Help me in the process of recording☺

Ankur

New member
I have an acoustic guitar and i compose. Now i want to record on my own but being on a tight budget i cannot buy all the accessories for my home recording at once.
So i decided to start with buying a mic and then as time goes on I'll add others to it to make a complete set. This would also give me time to fully understand functioning of one before moving to next.
Now here is the big question- WHICH MIC?
Currently i am drawn towards samson meteor usb condensor mic. Shuold i go for it because somewhere i read that it cannot be connected to AI later on. If you can give me some other options please do. my budget for mic se around 80$-90$.
Thank You
 
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NO. Please do some reading. With a USB mic you will not be able to use any other mics at the same time. What you need is an audio interface with multiple mic preamps (what is the maximum number of mics you ever expect to use?) IF you buy a cheap USB mic now, it'll gather dust when you have to upgrade ti an audio interface and standard mics.
 
I see so many inexpensive two channel interfaces all over, Presnus audiobox, Focusrite Saffires and Scarletts, people buy them and either outgrow them or lose interest. Often for less than fifty bucks. I also see lots of pretty good microphones to start with that can be had for less than fifty bucks. Sterling FET 55, MXL 770, Craigslist, Ebay, pawnshops, there is a lot of intro level stuff out there that you can make fine recordings with. The previous poster is right, in the sense that if you don't have someone to pass the USB microphone on to, or do a lot of travelling where its convenience might come in handy, it will go into the outgrown bucket pretty quick. Or, it might satisfy your curiosity about recording yourself and be ideal. But there is no growth potential as most DAW's only recognize on USB input at a time. And download the free trial of Reaper, it is far better than Audacity for music recording and you get off on the right foot....
 
Amazon.co.uk: bm 800

^ If you are really, really struggling to get anything else the above is not at all bad. Better than a USB mic because it comes with an XLR to 3.5mm stereo jack lead and works plugged into a computer's mic jack. When you get a proper AI it will also work, on phantom power using an XLR-XLR mic cable.

Yes, yes, a 1000 times yes! Get an AI and mic (and for acoustic guitar look for a Small Diaphragm Capacitor mic) when funds permit but, those mics are SO ridiculously cheap I would be doing you a disservice by not mentioning them.

One caveat! There have been quite a few posts from people who have bought the mics and cannot get them to work or they are noisy/low output. It seems 20 quid buys very little QC! If you get one, TEST it minutes out of the packing and bounce it back ASAP if a problem. I have found Amazon very good about faulty goods.

Good luck, long, hard road you have ahead of you!

Dave.
 
"I see so many inexpensive two channel interfaces all over"...


I guess about ? 10-years ago, my first usb interface was a used Tascam recording package. With Ball MIC, Fones, and Interface. $70+
 
Ankur. the cheapest AI that I have tried and that is of any decent use at all is the Alesis i02 Express. That has 2 mic inputs (do NOT go for single mic input AIs, whatever their 'pedigree' . For acoustic guitar especially, two mics are generally regarded as a much better than one. ) .

Better but still around £100* is the Steinberg UR22 and that has mic pres good enough that you could probably get away with dynamic mics but again I think capacitors (aka and archaic, 'condenser) mic are generally preferred. Past the UR22 you are really paying for more I/O or/and 'tricksy' software until you get into the exotics, RME, Prism but they will be no good to you until you have lost leg and arm to a top monitor setup and room treatment.

*No good me giving $$US figures, since the xenophobes prized us out of the EU, Xchange rates are ***t on the wall.

Dave.
 
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