Shure SM57 Vs. Sony ECMMS907

DavaFlava

New member
Hi I'm Dave and I'm new to the forum as well as music recording. I will be recording my band's first demo in the near future and I am going to need a better microphone. I will be recording every insturment seprately my 3 year old lap top (which is a peice of crap). Then I will then send the files to my new computer and use N-Track to mix them.

What I need is a multipurpose mic for recording drums, guitar, bass and vocals. But like most garage bands, we're on a budget. We don't want to spend more than 50 bucks. But I do want high quality.

These are what I found best suitable so far:

Shure SM57 for $90

Sony ECMMS907 for $70

I'm leaning toward the Sony because of the price as well as the mini plug. If I were to get the Shure, would a mini plug adapter be okay? Also, are there any alternatives to these? Maybe something less expensive?

The truth is, ANYTHING would be better than what we have right now. So maybe a $30 Shure mic would be enough for what we want.

Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreicated.

Thank you,
Dave

P.S. If you'd like to hear my band and what we have recorded in the past, click here: It Always Ends In Tragedy
 
If you are going to be recording drums then I'm pretty sure you'll need more than one mic.

I've never used that Sony mic so I don't know much about it; but I have a Sure 57 and it is a great all-around microphone. I would recommend buying at least 2 57's and a kick drum mic to start with.

Just my opinion.

Good luck

[EDIT] You will also need some kind of interface, or soundcard to properly record audio at any decent quality. What does your laptop have?
 
Don't take my word for it, but Shure's inexpensive Performance series mics are virtually identical to their more expensive mics (Such as the SM57, 58).

There are slight differences, and though I don't own any of them, I think you may get a similar result.

Just for curiousity, what mics and setup DO you have so far?
 
You're simply going to have to spend more than $70. In addition to the mic, you need a preamp. You also need a proper sound card. Also, if you're serious, scrap the lap top. Set your desktop up where ever you're going to record (or record where ever your desktop is.) PCI sound cards for a desktop are cheap. ($99)

I can elaborate on some good intro gear, but I'm certain you'll be sorely disappointed with your current strategy. In a nutshell, you'll only need to spend $200-$300 considering you already have the most expensive chunk-the computer. How many people in the band? I mean, come on! Each shit $100 or get off the pot!

Otherwise, just buy a used four track tape machine on e-Bay. Even that will yeild better results than a sm57 plugged straight into a "piece of crap" lap top.

In fact, that may be WAAAY better for you, since you are so new. The tape machines do a decent job and are a great learning tool.
 
Well, I'd love to shell out all that money for some nice equiptment. But I'm still in high school. I don't even have a car yet, much less a job yet. So we truely are on a budget.

I have been using ONE cheap mic that came with one of my computers a long time ago. It is also a peice of crap. But it works. I just get a lot of fuzz. And We are VERY happy with our current stategy. Because it works. We know a lot of garage bands in our area and the quality of thier recordings aren't even close to ours.

Like I said, ANYTHING would be better than that cheap mic. It turns out, we have even less money than we thought. We're going to have to go with something like one of those $30 shure mics. And I'm most likely going to bring my Desk Top computer to record, rather than my lap top.
 
Well good for you for trying, man. Good luck. Also, you should go get a job at Taco Bell for a couple of months to buy some gear. Seriously. I mean, you could squirrel away a few hundred bones pretty quickly. And you can totally slack off and don't sweat it cause you're going to quit after you've got, like, $500.

Also, does your mom give you lunch money? Cause I used to skip lunch. That was income. (My mom found 150 $1's in my drawer one day, though, and I was busted. It took my a couple of months of going hungry for that, too! Then she started to make me buy tickets. But I sold them. I digress.)

Anyhoo, make some money. It's not hard. And don't worry about a car. A band will get you way more chicks...or dudes, whatever your deal is. Cheers!
 
Between those two mics buy the SM57.... you'll save money by getting it from ebay second hand... and when it all goes tits up you will be able to sell it for what you paid for it... it'll hold it's value.

But be warned... if you don't buy a microphone preamp as well you will probably still get the hiss and fuzz that is bothering you... you need the pre amp... check out a second hand M-Audio audiobuddy...

To help before you can get a better results before you get a better soundcard you could try this asio soundcard driver... I've never used it but it might be helpfull to you...

I'm trying to stay cheap cos you are on a budget... good luck....

Maybe one day your singer will learn to sing as well :)
 
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