No mic knowledge. Working from ground up...

T

trillbee

New member
Hello everyone. This is my first post on this sight. I am really sorry if I am writing when I should be reading- I'm sure there are a hundred posts out there which answer my questions. I find, though, that my eyes glaze over after a while with all the disembodied model no.s that like-minded audiophiles like yourselves keep referring to. AKA 12333…… Blue Bottles……. Beta @$£##s…. So I will ask and hopefully you can help me out.

I am an enthusiastic songwriter and I need a better mic than I have presently. My existing mic was advertised on eBay as being 'indistinguishable from an SM58'- it's shit. It's done me good survice, but it's shit. So I need a new one.

The demos I make are definitely 'demos' and I'm not attempting anything better. I record drums, base and piano using my keyboard. Up till now I have been using the pre-programmed voices on my keyboard and no midi. The keyboard sounds have absolutely no dynamism or 'life'. I record my acoustic guitar using a cheap internal pickup I fitted myself. It needs a load of eq to even sound like a guitar! All the songs I have recorded have a pinched, nasal, strangled, flat sound and because of that my bad mic has sort of fitted into the mix ok.

The one diamond in the mud I possess is my Edirol ua-25. It's basic but a very nice little thing that definitely suits my needs. And I want to SOUND better. I know I won't sound perfect but at least I can get decent sound reproduction; at least I can invest in a mic to match my sound card quality and give my recordings some life and warmth and 'space'.

I use my existing rubbishy mic primarily to sing into, and my voice suits dynamic mics as I like to sing into it quite a bit. So my new mic should ideally have the properties of an sm58. But I would like to record my guitar externally. I don't have the money for two mics right now so I was wondering does a mic exist that would be well suited to handle vocals and guitar? I was thinking maybe a powered mike that you could switch to different modes. What do you think?
Thanks for your patience.

Tony
 
trillbee said:
Hello everyone. This is my first post on this sight. I am really sorry if I am writing when I should be reading- I'm sure there are a hundred posts out there which answer my questions. I find, though, that my eyes glaze over after a while with all the disembodied model no.s that like-minded audiophiles like yourselves keep referring to. AKA 12333…… Blue Bottles……. Beta @$£##s…. So I will ask and hopefully you can help me out.

I am an enthusiastic songwriter and I need a better mic than I have presently. My existing mic was advertised on eBay as being 'indistinguishable from an SM58'- it's shit. It's done me good survice, but it's shit. So I need a new one.

The demos I make are definitely 'demos' and I'm not attempting anything better. I record drums, base and piano using my keyboard. Up till now I have been using the pre-programmed voices on my keyboard and no midi. The keyboard sounds have absolutely no dynamism or 'life'. I record my acoustic guitar using a cheap internal pickup I fitted myself. It needs a load of eq to even sound like a guitar! All the songs I have recorded have a pinched, nasal, strangled, flat sound and because of that my bad mic has sort of fitted into the mix ok.

The one diamond in the mud I possess is my Edirol ua-25. It's basic but a very nice little thing that definitely suits my needs. And I want to SOUND better. I know I won't sound perfect but at least I can get decent sound reproduction; at least I can invest in a mic to match my sound card quality and give my recordings some life and warmth and 'space'.

I use my existing rubbishy mic primarily to sing into, and my voice suits dynamic mics as I like to sing into it quite a bit. So my new mic should ideally have the properties of an sm58. But I would like to record my guitar externally. I don't have the money for two mics right now so I was wondering does a mic exist that would be well suited to handle vocals and guitar? I was thinking maybe a powered mike that you could switch to different modes. What do you think?
Thanks for your patience.

Tony
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Go to a music store and try some mics. There is no way, no how to "tell" you which is good ort bad. If I were you, and could not test mics in person, I would get a sure sm57 and use it. This mic is used in most live recordings and will be useful in many more situations than any othet mic I can think of except some costing $1000 and up.
 
