October

[7string]

Ok, October is coming. Every year it prooves to be my busiest month. This means money. Which translates into GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)!!!

So I'm looking to pick up some mics and a pre or two. I am looking at the following mics:

Shure SM57 - a must have!
Rode NT-1A - I know pretty much what you guys and gals think of this one.
MXL V63M
MXL 992
MXL 993
MXL 990
MXL 991
AT4040
AT 2020

I'm looking to pick up some mics for different situations. The mic's will be used to record "spoken" vocal, singing and recording acoustic guitar. Of course I'm not looking for one mic to do it all. So if anybody can recommend something on this list (or something NOT on the list) I'd be appreciative!

Thanks!

Oh, and recommend some pre's please!

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Hey 7, haven't seen you in a while, good to see you again.

You have a whole bunch of MXLs on you list. Might I recommend that you remove the NT1A. I'm not just dumping on that mic, I own 2 original NT1s and they have their rightful place in my collection. Just hear me out. I'd recommend removing the NT1A and one of the $99 MXLs and instead of those two, upgrade to a single MXL V69. A much smoother-sound mic than the NT1A in my book, and much better then it's little-brother MXLs.

Other than that, the AT 4040 is a great choice. In $99 mics I'd personally take the 2020 over the competing MXL.

I don't know what you already have in your collection or how much money Rocktober actually means to you but if you got room for a mic in the next price range up, there are a couple of models I'd like to throw in this mix that are cornerstone mics in many pro collections but often ignored by many home recordists, and that just a shame: Sennheiser 421 and ElectroVoice RE-20. At $349 and $399 new, respectively, thay are a step up in price level, but they are very versatile mics useful an many different situations from kick to guitar cabs to saxaphone to vocals, and they have good sounds to them. One can definitely get more than their money's worth out of either of those. And at the same time your mix won't sound like all 57s and Chinese condensors like 90% of the rest of our fellow home recordist products do .

G.

[MadAudio]

I agree with SSG about the NT1A and the V69. I have both and I much prefer the V69.

[7string]

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

Hey 7, haven't seen you in a while, good to see you again.

Hey G! I've been pretty busy since Mom passed in May. Plus getting married has a lot to do with it too.

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

You have a whole bunch of MXLs on you list. Might I recommend that you remove the NT1A. I'm not just dumping on that mic, I own 2 original NT1s and they have their rightful place in my collection. Just hear me out. I'd recommend removing the NT1A and one of the $99 MXLs and instead of those two, upgrade to a single MXL V69. A much smoother-sound mic than the NT1A in my book, and much better then it's little-brother MXLs.

Other than that, the AT 4040 is a great choice. In $99 mics I'd personally take the 2020 over the competing MXL.

I'm not just looking at $99 mic's. I'm actually looking in the 100 - 200 dollar range. I did a search and the consensus seems to be to avoid the Rode so that's out. And I hear a LOT of comments on the V69. Now, where the hell do you get one????

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

I don't know what you already have in your collection or how much money Rocktober actually means to you but if you got room for a mic in the next price range up, there are a couple of models I'd like to throw in this mix that are cornerstone mics in many pro collections but often ignored by many home recordists, and that just a shame: Sennheiser 421 and ElectroVoice RE-20. At $349 and $399 new, respectively, thay are a step up in price level, but they are very versatile mics useful an many different situations from kick to guitar cabs to saxaphone to vocals, and they have good sounds to them. One can definitely get more than their money's worth out of either of those. And at the same time your mix won't sound like all 57s and Chinese condensors like 90% of the rest of our fellow home recordist products do .

G.

I don't have much in my collection right now. I'm just looking for a good mic to record my voice when I do my voiceover work (right now I am using an MXL V57M for that), one to record vocals for my songs and one to record my acoustic guitar. And it doesn't have to be the same mic. I'm wanting to buy two or three.

Thanks, G! Any suggestions on pre's?

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Originally Posted by 7string

Hey G! I've been pretty busy since Mom passed in May. Plus getting married has a lot to do with it too.

