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GMC Forum _ Recording _ What Mic Should I Buy?
Posted by: Matt23 Jan 31 2008, 05:59 PM
I want to start recording songs but i've no idea what mic to get. I don't really want to spend more than £50 (about $100). Could anyone suggest a good mic to start off with?
Thanks
Matt
Posted by: Bogdan Jan 31 2008, 06:39 PM
What do you want to use it for?? Recording guitars or vocals ? Shure SM57 is standard for recording guitars and Shure SM58 is standard for recording vocals...These are very high quality..
Posted by: Muris Jan 31 2008, 07:01 PM
If you wanna record both vocals and guitars I would go for SM58.
It's not typical mic for guitar but will do the job... 
Posted by: Matt23 Jan 31 2008, 07:36 PM
I'll be using it for mainly guitar (probably not vocals at all). The Shure Sm57 would be good, but I was wondering if i could get anything cheaper thats still good.
Posted by: Melvyn Jan 31 2008, 07:40 PM
Behringer B1 or B2, good mic and relatively cheap. but professional, i use them ALOT in College, recorded 2 bands ep's with them (and just them, except on kit) and they were very pleased 
Posted by: erik Jan 31 2008, 07:41 PM
No.
Posted by: Twibeard Jan 31 2008, 07:42 PM
Yes .. the MXL-991 or 993 are awesome:
http://www.mxlmics.com/condenser_mic/900_Series/900_series.htm
Posted by: Matt23 Jan 31 2008, 07:50 PM
I'll probably get the Shure Sm57 cos those other mics aren't a lot cheaper. Thanks for helping though. Can you plug the shure mic into a PC?
Posted by: Dejan Jan 31 2008, 08:36 PM
no you can't, you need a preamp
try to google for some usb condenser mics, they are not so expensive, and good for vocals and acoustic instruments (not for amps)
Posted by: Matt23 Jan 31 2008, 08:51 PM
try to google for some usb condenser mics, they are not so expensive, and good for vocals and acoustic instruments (not for amps)
Thanks for telling me that. Could I just ask what does the sm57 plug in to, and what's the difference between a condensor and a dynamic mic?
Posted by: Norven Jan 31 2008, 09:02 PM
I would recomend the shure sm58. It is expensive. But it is very good audio qualite (especielly for singing, but good for guitar to)
And you don´t have tom by a new one if you drop it in the ground a few time.
I really like this video, Its a music/computer magazine testing a shure sm58.
Enjoy:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QPLbQi9FI&feature=related
Posted by: Matt23 Jan 31 2008, 09:04 PM
does the shure sm58 connect to a pc
Posted by: Norven Jan 31 2008, 09:09 PM
No you need a xlr or tele cabel. And a soundcard that you can connect to a mixer table. It cost a lot of money to buy all those stuff. But it´s worth it, Really good audio quality.
Posted by: Twibeard Jan 31 2008, 09:13 PM
No ... you will need a soundcard too. Something liks this (about $69) is a minimum i.m.o.:
http://line6.com/toneportgx/
Posted by: Dejan Jan 31 2008, 09:16 PM
in short, condenser mics have wider range of frequencies and is good for recording of vocals and acoustic instruments, requires external power source (phantom power or battery) while dynamic mics are better for drums, amp or other loud sources
but for any kind of these mics you need a mixer with preamp, with the exception of USB mics, you just plug it in and record
Posted by: Stevie·Ray·Vaughn Jan 31 2008, 09:17 PM
And you don´t have tom by a new one if you drop it in the ground a few time.
I really like this video, Its a music/computer magazine testing a shure sm58.
Enjoy:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QPLbQi9FI&feature=related
Haha nice video
Posted by: Milenkovic Ivan Jan 31 2008, 10:07 PM
You can if you have a mic input on your sound card, but the sound quality will vary depending on the quality of the mic preamp in your soundcard.
Posted by: Hisham Jan 31 2008, 11:13 PM
you can for this money some kind from AKG
Posted by: Fran Jan 31 2008, 11:35 PM
http://line6.com/toneportgx/
If the mic is male XLR type, toneport GX might not be enough, because it doesn't have a XLR input. (Correct me if I'm wrong, maybe you can get an adapter for the mic or something).
I would suggest Toneport UX1 instead
Posted by: Bogdan Jan 31 2008, 11:50 PM
Hmm if you want to record to pc i suggest buying toneport ux2 first (which acts as a good soundcard)...Than buy a decent mic...Because the soundcard is very important and you can't plug in your mic directly to it (integrated one) and get good quality...
Posted by: Asphyxia Feeling Feb 1 2008, 02:40 PM
am i right to assume things like fasttrack usb recorders / lexicon / toneport UX consoles act as sound cards and mic preamps?
preamps are used to supply phantom power to mics, correct? or am i confused?
is a POD with mic model preamps built in (like PODX3, i think pocket pod has a small number of them as well) an actual mic preamp? or do i still need a "mic preamp" box?
sorry if it seems like i am thread highjacking or something. i just thought it better to post in this mic thread rather then start a new one.
Posted by: Bogdan Feb 1 2008, 02:55 PM
preamps are used to supply phantom power to mics, correct? or am i confused?
is a POD with mic model preamps built in (like PODX3, i think pocket pod has a small number of them as well) an actual mic preamp? or do i still need a "mic preamp" box?
sorry if it seems like i am thread highjacking or something. i just thought it better to post in this mic thread rather then start a new one.
Preamps pre-amplify your mic sound and make it useful for recording...They don't need to supply phantom power to mics (thought some of them have that option) nor all mics need phantom power...
You can use POD for recording through mic on pc , and it will act as mic preamp...
Posted by: Matt23 Feb 2 2008, 01:05 PM
I do have a mic input socket on my pc and I have used a dynamic mic with it before (it broke). I don't think my soundcard is amazing but would that work (even if the sound quality wasn't great).
Posted by: Muris Feb 2 2008, 01:14 PM
Depends of your audio card lets say.
Mine has mic preamp built-in.
Good thing is that you DON'T need phantom for SM57
so any card with XLR inputs will do "the job".
If you pay less,don't expect a miracle.
Posted by: Matt23 Feb 2 2008, 01:24 PM
Thanks for everyones help.
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