MCI2424 said:
Go to a music store and try some mics. There is no way, no how to "tell" you which is good ort bad. If I were you, and could not test mics in person, I would get a sure sm57 and use it. This mic is used in most live recordings and will be useful in many more situations than any othet mic I can think of except some costing $1000 and up.
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That's really helpful, thanks. As you can tell I don't know very much about microphones.

Of course, I realise there's no way anyone can tell me what mic would best fit my voice or my instrument but recomendations like yours really help. Basically ANYTHING would be a whole lot better than what I'm using currently so an industry standard like an SM57 might just be my ticket.

Please, are there any more reccomendations- particularly for use with an external usb powered edirol ua-25 (with pahantom power)?

Thanks again, Tony
 
trillbee said:
I use my existing rubbishy mic primarily to sing into, and my voice suits dynamic mics as I like to sing into it quite a bit. So my new mic should ideally have the properties of an sm58. But I would like to record my guitar externally. I don't have the money for two mics right now so I was wondering does a mic exist that would be well suited to handle vocals and guitar? I was thinking maybe a powered mike that you could switch to different modes. What do you think?

Tony
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Well, Tony, there certainly ARE mics that will give you good results on both vocals and acoustic guitar. These would be called Large Diaghram Condenser mics (or "LCD's"). This is probably what you need for your recordings. NOT a Shure SM58, or it's near cousin, the SM57. (The only difference between the two is that the SM58 has a ball-shaped windscreen, which DOES alter the sound somewhat.)

The thing is, there is a definite "experience factor" that comes into play when you think about which mics "sound good." If your frame of reference is an el-cheapo that merely aspires to be an Shure SM58 and doesn't quite make it, then a real SM58 is likely to sound wonderful to your ears. But the REAL reason that you think that your voice is well suited to an SM58 (which is a dynamic mic - read the sticky thread to learn about the differences between dynamics and condensers) is probably that you just haven't heard anything better. In particular, I'll bet you've never heard yourself through a condenser mic. A condenser mic will probably sound absolutely revalatory to you.

As has been mentioned already, you really need to get out and listen to some different mics. If this requires you to do some driving, then that's what you must do. But you absolutely MUST try the mics out to determine what sounds best to you on your voice and your guitar. There are SEVERAL LDC's that are very inexpensive, which might work for you. Some mics that you might want to try out would be the Studio Projects B1 ($100) or C1 ($200), the Rode NT1-A ($200), and Audio-Technica's AT2020 ($100) or AT3035 ($200). This should at least give you a place to start doing your research. Hope that's helpful to you, and lot's of luck with your search! :)

Brad
 
No problem, we are all learning here.
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Thanks Casey. I have an image in my head of how Harvey Gerst looks after reading his posts. I wander if I'm right. He sounds like a real character, but he knows stuff also.
...This should at least give you a place to start doing your research. Hope that's helpful to you, and lot's of luck with your search! :)

Brad
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Thank you Brad. A nice man.

One question I have which I guess could be answered quite aburptly with "GO AND TRY THEM" but that I'm goigg to ask anyway is this:

I recently had a small go with an LCD. It was present in a room in which I was staying in London. While I didn't record my voice very much I did use it to record piano and guitar. I think these LCDs are very good and I have almost made up my mind to get one, but I have a feeling that they're not very easy to use. What I find with my cheap dynamic mic is that whatever you point it at it tends to record. But LCDs are a lot more sensitive and pick up a lot more 'texture'- I'd say. Is it possible or probable that marrying the sound of one of these LCDs with the rather less than perfect keyboard bass/drums/piano I've got will be pretty hard? I think my voice and guitar might sound heavenly and everything else will sound like it's in a little box.

Maybe a dynamic mic would sound slightly less "open" (for want of a better word)? I really should figure out MIDI as I guess this would help to "open" the keyboard out. But I have found midi sounds to be quite limiting, even a little cheesy sometimes.

