop on the floor and kick around and they'll keep at it.

Condensor mics can tend to be more delicate, and there's one thing about them that is very crucial to understand if you're a new guy: Phantom Power. Condensor mics (like the Pro37/Pro37R) will not work if you simply plug them into a Tascam 4 Track or similar... They need to have external power supplied to them by the mixer or some other means. Many mixers have the capability to provide phantom power, for example the smaller Yamaha mixer my best friend bought actually has phantom power, which was a nice surprise.

Ribbons are another style of mic that I know the least about and they've only recently become very popular again, in the past 5 or 10 years or whatnot.

So does your mixer have phantom power? If it doesn't, you need to think about that before you think about buying a condensor mic.

Are you going to necessarily want to record vocals and guitar at the same time? If not, I would suggest a Beyer M88, which will do well for both vocals and guitar. And it's a dynamic mic, so it'll work with any mic mixer.

It's roughly in the same price range as an SM57 + an SM58. And it sounds really nice for a lot of things. Also, being a dynamic, you'll be able to use it to learn about the bass boost associated with proximity effect.

Have fun!

I recently got an oktava MK 319 for around 150 on ebay, and it's a great LDC.

from what I've read and heard, the MC 012's are fantastic SDC's too, but BE CAREFUL with the 012's and where you get them. Guitar center's probably not the best bet, and a lot of ebay folks are saying they are authorized, but i would be a bit weary of them. If their feedback looks good as far as the mics go, then go for it, as the mic's are great, but be careful.

toomanyhelicopters wrote:

endofanera wrote:For electric guitar (and maybe vocals, though I havent had any luck with them for that):
Oktava MC-012
AT Pro 37

The Pro37 or Pro37R is a very well regarded mic, if you search around on this site you'll see that.

With you being a self-proclaimed novice, I think it prudent to point out (in case you don't know) that there are different types of mics, the primary ones being Dynamic, Condensor, and Ribbon, in order of commonality.

Dynamic mics are what the Shure SM57 and SM58 are, and they're pretty much intended to be tanks that you can drop on the floor and kick around and they'll keep at it.

Condensor mics can tend to be more delicate, and there's one thing about them that is very crucial to understand if you're a new guy: Phantom Power. Condensor mics (like the Pro37/Pro37R) will not work if you simply plug them into a Tascam 4 Track or similar... They need to have external power supplied to them by the mixer or some other means. Many mixers have the capability to provide phantom power, for example the smaller Yamaha mixer my best friend bought actually has phantom power, which was a nice surprise.

Ribbons are another style of mic that I know the least about and they've only recently become very popular again, in the past 5 or 10 years or whatnot.

So does your mixer have phantom power? If it doesn't, you need to think about that before you think about buying a condensor mic.

Are you going to necessarily want to record vocals and guitar at the same time? If not, I would suggest a Beyer M88, which will do well for both vocals and guitar. And it's a dynamic mic, so it'll work with any mic mixer.

It's roughly in the same price range as an SM57 + an SM58. And it sounds really nice for a lot of things. Also, being a dynamic, you'll be able to use it to learn about the bass boost associated with proximity effect.

Have fun!

The mixer I'm looking at is the Alesis Multimix 8 with the firewire interface, and it's basically the front runner for the firewire connectivity. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sea ... /src=01340

It looks like it has phantom power on the mono inputs, so I think I'm covered. And I do plan to record vocals and guitar at the same time fairly often.

Ultimately, I think the best way describe my needs at this point is that I want two mics that have a fairly wide range of use (i.e. in the studio/at gigs, and hopefully for a range of applications), can be dropped once or twice without becoming paperweights, and, specifically for vocals, a mic that is not so much hyper accurate, but is just generally pleasing to the ear. I imagine this has more to do with EQing than microphone selection, but I theorize that some vocal mics are designed with these concerns in mind...

I understand that this level of stuff probably isn't going to yield professional sounding results, but at this point it's probably more for making fairly simple demos that don't sound like ass.

I'd like to a/b one of those AT 2020's and a Rode NT-1. There's something about the NT-1 that rubs me the wrong way, but its still a pretty solid mic, for the money.