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ok so you're trapped on a dessert island and. nevermind,

if you could pick just one mic for the given price range, what would you have?

50-150usd

150-250usd

250-500usd

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Comments

anonymous Wed, 02/01/2006 - 15:38

Ok, Ill agree with RAD here!!!

THE very first mic you should buy is an SM58.
Ive made a lot of Paltinum using the SM57s as a staple.
Kick, snare, tom, Marshalls, singers.
(The 57 and 58 are identical except for the grill)
In the 80s (ouch) I live mic'd complete bands with 57s. (At the Troubador, they literally handed you a bag of 57s)

Rumor has it that Shure came out with the 58, due to overlymacho metal singers complaining that the 57 looked like they were munching on a phalic symbol!!!

Davedog Wed, 02/01/2006 - 17:55

Different mics arent always going to give you the best in sound reproduction....AND the desert island thingy is just hooey IMHO...though I do get where yer comin from.

BTW...That 'phallic symbol' rumour is just that. The ball on the 58 evens out the proximity effect of that particular capsule and enables a "singer" to work the mic at a more even effect. It also retains the beer odor much much better...........

A bag of 57's will get you a long ways towards usable sounds in a way that most mics simply cannot.

I've owned a couple of PA rigs and worked live sound in my day....I had 20 SM57's at one time. They all worked every gig and took massive abuse.

Now to answer your question in the spirit it was given....

$50- $150

SM57/58....Audix i5.....Audio Technica AT61HE...KEL HM-1

$150-$250

Audix OM5/OM7....ADK A51 V.....Studio Projects C1....(3) SM57/58

$250-$500

EV RE20/RE27.....Shure KSM32.....(2) ADK Hamburg....SP C3....(6) SM57/58.....Shure SM7b......EV665.....

theres a LOT in the last catagory.