Any suggestions on mics? Or how to make my keyboard sound less flat?

Thanks guys. Tony
 
There are some really durable little LDC's that you can consider. The MXL V67, the Studio Projects B1... If you're worried about how to use them, than take the 1/2 hour to learn..it isn't hard at all! They're like a dynamic mic in many ways, though they capture sound in different ways. You can learn to use them.

About your midi and drum issues, I think you need to look at the software you're using. The only program I've ever used for Midi is my free copy of Reason 3. I like it, and wish I could spend more time to learn how to use a synth better...But it's great for drums and synth stuff, especially if you get the full version and some good drum samples...

Jacob
 
trillbee said:
I recently had a small go with an LCD. It was present in a room in which I was staying in London. While I didn't record my voice very much I did use it to record piano and guitar. I think these LCDs are very good and I have almost made up my mind to get one, but I have a feeling that they're not very easy to use. What I find with my cheap dynamic mic is that whatever you point it at it tends to record. But LCDs are a lot more sensitive and pick up a lot more 'texture'- I'd say. Is it possible or probable that marrying the sound of one of these LCDs with the rather less than perfect keyboard bass/drums/piano I've got will be pretty hard? I think my voice and guitar might sound heavenly and everything else will sound like it's in a little box.
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Well, I certainly understand what you're talking about. You will, indeed, find condenser mics to be much, much more sensitive than a dynamic. Therefore, you will need to modify your approach a bit to do any recording with them. (Chief among these issues is that you will need to learn to be very, very careful about ambient noise. Condensers will pick up fans running in the room, people stomping about in the apartment next door, etc...) Nevertheless, it is worth learning to pay attention to these things to get the benefits of a condenser mic - cleaner, more extended high frequencies, "faster" transient response, etc... PLUS, this will make you a better recordist, and you will probably start learning to be more careful when you use your dynamic mics, too. This is just part of the process of learning the basics of recording. There is a very good reason that condenser mics rule the recording world, and dynamics are the "odd man out." The sonic advantages that they yield vastly outshadow the additional cautions that must be exercised in their use.

I also wouldn't worry much at all about your concern that your vocals and guitar will sound so good that it won't fit in with your other (keyboard-based) sounds. You are recording these direct, obviously, so they are going into the recorder at a very high fidelity. Perhaps the quality of the sounds, themselves, are not quite to your satisfaction, but they should still be recorded cleanly. You're still much better off with a nice, clean recording of your (less than wonderful) keyboard sounds mixed in with a clean recording of vox and guitar, than to have a nice, clean recording of the (less than wonderful) keyboard patches, mixed in with a muffled, blurry recording of vox and guitar. If nothing else, remember that if you're just going for basic, stripped down song demos, you need to hear the vocals so that people can appreciate the songs that you have created.

Brad
 
I strongly recomend that you buy a Shure SM57. Its is one of the best pieces of recording gear ever made. You will still be using it if you are recording 20 years from now. Its is very flexible and many major label records have been done using them for the lead vocal. They are not my first choice for acoustic guitars but are still very usable.

A Shure SM57 is a great place to start and learn. if I had one mic to record with and it was a choice between a 57 and a cheap LDC, I would absolutely take the 57.
 
Does anyone have any mp3s up of vocals being recorded on the shure sm57?


Months ago icame in here searching for a mic and i cant remember reading everyone talking about a shure sm57...
 
Check out Daniel Lanois' album Shine. Madononna's bedtime stories (I think that's the one) or recordings by Paul Rogers (Bad Company)

Also a Shure SM58 is the same mic with a differnt windscreen, for that check out almost any U2 album from the last 20 years.
 