Oh, sorry about you mom. I know she was in trouble the last time we talked. At least the hard misery is over. On the plus side, congrats on the marriage! Very cool. Oh, wait...you just replaced one woman in your life with another...maybe I spoke too soon... (j/k).

Originally Posted by 7string

And I hear a LOT of comments on the V69. Now, where the hell do you get one????

zZounds has 'em, so does SameDayMusic and Dolphin Music. Sweetwater does not carry MXL at all, and for some reason though MusiciansFriend does, they don't have the V69 listed.

Originally Posted by 7string

Any suggestions on pre's?

Depends. I could suggest preamp stuff from $149 to $3950 . What'cha got now for pres and how much you willing to drop for more of em?

G.

[7string]

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

Oh, sorry about you mom. I know she was in trouble the last time we talked. At least the hard misery is over. On the plus side, congrats on the marriage! Very cool. Oh, wait...you just replaced one woman in your life with another...maybe I spoke too soon... (j/k).

Thanks for the condolences and I can get you from here ya know! And if I don't, Theresa will. hahaha

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

zZounds has 'em, so does SameDayMusic and Dolphin Music. Sweetwater does not carry MXL at all, and for some reason though MusiciansFriend does, they don't have the V69 listed.Depends. I could suggest preamp stuff from $149 to $3950 . What'cha got now for pres and how much you willing to drop for more of em?

G.

Yeah, I was looking through Musician's Friend and couldn't find it either and just got the new catalog yesterday. I'll check some of the places you mentioned. Thanks for the info. As far as pre's, I'm pretty much in the same price range. I'm thinking I'll get 3 mic's and a decent pre. The rest of Octo-money is going toward our property and a greenhouse for the wife.

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Originally Posted by 7string

As far as pre's, I'm pretty much in the same price range. I'm thinking I'll get 3 mic's and a decent pre. The rest of Octo-money is going toward our property and a greenhouse for the wife.

A few suggestions to look at in order of price, most to least...

Focusrite Trackmaster Pro. Actually more of a channel strip based upon one of their Green-series preamps. Pre, optical comp, DI and partial EQ in 1U. About the least expensive way to get a Focusrite pre in your chain. Pretty nice for the price, though I'd probably bypass the EQ most of the time and use the comp only if it gave me the right color for the mic I'm using. The pre/DI combo is nice too.

ART DPS-II. 2-ch tube pre with variable impedance dialing and digital outs along with the standard analog outs. Possibly my pick of the three here, though it's hard for me to pass up even the cheap Focusrites at this price level.

PreSonus Blue Tube. 2-ch tube pre for the budget-minded. I'm not much of a Presonus fan myself, but for $99/channel, one could do a lot worse than this box. But if you could afford the extra fifty to a hundred bucks for either the ART for the Focusrite, I think with that V69 in a decent room you'd definitely hear that much of a difference.

IMHO and all that jazz.

G.

[7string]

Hey G! What about the V63M? Would that be a good enough mic for straight voice? Not singing but speaking? Just curious about your opinion on this one.

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Originally Posted by 7string

Hey G! What about the V63M? Would that be a good enough mic for straight voice? Not singing but speaking? Just curious about your opinion on this one.

7,

Sorry, but I have no first-hand experience with the V63, so I really can't give any extremely meaningful comment on that one. My only impression is that I'd be real suspicious of the quality and quality control on the capsule of any $70-$80 LDC.

The closest I could come would be the AT2020, which at $100 is not bad mic for the price, but it certainly does not match the quality of what one might expect based upon the expections and reputation of LDCs in general.

To be fair, though, I'd open up this question to anybody who has actually used a V63M to give a more reliable answer than I can.

G.

[7string]

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

7,

Sorry, but I have no first-hand experience with the V63, so I really can't give any extremely meaningful comment on that one. My only impression is that I'd be real suspicious of the quality and quality control on the capsule of any $70-$80 LDC.

The closest I could come would be the AT2020, which at $100 is not bad mic for the price, but it certainly does not match the quality of what one might expect based upon the expections and reputation of LDCs in general.

To be fair, though, I'd open up this question to anybody who has actually used a V63M to give a more reliable answer than I can.

G.

Thanks G!

Anyone?