I'm on a Droid so haven't seen your link. For rap and rock you should be looking at either a Shure SM7 or an SM58. You will need an interface but for only vocals a 2 channel USB device is sufficient. Quality of the preamps will depend on what you are willing to spend. You will want a pair of monitors for mixing and Rockit makes some inexpensive pairs that are good bang for your buck. As to the headphones, take those $400 back to the store. A pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 will be very comfortable and sound great for $300 less.

Is that kit I posted worthwhile? Only $350.

That Shure SM7 looks great, but I'll need an inexpensive interface to go with it. This leads me to believe that the SM58 would be a better choice. Suggestions?

I'd love to get model numbers that are sure to be compatible with each other. More help would be appreciated!

You have to understand that the 57 & 58 are identical microphones. The only difference is the large metal ball with some additional foam inside. And it's easy to convert a 58 to a 57 by just unscrewing the metal ball. I also recommend that an additional foam pop filter be utilized with a 58 when recording vocals. SHURE actually has one specifically designed for the 58 but any other will do. It's a great vocal recording microphone no doubt about it.

Some of my favorites
Mx. Remy Ann David

I guess all I want to know is what would be a good interface to go with this?

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.guitarce…

I"]M-Audio BX5a Monitor and Mic Package and more Studio & Recording Packages at GuitarCenter.com.[/]="http://www.guitarce…

I"]M-Audio BX5a Monitor and Mic Package and more Studio & Recording Packages at GuitarCenter.com.[/]'ve decided to keep it on the low-side of my budget since I am new.

You can't really beat that deal for $350. I can always get a better mic later.

Or would ths be the best bet? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxStu/

Can someone move this to the budget section? Maybe I'll get better results there.

I'll see your question & answer your question in the budget section the same way I'll answer it here.

First, I'm wondering why you have a pair of $400 headphones? Are you nuts? Return those immediately. You don't record anything with headphones. And you can't mix with a damn with headphones. So yeah, a decent pair of monitor speakers is required. That first link you provided includes a large and small diaphragm condenser microphone (100% adequate) a pair of speakers, a couple of microphone stands and some cables. What it does not include is any way to get that into your computer nor any software.

In your second link, you are looking at a single condenser microphone (100% adequate) that includes a really good, inexpensive, entry-level USB computer audio interface device that includes some killer multitrack software. But no speakers, no microphone stands. So do you want a car with tires? Or do you want a set of tires without a car? Either one won't get you where you want to go. I mean frozen TV dinners don't include any salad. What are you supposed to do then? Have protein and no vegetables or vegetables and no protein?

I say go with your second choice, The Audio Box. Then get yourself a pair of KRK self powered monitors (Or similar equivalents). That's a more comprehensive purchase than your first link. Which doesn't feature any kind of audio interface of any quality to plug into your computer. I just set up somebody with that little Audio Box and find it quite good, very well built, I like all of their stuff even though I don't own any. I don't need any of their stuff. The multitrack software package is also quite fabulous. Other USB audio devices will include different software. You might even need to purchase yourself a microphone stand? You might even be able to talk the store into providing you with a free microphone stand? You just have to ask the sales associate. They want to sell you stuff and they will sweeten the deal if you negotiate with them. But maybe not? Big deal, it's only a microphone stand. One of your selections is a recording system and your other selection is just more ancillary stuff that's incomplete for your needs. So I've made your decision for you. You won't regret it. You'll make music with it. It's good stuff. 100% adequate. The guy I set up with that box we've also interfaced a Mackie 6 microphone input 4 stereo line level input VLZ Model to it. We did some A/B comparisons between the Audio Box microphone preamps and the Mackie. He preferred the sound of the Mackie microphone preamps. But the Mackie has no computer USB output so it has to feed a USB audio interface. So the Mackie feeds the 1/4 inch inputs on the Audio Box. I personally felt that the microphone preamps in the Audio Box were sweeter sounding than the Mackie. But he liked that extra edge the Mackie provided along with the ability to add a little EQ while tracking such as high pass filtering, a dip in the midrange, a slight boost in the low end. Which you can't do with the Audio Box strictly by itself. But that's what he already had. Besides, those condenser microphones require +48 V phantom supply to function. The Audio Box can provide that. You can't just stick on some patch cords to those microphones and plug them directly into the microphone input on your computer. No can do. It won't work.

Your problem is solved and you now know what to do and what to purchase
Mx. Remy Ann David

After some more research looking around the forums, I went out and purchased my set. (Before reading your post) I'm starting to wonder if I should go buy the Audio Box instead of what I got.

-Blue Spark Microphone
-Yamaha HS50M (2)
-M-Audio Fast Track USB Interface
-Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro
-Desk and Boom stands
-Pop filter

It sounds amazing.

Now on to the bad part.... I sometimes get a loud static pop noise out of the speakers while recording only. Is it the Fast Track and is it fixable? Is there something a little bit better that will prevent it? It is very rare but it happens and it is annoying! I suppose this could be fixed once I receive the headphones.

Also... I'd like to add a sub to this setup. I already own a Creative Inspire P7800 sub that I purchased for gaming a long time ago. Could this hook up in any way? Thanks guys.