OK. There are definitely two camps emerging here. Condenser or dynamic? I think the consensus though is that an LDC is preferable overall for vocal and guitar- if you've the money. So Ronan,
Ronan said:
A Shure SM57 is a great place to start and learn. If I had one mic to record with and it was a choice between a 57 and a cheap LDC, I would absolutely take the 57.
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I think I see the sense in what you're saying. But what, in your estimate, constitutes a "cheap" LDC? Are the aforementioned mics "Studio Projects B1 ($100) or C1 ($200), the Rode NT1-A ($200), and Audio-Technica's AT2020 ($100) or AT3035 ($200)" or "MXL V67" in your account the "cheap" i.e. better off with an SM57 catagory you're talking about?

My budget will be around £100-150 ($200-250) so I think the risk of lumping myself with a substandard LDC to go with my substandard Dynamic is smaller than if I were spending £50. I want a GOOD mic and so need everyone's opinion on that one.

Also, I DO remember recording my voice on an LDC and what infuriated me at the time was how “airy” my voice sounded. I wasn’t using a popping shield, but I also found the recorded sound lacked that sense of closeness that a dynamic mic affords. Has anyone else noticed this? I also have a theory that achieving that sense of closeness or intimacy is what’s hard about using an LDC. Might I have to add £50 to my budget to buy a popping shield and a shock mount and that egg box sound-dampening foam stuff?

Actually, to go off on a small tangent, I’m good with hands, I can be quite creative sometimes. I looked at the price of a Neuman anti-shock mount selling at £150 and I thought ‘I could make one of those.’ Maybe this is foolish, but it looks like a cookie cutter with elastic wrapped around it to me! Has anyone tried making their own popping shields and shock mounts before?

But as I said, I digress. Lastly, what is a Shure sm57/8 like at recording steel string acoustic? Does it have to get very close, like hamperingly close? What is the end sound like when compared to an LDC, has anyone discovered?

Thanks for all your feedback to date. This is a very nice forum. Tony
 
MCI2424 said:
I would get a sure sm57 and use it. This mic is used in most live recordings and will be useful in many more situations than any othet mic I can think of except some costing $1000 and up.
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Ronan said:
I strongly recomend that you buy a Shure SM57. Its is one of the best pieces of recording gear ever made. You will still be using it if you are recording 20 years from now. Its is very flexible and many major label records have been done using them for the lead vocal. They are not my first choice for acoustic guitars but are still very usable.

A Shure SM57 is a great place to start and learn. if I had one mic to record with and it was a choice between a 57 and a cheap LDC, I would absolutely take the 57.
Click to expand...


Well, Tony, now you get to see why the SM57 is the best-selling microphone on the planet. Not because it's so good, but because there are lots of people in the world who will make the sorts of outlandish, overhyped statements that you see above. I've heard lots of these kinds of statements, and they're all absurd. "One of the best piece of recording gear made." Say WHAT??? Oh, puh-lease!!! I'm still waiting for somebody to claim that the SM57 can cure cancer, because that's about the ONLY outrageous claim that I haven't yet heard regarding the SM57. :rolleyes:

Once again, it comes down to that "experience factor" that I talked about earlier. If you've only got a very, very small mic collection, and the SM57 is one of the mics you have (and you WILL have one, since just about everyone does), then yes, you will find several applications where this mic is the best choice. However, if you have a decent mic locker, and you know how to listen critically, then you will probably find the SM57 the LEAST used mic in your collection. Because the simple truth of the matter is, there is probably a better choice out there for ANY application in which the SM57 is commonly used. Need a snare drum mic? A Beyer 201 will smoke the SM57 about 90-95% of the time. Need to mic a guitar amp? Well, a SM57 might work, and it might be a good match. But try a Sennheiser 421, 441 or Electrovoice RE20, and you'll probably find that you like one of THOSE better. The point is, after you have a decent mic locker, and you know how to listen critically, then you will probably find the SM57 the LEAST used mic in your collection. Despite what people will tell you to the contrary. The SM57 is a fine mic for what it is. And what it is is a cheap dynamic mic - a fairly good one mind you - but it's still just a cheapie dynamic mic. Not anything more than that.

