SM58 is probably your best bet for vocals at this point. SM57/58 aren't great for recording acoustic guitar, they yield great tone, but need a lot of gain to function and I'm not sure if your device has it. Condenser would be better but since you said your interface doesn't have phantom power that's out. Hmm, maybe an Audix i5? it's similar to an SM57 in response except that it needs a few dB less gain to function. It thins out a little bit of mid-mud too so it'll be great if your acoustic is a bit on the bassy side. Ooh, here's an idea. How about a Shure Beta series mic, in my experience those mics need significantly less gain then the SM series to get signal from. That's a good solution in my opinion.

Thanks for the quick response, I don't feel worthy of a really high priced mic like the SM58 really. The i5 looks good but I think I'd like to focus on vocal mic for the most part of the cash as I use my Electric for most things recording + POD Farm.

Is the http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/1874-shure-pg58-xlr.html any good or the http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/3072-sennheiser-e815s-x.html ?

Either one of those mics you listed is a decent place to start. Sennheiser and Shure....you cant really go wrong. If you can step up to the Senn 835 or the SM58 you'll like them better and will have a mic that you'll keep long after you have moved into much higher end gear. But budget is always a factor and like I said, staying with proven equipment manufacturers is always the best at the lower end of things, even if they arent their best pieces.

Thanks, I actually quite like my Behringer X1800MS' triple set (despite their quiet volume and not great sound :p) but I really want to get something "nice". I think I'll go for the Shure to be honest; hopefully I can give them a test twirl.

Thanks again Recording.org; I'll be posting again really soon!

PG58s are OK. Probably the best mics I have.

Great! Thanks for adding some personal experience, I think I'll get the PG58 when I get round to it!

The PG58 is not as good a mic as the SM58.

Yeah, it's simply the price. The PG58 seems a high quality mic at my pricepoint.

Also, you could all do me a huge favour and take a listen: http://dspickett.com and tell me if any extra equipment would be useful or settings I should change.

Hence the price difference. Someone once told me that PG stands for Performance Grade and SM stands for Studio Model I dunno if that's true and not just BS which stands for.... I have a bunch of both and there is definitely a difference, the PGs have been sitting in the bottom of the PA cases for quite a few years without seeing the light of day. The last time they were actually used was when we had some backup singers at an impromptu performance. They don't have any resale value so there they sit. Do yourself a favor I know it seems like a lot of money but really the SM series is a better value, a real bargain, and honestly about the least expensive quality mic around. It seems like this advice is posted at least once a week. Maybe Shure should send the site an operating donation.

The only reason I know of the SM58 is mainly due to browsing this forum! :) I will try and get the SM58 if I can; I know it would be such a good mic! I was in a choir at a 30,000+ people event and had my own SM58 which was great!

Please give some recording.org advice on what settings I should add to my current tracks and any tips!

+1 on the SM58 or SM57 for $99 each there's just nothing out there that has the pedigree these two mics have....period....more music and records have been made with those two mics than any other microphone on the planet....if you can't make a good sound with one of those at the very front end of capture....you have other problems and something else is inadequate or wrong....its like buying an inexpensive calibrated standard reference microphone to begin with....it eliminates the unknown, it will remove any question or variable at the beginning of your recording chain and for anyone starting out in recording vocals or instrument micing those two are the only microphones to cut your teeth on.....you can just trust that no matter what your doing its not the mic....and that is an important aspect that people fail to recognize..... it's really a complete no brainer!
Buy one, treasure it, make your own beautiful sounds with it....and don't ever look back like it was a poor decision!

Thanks - I'm going to hopefully get one!

SM58 SM=Shure Microphone
Not sure about PG, but I think I do remember a Shure rep saying that the PG58 did mean Performance Grade and was created to take on the SM58 clone makers with a cheaper SM58 without degrading the branding of the original SM58.

Good call on the SM58, you won't regret it. It is a good investment where the PG is not. An SM58 will last you a lifetime whereas you will outgrow the PG in a matter of months. This is a prime example where a little money up front saves you a bunch of money down the road.

Or you could get a good cheap preamp like the DMP3. Best pre for the buck.

I'd rather the SM58 to be honest. I could have spent £100 on some Monitors but spent £184 on a pair of lovely ESI nEar 05 eXperiences because I was told they would last forever - and they sounded amazing! So I am prepared to pay more now to pay out less over a few years.

In the end the SM58 was too expensive; I got an AKG D5 and love it! I've read that they can challenge on the type of stuff I record and I really like it!

Thanks for the help!!

The SM58 was too expensive? You are in the wrong field there pal.

In the shop this was. I went up to buy it and I couldn't resist a half price D5; it sounds lovely.

The D5 isn't exactly like a SM58, but it's still a good mic, (super-cardioid pattern though) and it should have been priced the same at $99.

Yeah, for half price it seemed like a great buy. Really, anything is better than my Behringer 3 set so I'm really happy!

As Mr. Hawk said, it should have been the same price as the SM58. Was it previously used?

$99 :/ It's £90 for a 58 in most UK-priced retailers (some bundle it with stands and cables). Some shops are £79.99 for the mic only.

Expensive? You guys don't know the half of it.

Aside: Mackie makes their mixers in Ireland, right? They ship them to the US and sell them for, say, $1600. In the UK, they sell them for £1200. This was back when the exchange rate was almost 2:1 so there you go.

Yeah, it wasn't used it was in the sale! A big Reduced Sale. It was a smaller independent that I can trust as well.

Codemonkey: Agree completely it drives me crazy, it's not fair on those in the UK at all. The same happens with software. If the SM58 was $99 which is £61 I would happily buy one and could afford to.