"If I get a cheaper condenser mic"
Guess what you won't be doing? Cheap condensers are like cheap beer... disgusting unless you get lucky. You might find one though, there are plenty of beer-drinkers (that's a metaphor) here.

With the mbox I suspect you have to go the way of Pro Tools which becomes a money-sink and a massive corporate lock in.

shinieman wrote: M-Audio Fastrack Ultra USB 2.0. - Also heard it was good.

That depends on what you want to do.

Seems to me you ought to take a look into an apogee Duet since you have a Mac.

Anything firewire is going to give you less latency, which you will find is less annoying than having a slap back echo in your monitoring.

As far as quality mics go, Sure sm58 for vocals, and Oktava MK-319 condenser for everything else. Remember you can always get your 319 mod from here:

http://www.oktavamod.com/

I do find the TC Konnekt 24D to be a very nice unit. The preamps are nice, the conversion is great - all in all one of the best "budget" boxes on the market.

The statement:
If I get a cheaper condenser mic I might hit the 24D but if I were to buy a really good one I'd go for the 8.

Doesn't really work. The price difference between the konnekt 8D and 24D is not equal to the price difference between a "cheap" mic and a really good one.

As a general rule of thumb, many people lump most "cheap" mics in the $200 range. The "really good" condenser mics typically start in the >$800 a piece range. There are some mics in the middle ground, but many are simply mics that work well on one or two sources or represent some pretty significant compromises. Of course, there are always exceptions (AT4050 for example)...

Cheers-
J.

codemonkey wrote: Cheap condensers are like cheap beer... disgusting unless you get lucky.

CM that is hilaroius! That is signature worthy.

Back to the topic - I will echo what everyone else said.

You want to build your setup with the best foundation as posible. The 24D would like electronic concrete and rebar for you.

Do yourself a favor; learn good technique on your 57's and 58 and save up for a nicer condenser or two so you can record in stereo.

You'll be glad you did.

-Chris

dont get an SM58. get a sennheiser e835 (or 935) for a more enjoyable tone.

otherwise, fast track ultra seems like a nice solution.

you'll be glad you did.

-dave

Hmm. I'm leaning more towards the 24D at the moment but then again the Mic does matter right?

I'm being too indecisive about this right now and I have no idea what to do w/ 600 bucks.

Many vets here will go on and on about the SM58 and SM57.

I couldn't agree more. They are pretty much dummy/accident/everything proof!

However, I echo dave in that my e835 wins out over the 58 often enough. Basically the same price.
And my 421 beats out the 57. Here, the first is 3x the cost of the second.

Bottom line, both the 58 and 835 are great mics. The 58 might be able to be applied a little more universally than the 835, though. It HAS been used on stages and in studios for decades, for a reason.

The interface is more important than the mic, in this case. Try the different mics if you can.

I would agree - at this stage a quality interface is more important. Pick up the 24D, an SM58 or an SM57 and one other 'versatile' dynamic. Don't waste your money on a "cheap" condenser. The lowest end condenser I'd consider would be the AT4040 and the Blue Bluebird. (wildly different mics.)

Cheers-
j

I'll take your advice cucco, I'd probably just hit up a sm57 and a blue bluebird. Is there a big difference between the 24D and 8 in sound quality?

None. Same preamps, same converters.

Its amazing to me how much great gear is out there nowadays. I remember looking at the 24D just after I had bough my FireStudio.

Man! Looks nice.
8)