I've already given you my recommendations. Any one of the cheap LDC's out there would probably be the way to go. If the extra "air" (extended high frequencies) of an LDC seems intimidating to you, then you might want to look at the Studio Projects B1, which is probably the "mellowest" of the LDC's that are in your price range. The MXL V67 might be another choice, although I'm not really familiar with this mic. You can also experiment with how much "boominess" you want in the bass frequencies, by varying how close you get to the mic. This is called the "proximity effect," by the way, and it applies to both dynamics AND condensers. It will help you get that sense of "closeness" that you are refering to. The reason that your voice sounds "closer" and more "in your face" with the dynamic is probably nothing more than the fact that you are singing closer to the mic, when you use your dynamic mic. And you certainly WILL want to use a shockmount and a windscreen. And yes, you certainly CAN make a windscreen yourself. A simple wire coat hanger and some pantyhose will do the job nicely. I'm assuming that all the guys on this board have already trained their wives/girlfriends, that when they commandeer a set of pantyhose, it does not mean that they have a weird sexual fetish. (Then again, I don't know y'all THAT well, so who knows?) :confused:

Dude, it's your money, and I don't really care how you spend it. But I will tell you that, if you want to record both acoustic guitar and vocals, an LDC is really the way to go. Perhaps Ronan would choose an SM57 over a cheap LDC, if that is to be your only mic to use on vox and guitar, but I know that I sure wouldn't. And, I'll bet if a truly world-class recording engineer, such as Bob Clearmountain or Alan Parsons or even Daniel Lanois were given that choice, THEY wouldn't choose and SM57 for those applications, either, although any one of them might choose an SM57 for a few vocalists. Finally, if you DO decide that you absolutely must have a dynamic mic, then there are certainly mics that would work better for you than an SM57. The Shure Beta 57 would be one. The Beyerdynamic 201 would be another. That one might even be cheaper over on your side of the pond, since it is a German-made mic.

Lots of luck with your mic shopping!

Brad
 
trillbee said:
I am an enthusiastic songwriter and I need a better mic than I have presently. My existing mic was advertised on eBay as being 'indistinguishable from an SM58'- it's shit. It's done me good survice, but it's shit. So I need a new one.
Click to expand...

So in other words it is indistinguishable from an SM58.... :D

But seriously... ditto on the suggestions so far. I'd also suggest you try out one of the low-end ribbon mics like the Nady RSM-2 (or equivalent---there's a dozen or more companies rebadging the same Chinese ribbon mics these days). They're one of the few gems out of the recent influx of Chinese mics... mainly because they don't contain much in terms of electronics. :)

The disadvantage to some of the cheaper LDCs is that some of them end up with overhyped, uneven highs because of cheap electronics. Out of all the under-$300 mics in my collection, I find myself favoring my Nady ribbon most of the time. (On trumpet, I still prefer a plain old dynamic, and I don't allow the ribbon within thirty feet of my drum kit.)
 
Well my dear Tony, just for the balance of this discussion, first read this thread and don't forget to click on the link: http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=178688

I can't understand why people always are suggesting the SM57, I'll not go as far as Steve Albini, but my personal opinion (as a professional engineer) is that I don't like the SM57 at all, I've never got any good sound from it, not better than mediocre.

Allright, it's a cheap microphone and you can use it as a hammer, but though I own a 57 I never use it other than as a talkback mic. It sounds thin where a Sennheiser MD421 will sound big, it sounds dull where a Beyer M201 sounds shiny and a cheap ass Studio Projects B1 will leave the SM57 miles behind in any application.

You can flame me now, I don't care. :D:D:D
 
Han said:
I can't understand why people always are suggesting the SM57, I'll not go as far as Steve Albini, but my personal opinion (as a professional engineer) is that I don't like the SM57 at all, I've never got any good sound from it, not better than mediocre.

Allright, it's a cheap microphone and you can use it as a hammer, but though I own a 57 I never use it other than as a talkback mic.
Click to expand...

