Mic Suggestion

[anaraug]

hello, i'm completely new to recording and i wanted to make my computer able to record as quickly and easily as possible, while still sounding decent. i found this mic , which claims to do just that, but i wanted to know if anyone here has had any experience with it or would suggest something else instead. thanks.

[jonnyc]

Hmmm well if you're willing to sacrifice the quality sound part of your requirements then this mic might do the trick. MXL is an up and coming company that makes cheapo mics but they are decent sounding. However if you're recording directly thru your built in soundcard it'd probably sound like crap even if you had a U87. If all you're trying to do is get ideas down then I'd say go this route if you really want to produce something to show off to people then you may want to look at upgrading all the way around.

[anaraug]

Originally Posted by jonnyc

However if you're recording directly thru your built in soundcard it'd probably sound like crap even if you had a U87.

I built my computer myself, but not with recording in mind. I have a Creative Audigy2 ZS sound card, so its excellent for playback, but I don't know a thing about its recording capabilites.

Are there special soundcards for recording that I could add so that I could get good quality that way?

[jonnyc]

I have the exact soundcard in my older pc, its horrible for recording. At first I argued with the guy at guitar center, he kept telling me my soundcard was crap and I kept telling him its the best out, and it is for games but thats about it. Ok I take back the horrible thing, its not as bad as built in cards but its still not close to ideal for recording, plus I've heard there are issues with not being able to live up the the promised 24/96 samplerate. Look at upgrading soundcards even if it isn't in the budget now put it in and start saving creative does make recording specific cards but they aren't audigy cards they're E-mu I believe. One huge thing to remember when you're buying gear, everything in your recording chain makes a difference. If you have a great soundcard, great preamps and a great mic, chances are you get a great recording. If one of those items isn't good/great then you are pulling down the better items closer to its level. Now you can get a good sound with what you have you just need to be amazingly talented.

[anaraug]

thanks. i'm really not planning on upgrading soundcards, at least yet. so i guess i should get this mic since even though it isn't the best out, it'll be convienent and still won't be the weakest link in the chain, unless i find something better.

[treymonfauntre]

what are you planning on recording? i think you'll be fine if you just plan on recording 1 track at a time and its just stuff like acoustic guitar and vocals. it won't work very well on a guitar amp. the thing about condenser mics is they are astoundingly sensitive.. if you plug one in and put on headphones you'll hear the air coming off your fan blades and the hair on your arms moving as a result of it. if you've got 99 bucks to blow as an experiment in recording go with it, that mic is by no means garbage.

[anaraug]

i actually was hoping to use it with a guitar amp some. i seriously know nothing about what kind of mic to get but i was hoping for something that would work with pretty much anything. i know i'll be using it with electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, trumpet, and euphonium, but possibly other things as well.

[tdukex]

So, what are you going to use for a preamp?

[anaraug]

Originally Posted by tdukex

So, what are you going to use for a preamp?

i was under the impression that the mic i linked to came with one, since the description claims that it has everything you need to stick into a computer and record junk, but idk.