Need some advice on buying an all round microphone.

Rowbance

New member
Hello everyone,

As the titles says i'm searching for an all round microphone. I'm planning to use it to record vocals, acoustic guitar and some percussion. My budget is 300 euro.
I already went to a music store and they recommended me the "Rode NT2A". But i wanted to do some research first before buying it.

Do you think the Rode would be a good option or are there better alternatives ?

Thank you for your time.
 
What are you using for recording gear? Audio interface......stand-alone unit...etc....etc. Don't forget that you will need phantom power for some mic choices. The Rode NT2A might work well.....but what type of percussion are you thinking of? Tell us more about your equipment and your recording environment. Perhaps you could think about an SM57 and an LDC in the $200 range? That way you would have 2 mics.
 
I still like my Miktek MK300 if that’s an option. My AKG C214 also still gets regular use but I prefer the Miktek on my voice. (Plus it has a figure 8 option which I know I’ll use someday!)

There are a *lot* of good LDC mics within your budget. I’d try to make sure it has a good basket/suspension and I like a roll off and a pad or high SPL rating if you’re experimenting with percussion.
 
Unless you have a big yen for an LDC my choice for versatility would be a matched pair of SDCs.

The Se Eelctronics Se8s get a good rep.

Dave.
 
What are you using for recording gear? Audio interface......stand-alone unit...etc....etc. Don't forget that you will need phantom power for some mic choices. The Rode NT2A might work well.....but what type of percussion are you thinking of? Tell us more about your equipment and your recording environment. Perhaps you could think about an SM57 and an LDC in the $200 range? That way you would have 2 mics.

I'm using a Focusrite scarlett 2i4 as audio interface. Not sure if it has phantom power... It does have a button that says "48v". With percussion i'm talking more about recording random objects or shakers. Not so much a kick or a snare etc...I have a taylor acoustic guitar and a behringer acoustic amp. I'm planning to record the guitar without and with the amp. My recording environment is just a basic small room without any acoustic treatment (Not yet atleast).
I also want to use the mic(s) for recording vocals and guitar at the same time to make acoustic covers of songs.

I've read a bit about the SM57 and SM58. They seem to be well liked and have a decent pricetag. Do you think those 2 would be a good combo ?
I wouldn't mind buying 2 mics but i'm gonna have to figure out how to record them simultaneously... And i'm not sure if that's even possible in FL studio... :o
 
The Rode NT2a would be fine.

I'd also recommend the black NT1, which is a very robust, versatile and clean mike.
 
Using a single cardioid pattern mic for recording acoustic guitar and singing at the same time, as per your post, is a difficult thing. 2 mics, or a mic with a figure 8 pattern (which I believe the NT2A has) will get you better results.

You should be able to just about pick up the NT2A AND an all purpose mic like the SM57 for about 300 euro or perhaps 10% more.

You can get a long way with just those two.
 
This might help..Recording A Singing Guitarist |

Yes the 2i4 does have phantom power. If FL Studio is a problem for two channel recording just use the free Audacity and export the tracks as .wav (at 44.1kHz 24 bits) then you should be able to play them in FL.

The dynamic mics are fine except you might struggle to get a noise free recording of acoustic guitar.

Dave.
 
Wow, allot of usefull information here ! I think i'm going for the NT2A based on some research and the comments here. I'd love to buy a SM57 as well. But i still need to buy a decent mic stand/arm. So my budget won't allow it..
I'm gonna wait till next week to buy it so i'm not making a too hasty decision.

Thanks for all the help so far.
 
Don't forget to get a 'pop filter' along with the mic stand/arm and don't go cheap on your cables, get decent ones that will last a while.
 
Wow, allot of usefull information here ! I think i'm going for the NT2A based on some research and the comments here. I'd love to buy a SM57 as well. But i still need to buy a decent mic stand/arm. So my budget won't allow it..
I'm gonna wait till next week to buy it so i'm not making a too hasty decision.

Thanks for all the help so far.

You really don't need a "decent" mic stand for home recording. This, K&M 21070 Black – Thomann UK

is quite good enough. Yes the clamps will not be as secure and you might have to improvise a heavier counter-weight but generally, for HR you set things for singing say then leave it set.

Of course, in a 'pro' studio where speedy setup a dozen times a day is the rule, something $300 a pop is going to earn its keep. Same if you are gigging 5 nights a week, The above will fall to bits in a month but for home use, no brainer. And I aways recommend one of the wee, 1/2 height jobbies. Ideal for cabs, acoustic guitar when seated. Thomann do one with a heavy base instead of splayed legs, invaluable if floor space is at a premium.

Also, every HR bod should have an SM57, mind you, I have a Prodipe dynamic that is excellent for £30! Both need a pop shield.

Dave.
 
The NT2A is a fine mic, though I'd say a lot of us probably think it's a mite overkill for a home studio that may not have great acoustics, which is where something like an SM57 might be a bit easier to use, and even the NT1 and similar tier might be indistinguishable on a track vs the NT2A.

In short, my experience is that recording both guitar and vocal is a lot easier, whether a single take or even one track at a time, if you have two mics, because otherwise you're doing a lot of work to get the mic position "perfect" (guitar+vocal at once), or your rejiggering the mic position all the time (one mic, separate takes). The less time you have to spend setting up to record, the more time you spend recording.

And, final word on the stand - almost any LDC with its suspension and a pop filter is going to fall over repeatedly without a very heavy or counterweighted stand. You can save a little on the stand and boom, but you better add a few bucks for a counterweight (which sometimes do have shipping costs). You don't save much money if that expensive mic hits the floor too many times.

Looking forward to hearing your recordings here!

Edit: add pic of stand I have set up all the time. (Note counterweight on one leg.)
combostand.jpg
 
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Hey! That weight's clever K! Did not know you could buy those?

I will agree that a cheap stand COULD be false economy but in my "setup" regime earlier I should have said, you secure things with Gaffer and cable ties. And, (coz I can solder) I make up short XLR "stubs" about a mtr long and attach those to the stands. Thus stand and cable are a complete assembled "unit" and it makes shifting it about much easier. Also the stub can be a much lighter gauge cable (~3mm OD) looped so as not to communicate cable "rumble" into the mic.

Dave.

Dave.
 
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