$400 for mics

Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:16 am

you should get an sm57 and one of these

http://www.violet-design.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=102

pretty cheap for a sdc and sounds great!

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:12 am

I would get one single mic that sounds great on both vocals and acoustic guitar. My recommendation is for a Shure KSM27 LDC.

It does a great job alone on acoustic, and I used it a lot before getting a pair of SM81s. It cost me $249 from GC at the time, not sure what they go for now.

I still use it in combination with the 81s on acoustic.

It's also still my main vocal mic.

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:45 pm

Sennheiser e906. That works for everything if you know how to tweak EQ a bit. Yeah. $400 is not going to get you a good tube mic., maybe a passable one, but not a good one. I like the Audix OM5 too: it's great for vocals and sounds surprisingly decent on everything else. These are solid mics. that can be used for everything, regardless of your style of music. If you really want a tube mic., start saving.

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:20 am

Hi there,

I figured I'd be a well-behaved poster and piggy-back on this thread rather than start another 'what-mic-should-I-buy' thread.

I'm in a similar situation to the original poster here, I'm just starting to slowly build up a small collection of good mics for my home studio.

So far I've also followed the "just get something and make music" principle---using a semi-decent APEX LDC. Now I have a little more money to devote to this.

I'm also trying to finish up some recordings and am feeling like I need something other than a LDC for some of the instruments I'm recording: namely a glockenspiel, kalimba and ukelele.

What I'm getting from this thread is that I'd be pretty well set up for a small studio if I were to pick up :

- an SM57
- a Rode NT1-A
- and maybe a set of Rode NT5s

I'm never recording more than one thing at a time and never recording drums, mainly it's vocals and the above small instruments (and a room full of synths...heh heh).

So after all this musing, my question to you guys is for my purposes now of just finishing up some recordings, do you think I'd be okay to just get an SM57 to track some small instruments? My plan would be invest in the Rode(s) later for future recordings.

Or should I bite the bullet and get a set of NT5s because they will slay when it comes to recording the glock?

any input will be greatly appreciated.

Smile

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:12 am

Polly -

If this is to add those instruments as overdubs into an existing recording, then use an SM57 for now and add them as mono tracks panned to the required position in the stereo sound field.

If on the other hand you are talking about making solo recordings of a glock or kalimba, you may want to consider something like a pair of NT5s to give an implicit stereo image. I always recommend going for a matched pair of NT55s rather than the NT5s, as the interchangeable cardioid/omni capsules give more versatility for very little extra cost.

Get the SM57 anyway, as you always should have at least one of those in your mic collection.

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:30 am

Boswell wrote:

Polly -

If this is to add those instruments as overdubs into an existing recording, then use an SM57 for now and add them as mono tracks panned to the required position in the stereo sound field.

If on the other hand you are talking about making solo recordings of a glock or kalimba, you may want to consider something like a pair of NT5s to give an implicit stereo image. I always recommend going for a matched pair of NT55s rather than the NT5s, as the interchangeable cardioid/omni capsules give more versatility for very little extra cost.

Get the SM57 anyway, as you always should have at least one of those in your mic collection.

Thank you for your reply. I ended up going and getting the SM57, just to give me some options for now, and as you said because I really can't go wrong with adding a SM57 to my collection (the "little black dress" of the microphone world...heh heh).

I talked to the guy at the store about the NT5s, but he actually seemed to confirm what I worried about from the online reviews I had read: that they might be a little too bright for recording something like a glock when what you want is to be toning down any harsh frequencies.

I guess stereo overheads will be a new research project for me as it looks like I'm also soon going to have a marimba on my hands (!).

Thanks for the advice. Smile

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