Pity. It makes an excellent hammer.

Top 10 uses for a Shure SM57

10. Hammer.
9. Blunt object.
8. Table/chair leg extension.
7. Spitball shooter. *
6. Baseball bat for midgets.
5. Loudspeaker. **
4. Marital aid.
3. Boat anchor.
2. Chassis punch. ***

and the #1 use for a Shure SM57 is...

1. A microphone for Ashlee Simpson.

:D:D:D:D:D

* Some disassembly required.
** Yes, you can reverse it... for at least a second or two.
*** You'll need a hammer... or maybe you could use another SM57....
 
Bassman Brad said:
Dude, it's your money, and I don't really care how you spend it. But I will tell you that, if you want to record both acoustic guitar and vocals, an LDC is really the way to go. Perhaps Ronan would choose an SM57 over a cheap LDC, if that is to be your only mic to use on vox and guitar, but I know that I sure wouldn't. And, I'll bet if a truly world-class recording engineer, such as Bob Clearmountain or Alan Parsons or even Daniel Lanois were given that choice, THEY wouldn't choose and SM57 for those applications, either, although any one of them might choose an SM57 for a few vocalists. Finally, if you DO decide that you absolutely must have a dynamic mic, then there are certainly mics that would work better for you than an SM57. The Shure Beta 57 would be one. The Beyerdynamic 201 would be another. That one might even be cheaper over on your side of the pond, since it is a German-made mic.

Lots of luck with your mic shopping!
Brad
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Well Bassman. Thanks for your your knowledgeable...... if rather intense reply. I get the feeling there are tensions running beneath the surface when it comes to these damned Shure SM57/8s. I just hope they aren't the latest thing everybody loves to hate.

I have found a rather spanking little site here: http://testing.holmerup.biz/mic_pretest/index_en.html

It's really very informative to hear the mics compared so closely, if you can bare the singing that is!

The B1's sound does seem to tie in with what you were saying Brad- it sounds much warmer and bassier than the C2 or really any of the other LDCs except the Neumanns (which, on the guitar sample, sound just as bassey but more natural and with more top end). Of course the guitarist may have been sitting a fraction closer to the mics for these tests- so who knows?

Assuming, though, that the B1's mellow bass thing is real I can see this being both a good thing and a bad thing- for as it sounds more warm and mellow it also sounds more boomy.

As I can see the more nasal qualities of some of the more expensive models like the C2 getting on my nerves, so I started to think I should go with the warmth (and cheapness) of the Studio Sounds B1 as I've read some other reviews saying that they record guitars well. The only other cheap LDC I liked on the site was the MXL 990 which I thought shared some of the warmth of the B1.
Can anyone make a recommendation for either B1 or the MXL 990 for laying down vox and acc. guitar? They are much the same for price.

The Rode NT1A is not featured on the above site, nor is the AT 2020. These two are a bit more expensive- can anyone recommend spending the extra money on these?

I read some very good reviews about the B1 and was sold on the idea of getting it until my concerns crept in about boominess. Although, given my primitive setup am I worrying about nothing? Is my Edirol UA-25 sound card even up to the challange of dinstingishing between these mics; is it worth investing the extra bob in the Rode NT1A or the AT2020? Or should I just shut up and buy whatever and leave you poor folks alone and stop with all the QUESTIONS????

Thanks a lot,
Tony
 
Han said:
Allright, it's a cheap microphone and you can use it as a hammer, but though I own a 57 I never use it other than as a talkback mic. It sounds thin where a Sennheiser MD421 will sound big, it sounds dull where a Beyer M201 sounds shiny and a cheap ass Studio Projects B1 will leave the SM57 miles behind in any application.

