misnomer wrote: I'm looking to spend around 300+ pounds (600 dollars) on a condensor mic. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which model/make I should get?

It will be used for recording female vocals AND clean (picked) / distorted (strummed) guitar parts through a Peavey amp.

The soundcard that I'll be getting at the same time is the E-MU 1820.

Your advice on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

John
Misnomer
http://www.misnomer.co.uk/

I've always found the audio technica 4050 very versitle for what it's worth. While I personally like it better on guitar amps it's still great for recording vocals.

You might be able to get a PAIR of SM81's for around that much...

Arguably one of the most versatile micrphones out there.

Thanks for the tips. The audio technica 4050 is probably a little out of my price range (around $900-$1000 over here).
As for SM81s, aren't they mainly used for acoustic instruments? Not sure how good they'd be at handling guitar amps?

J

misnomer check out http://www.digitalvillage.com
it has really good prices!!! (i presume you live in uk)
i'd recommend the following
audio techinca 4033
rode nt2000
maybe a tube mic like the studio projects t3
rode ntk

have plenty of options! just don't go with akg c3000 and all those...
good choice from soundcard! i hear good things about it!

Thanks for the suggestions! I've had a look around and I think I'm going to go with the NTK2.

J

I had a session the other day and was demoing Blue Microphone's
Baby Bottle.

I used it on Vocals, electric guitar (slightly over-driven bluesy), stand-up bass and acoustic guitar.

The track turned out very nice and the songwriter/singer, who has tons of studio experiance, noted how clear and pleasant everything sounded.

I wasn't intending to use the Baby Bottle on every track, but it was hard to beat so I stayed with it. I was using a Great River MP-2NV as a pre.

The Baby Bottle is around $550-575 usd.

Hope this helps,

Chris