Rev,
I'm by NO means an expert, but I have shopped around alot for budget mics. In your $300 price range, I have heard lots of great stuff about the Studio Projects C3. I just bought the slightly more expensive version of the C3 (the T3) which is a LD Tube. I could not be happier with it. If you don't want switchable polar patterns the C1 for around $200 might work for you. Even though I may get flamed by some on this forum, I would also suggest the AKG C1000S for what you are describing. Very good mic for the money (around $150)for vocals and acoustic instruments, and sends a reasonably hot signal to your recorder compared to an SM57. The AKG is a small diaphram mic though, if that matters. Good luck in your search.
Rob

dont buy a c1000...there are much better sounding small diaphram condensers....the adk is a decent mike for the price....you can find a package that adk has been offering to certain dealers over the last year that has an adk51typeV and ansc-1 small condenser for $200!...ive seen several on e-bay...i have two sets of both and through a decent preamp they are a bargain...not the best but far from the worst...a very good starter set..of course theres always a sennheizer 421 or 441 usually you can find them used in good condition for under 3 bills...and theyre good on anything.....peece

Musicians friend has a special for the Oktava MK-219 microphone. (2 MK-219's for 149.99) I was at guitar center and bought these as an impulse. I took them home and was blown away. Yes there's are better mikes out there, but my ears were a little bit biased by the weight of my wallet. For the price I would have bought 1 for 149.99. These mics are very sensitive, and if you were to use them on vocals a pop filter is a necessity. These sound cool on acoustic guitars also. I was also messing around with them as overheads on a rock kit. This was where they shined the most in my mind. Like Rob said, you should check out the Studio Projects line of mics. I haven’t personally heard them, but I have heard good things about SP’s mics. Go down to guitar center and give the MK-219’s a listen.(dont take my word for it, I am by no means a pro) I think that they are great bang for your buck.

Originally posted by rev:

I had a Sure SM58 but I couldn't get enough level out of it, I had to place it so close to the guitar hole that it was impossible to play the instrument.

Hmm..this is a problem for me. Level sholud not be a problem. unless your not using a micriphone preamplifier. What are you using? A radio shack Lo-Z to Hi-Z barrel adaptor into a porta studio? If you can't get enough level from a '58 something is wrong...and another mic will not fix it enough to be satisfactory.

I second what Recorderman is saying! It sounds as if what you need is a mic preamp and not a new mic. What are you plugging the 58 into? It might be a line input rather than a mic input. Or if you are using an XLR to 1/4" phone jack cable and plugging that into a hi Z mic input that would create the same symptom. The fix may be a new mic cable with an impedance transformer. If this is not the case, perhaps there is a loose wire in the mic. That could cause this symptom.

All the mics mentioned are good. The C1000s is a good budget starter and all of the Studio Projects stuff has received great reviews. While the Oktivas are good there is some variation in quality from mic to mic. You need to check the one you want to purchase thoroughly. I have never heard the ADKs. I suspect they are another Neumann knockoff using Chinese capsules. If Davedog says they're good, I would take his word on it. He has posted some very good sounding songs on the Streaming Forum. It's hard to argue with his success. Fats
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Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
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