You can flame me now, I don't care. :D:D:D
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Thank you my dear Han. Thankfully I had already discovered that thread. Don't worry, I think I see the folly of getting an SM57- even if just because of the number of times I have heard it compared to things like hammers and door-stops and various other hillariously inappropriate things. I just hope all you guys aren't being mean to the poor old Shure SM57!!! It tries its best and has served me quite well up till now (well, my no-name replica has).

But serioulsy- I am definitely getting an LDC. Just need to find the right one as I won't be able to audition any. I'm not doing anything really high-class so that's my get-out. I just wander whether it isn't worth spending £100 as supposed to £70 in order to invest in a slightly better piece of hardware.
I don't know...
 
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Hey Tony,

I apologize for the rather - um - "intense" nature of my reply. I certainly don't want to scare you away from the board by stirring up old battles about rather obscure points (to you, at least) of recording techniques. New people help keep things grounded in reality and, thus, are a very valuable resource on this board. I'm sure my post sounded like a rant, and maybe it was. I probably should have toned it down a bit. Again, I apologize. It just happens that this particular issue stirred up not one but TWO of my personal pet peeves. One is the constant overhyping of the SM57, which is a fairly decent mic (for a cheap dynamic mic), but isn't nearly as flexible or as nice sounding as is so often claimed. Unfortunately, the people that usually fall for this hype are the ones that are very inexperience, and really don't NEED to hear that stuff. Which brings me to my second pet peeve, which is when I see people give persons such as yourself (who are rather limited in their recording knowledge) bad advice. While I'm certain that the posters who were quick to recommend the SM57 to you had very good intentions and believe that they know what they are talking about, I continue to assert that they just plain gave you bad advice. When somebody totally inexperienced asks for advice on a cheap mic for recording vocals and acoustic guitar and they are told to buy a dynamic mic, well, I'm sorry, but that's just plain wrong. Especially in this day and age, when an SM57 costs you 90 bucks, and you can get a cheap, but perfectly serviceable LDC for an even hundred dollars.

Part of the problem here is that you are asking for a single mic that will sound good on both vocals AND acoustic guitar, and this is something that is very, very hard to achieve at ANY price. Even at the very cheapest level of home recording, people will often choose TWO different mics to cover these two bases. A mic that sounds good for guitar usually won't sound good on vocals. And vice versa. I also want to emphasize that I don't personally have experience with all of the mics that are available in this price range. Furthermore, my perspective on what "sounds good" might be very different from your own or somebody else's. We just all hear things differently, and there will always be honest differences of opinion about what sounds good. This means that I can only extrapolate from the comments that you make about what might sound good to your ears. This is, needless to say, a very tricky proposition, and I can't be sure that I'll get it right. Therefore, you have to take EVERYTHING you read here with a grain of salt, including my own opinions. The only way to make sure is for you to just go out and try some mics yourself and decide what YOU think sounds good. And, yes, I do understand that this is often easier said than done.

Of the cheap condensers that I've mentioned, the only one that I personally own is the AT2020. (It came free with a piece of hardware that I bought.) For what it's worth, I do believe that this mic certainly IS capable of getting at least a decent sound from both acoustic guitar and vocals. In fact, I've used it on both with good results. It's got a very mild upper-midrange boost, but the highs are still very "smooth" sounding. This is often a problem with the cheaper LDCs, as they often sound rather harsh and "brittle" in the high end. In fact, the two things that impressed me most about this mic is that it has incredibly smooth highs (for such a cheap mic) and seems to be able to actually be useable for both instruments and vocals. As I mentioned, this is a trick that very few mics can actually pull off. The B1 (based solely upon the opinion of other posters on this forum) is considered a pretty decent all-around mic, but many have reported less than satisfactory results with it on vocals. I just don't have enough information to give you more details about the Rode mic, the MXL990 or the other Audio-Technica mic. I only mentioned them because these are the only mics that came to mind that are in your price range, and are made by reputable mic manufacturers. You'll have to do your own research on these other mics. I merely hoped to give you a place to start in your search.

Again, lots of luck with your mic shopping!

Brad
 
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