looking to buy yes. lol

... whutz yer bud-get?

I think if you were going to buy only one mic and you had the $$ to do it .... I think most here would suggest a Neumann U87.

But most don't have that kind of money to spend. Hence the question regarding budget.

I can't afford one right now. So my two top mics are an AKG Solidtube and a SHURE KSM32.

There are lots of mics in a huge range of money.

A great do all/be all mic would be the KSM44 shure.Multipatterned and pad and bass rolloff.Under a grand most anywhere.

The upper end ADK mics have a great sound though a single one to do everything might take some listening.

U87 Neumann.Not the BEST certainly not the Worst.Good on most sources.

I'm really liking the iFET Soundelux right now.

Shure SM57 or SM7
Sennheiser MD421 or MD441

thinking around the $200-275 range :td: . will that get me anything? good?

For around $500 you can get a Studio projects C3.. all the mic you may ever need.. people ohh and ahh over it as much or even more than my Neumann 87 .. the sound is close but not exactly the same.. mellower in the mids and a bit brighter.. more like an AKG C12 actually ... comes with a nice case and shock mount. With the extra dough you save you can get a matched pair of C4s and you will be set.

what is your budget? On the $200 range a I've had good luck with a rode nt1 and some folks swear by the Studio projects C1-

In the $201- $500 range you have more choices like the blue baby bottle, the studio projects C3, many of the audio technica mics at4050, etc, rode NTK and others-

in the $501- $1000 range is hard to beat the AKG c414TLII but the C414 buls has its fans too and its cheaper, Blue has the dragon fly and the blueberry ($999), Studi0 projects T3 clocks in at $700, rode has several new mics in this range that have had good reviews but I have't heard and you can get a Neumann tlm 103 for under a grand if you look around-

If money is no object there's a lotta mics you can get, but that is a tottally different issue

good luck!

Maintiger :D

great suggestions! Thanks leaning twards a studio projects mic. they look extremly versitile
anyone have any audiotechnica mic suggestions?

You really should try the SP B1 or/and B3, a great and inexpensive workhorse.

Audio technica makes a great product.. very good build quality and sound. Evey ATM mic I have ever used sounded wonderful hard to go wrong there.

For about $300 you can get an Sennheiser MD421 II new, it is a first choice on guitar cabinets, and a mighty fine choice for a lot of vocals. If you don't like it for like $80 new you can get an SM57 which works surprisingly well on vocals and is a staple on guitar amps. If you look around used you could get a better price if that is important to you.

Dynamic mics are inherently low self noise (or would that be "no" self noice???), need no phantom power, but are picky about mic preamp impedance. Very few people will ever stop using these mics, and when they do it is usually with a mic that is at least double your budget.

If you go for a bit more money (quite a bit for my budget) you can get an RE 20 which is great on a lot of voices and also a nice mic for guitar amps.

Also, you could buy a 57 and save a bit towards a Sure SM7b which isn't as costly as an RE20 but works on most singers nicely then you've got two very useful mics that will serve you a long time.

The thing about vocal mics is that no mic works on every voice, some are more versatile in that way than others, but when you find the perfect mic for you voice or the voice you'll be recording most often you will reach a sort of state of nirvana. Sometimes that mic won't do a lot of other things-- like a Blueberry which is a wonderful mic a a lot of male voices and after that you sort of have to pick your spots with it.

At your budget the first thing that pops into my head is the MD 421, it works on voice, guitar, kick, snare, toms, voice over and broadcast, I've not put it infront of a bass amp yet but I'd be surprised if it don't work their.

If I could only own one mic, it would be a Shure KSM44.

All the others suggested here are great as well. This is my opion based on what I own and use everyday which includes: U87, MD421 (great mic!), several Earthworks mics, some KSM32's, SM81, Beyer M88, Shure SM57, RE20, TLM103, KM184 and a few others.

The KSM44 is the lowest noise, cleanest sound (but with great charactor for vox), multipattern (omni mode makes it amazing on acoustic guitar).

Steve

Steve, do you have any experience with the AT 4050 mic? I am curious how you or others would compare it with the Shure KSM44. Besides my U87 that I'm more picky on how or where it gets used, the 4050 is my current multipurpose workhorse and I'm always on the lookout for another all purpose. I keep meaning to try the KSM44 but never get around to it. Or how it compare to a 414ULS and TLII?

Am I reading your post correctly? Is this going to be your ONLY mic for now? If so, I would not go directly to condensers. Go for a good dynamic. A Shure SM57 or a Sennheiser MD421 would be your best bet. I'd go with the 421 if you can go a little over budget ($300) or you don't mind buying used gear (usually $200 on eBay). The 421 can yeald good results on vocals, drums, guitar, bass, horns, you name it.
The SM57 is also a studio standard and goes for about $80 new.

the only thing is that the SM57 needs a good pre to sound good on and its not good for everthing, and its cardiod only and once again if you don't have a good pre to use it with you'll get a small thin image of what your recording, the 421 hovever does sound good on alot of things. For a workhorse I would recomend a AT4050, AKG414B-ULS, Shure KSM44, and a Soundelux ifet7 (expensive though). By the way what kind of pre are you planning to use?

the best allround-mic in your price-range is the beyerdynamic M88. (for my opinion)

SM57 is ideal. I sometimes prefer to use it for even vocals over my Blue Baby Bottle. Sounds good and crystal clear and they last forever. Condensors dont work so well on loud sources so things like guitar amps would come out bad. But if your looking for budget condensor look for something by Rode like the NT1A or NT1000. Both sound beautiful...

Cheers