cheap Radio Shack microphone?

[jfrog]

A couple of years back, a neighbor of mine told me about an inexpensive mic that Radio Shack sold - I think it was around $50 - that actually did a passable job of recording acoustic guitar. He, like myself, had been skeptical when he had heard it, but ended buying one and being satisfied with it.

Unfortunately, my neighbor has since moved away and I have no idea what the microphone was. I'm sure that RS has mics that are UNsatisfactory.

Has anyone had any experience with the RS mic, and if so, have a model number or anything?

[tdukex]

You can buy a Marshall MXL603s or an Oktava MC012 for between $70 - $75 each. Either of these will blow away anything you will find at RS. Don't waste your money.

[Rimshot]

You're probably referring to the Radio Shack 33-3032 instrument mic that was listed in their catalogue for $49.00. It's a copy(?) of the Sennheisser e604. I still own a dozen of these mics that I bought when RS was discontinuing them at $14.95 each. They work fine on rack toms and some hand drums. They are absolutely "God awful" on acoustic guitar, violin,mandolin, voice,bass, cymbals and bells. Some sax and brass players like them. I like them for toms 8",10", 12" and ocassionaly snare. Skin side of doumbek and djembe is good too.
Not good for you. As stated above, lots of other mics in
$50-$100 range will serve you much better than these.

[jfrog]

Originally posted by tdukex
You can buy a Marshall MXL603s or an Oktava MC012 for between $70 - $75 each. Either of these will blow away anything you will find at RS. Don't waste your money.

Thanks for the input. Are the Marshall MXL603s or Oktava MC012 a decent choice for acoustic guitar?

[Bobalou]

yes to both... i use the mc012 for stereo accoustic and drum overs, works well

[tdukex]

Originally posted by jfrog
Thanks for the input. Are the Marshall MXL603s or Oktava MC012 a decent choice for acoustic guitar?

IMO they are both excellent on acoustic guitar. These two mics are very highly regarded by many home recordists and pros alike. I run mine through an M-Audio DMP3 ($200--but I only paid $120). Sweet stereo recordings.