Best mics in the 250-350 price range

[dreamon999]

Hey all,

What are the best sounding vocals/acoustic guitar (thats what itll be used for) studio mics in the 200-300 usd price range?

 

[dreamon999]

make that 250-350usd, if it makes much difference

 

[KevinTran]

i own a Studio Project C3 and am very proud of it. You can get one for 350 on ebay. Very clear sounding. Great looking mic. And you get cardiod, omni, or figure 8 modes.

kt

 

[Wide Awake]

Audio Technica 4040 or Rode NT1000. Both are about $300 or a little less new.

 

[DJL]

Hey all,

What are the best sounding vocals/acoustic guitar (thats what itll be used for) studio mics in the 200-300 usd price range?

To be honest, there is no "one best mic" for vocals and acoustic guitars... however, there are a lot of mic's on the market in the $350 and under range that can work very well on vocals and acoustic guitars. With that said... I really like the Marshall MXL603S mic on acoustic instruments and recommand that you make it one of the mic's you should audition for acoustic guitars.

 

[Sir Dingo]

MXL603s (SDC)
MXLV69M - tube mic
MXLV77 - " "
Studio Projets C1/C3
Rode NT2
Rode NTK - Tube mic

Check' em all out. They're all good and have various strengths and weaknesses.

Hope this helps,
Dingo

 

[tubedude]

Dont be overly fooled by the crop of cheapo mics.
The flat out best buy there is in the $300 range is a used Sennheiser MD-441.
It works great on everything except a really quiet source. It has a really low output, and requires a chunk of gain, but dont fall prey to a lesser deal.
Get on ebay, find one, and find happiness. I cant say this enough. I'm not the only person that thinks so. In fact, find a bad word about the 441, anywhere. Smooth, clean, but with character.
Good luck.

 

[Kryogh]

I'll would try to get a Studio Projects C3 too...

 

[Richard Monroe]

It's true that the 441 is a bitchin' dynamic, but as the man said, you need a really good pre to make it shine. The needs of acoustic guitar and vocals are simply not the same, and I would spend the money differently. For vocals, I would grab a Marshall MXL V67G or V67B (same mic, different color) being blown out for $80 or so. For acoustic, I would select Studio Projects B-3. A B-1 would work fine for $80, but for the extra money, the B-3 gives you multipolar capability. Also excellent for guitar would be Marshall MXL603. A matched pair is about $200. This would give you effective mics for a variety of options. To tell you the truth, there are very few mics in your price range that I would use on vox and acoustic, although the closest would be a pair of mid-size diaphragm workhorse mics, AKG C2000B and Audiotechnica 4033. Good luck.-Richie

 

[dreamon999]

Thanks for all the replies guys, given me a lot to think about!

 

[Treeline]

Here's one more...


Try doing an A / B test using a Studio Projects B1. It might surprise you.

 

[still4given]

I own an NT-1000, two MXL 603's, and a SP B1. All work great on acoustic guitar IMO. I like to mix and match them and the blend the two signals together. For my voice, I love the B1. I just keep going back to it. I think the NT 1000 has the edge for acoustic guitar.

Blessings, Terry

 

[DJL]

Thanks for all the replies guys, given me a lot to think about!

The B1 is a nice mic but for just a few more bucks you could get a Marshall MXLV67G, which most singers in my little studio have prefered over the B1. But the B1 is a nice general purpose budget type mic. Then again, the Sennheiser MD441 really is one of the best mic's ever made. Anyway, your going to have to audition some mic(s) to find the one(s) you like... good luck and have fun.

 

[eeldip]

i gotta go with tubedude. read my blue ball thread.

that 441 is one fucking amazing mic.

it is pretty low gain though... but i personally wouldnt worry about it. i would rather have a slightly noisier recording that sounded good than a quiet brittle recording.

get the 441, then build up another $350 and get a used grace pre... oh.. that would be sweet.

or get a pair of 441s and an RNP and you will be king of the world.

 

[Rev E]

Originally posted by tubedude ... The flat out best buy there is in the $300 range is a used Sennheiser MD-441.

I think you mean the "MD 421." The 441 is indeed a great mic, but is quite a bit more than $300. I'd guess the 441 is in the $500 - $650 range. On the other hand, the 421 is $299 all over the net and in stores.

The 421 is no slouch either. It's one of the best, oft-used, and well known dynamic mics. It's a staple of radio stations for DJs and is often used for voiceover work. Depending on the voice (and the preamp) the 421 can be used as a vocal mic. It's also used a lot on drums (kick and toms). I have not found this mic to be useful for guitar, but YMMV.

The 441 is a unique dynamic mic that has a lot of the properties of condenser mics (e.g. fast transient response, high end response). It's also a great vocal mic. For $300, I'd follow Richard Monroe's comments: a Marshall V67 for about $80 as the vocal mic and two Marshall 603s for guitar work for $155 at www.8thstreet.com

This should hold you for a while with reasonably good quality. Plus, you'll have specialist mics rather than having to force a single mic to do things that it may not be best at. Don't let the Marshall price tag fool you, these mics are good mics for the money.

Just my $0.02
Es.

 

[eeldip]

tubedude was talking about the used price, not the new price.

they are very very expensive new, but reasonable used. i got mine for 200 + 25 shipping euros. thanks to george bush's weak dollar policy it ended up being like $280 all together with shipping and conversion.

in strong dollar times... oh man...

 

[Teacher]

Shure SM7...its like the SM57 but better.....meaning it does all the versatile things and sm57 does but just a bit better...you'd have to go on ebay to find used cuz new its 500

 

[jslator]

Shure SM7...its like the SM57 but better.....meaning it does all the versatile things and sm57 does but just a bit better...you'd have to go on ebay to find used cuz new its 500

More like $360 new if you look around.

 

[dreamon999]

Question in between concerning the MXL mics: I can get 2 MXL V69s for a decent price. Whats the big difference between those and the V69G/M (apart from the flash colour obviously ). For the price (about 130usd) I could get those for vocals and try something else for guitar if Im not happy with the way they sound. You people seem pretty positive about MXL mics, so I assume itd be a good buy.

 

[tomleblanc]

The v69 is a LD tube condenser, and I'd be amazed if you could get two for $130! Did you really mean v69 or were you talking about the v67?

The v67g is identical to other v67 models (i.e. v67b), but looks prettier. It's a damn sweet-sounding vocal mic. Not the most versatile mic in the world though; I wouldn't rely on it for guitar.

I'm a big fan of MXL mics. They feel really solidly-built to me, and sound pretty amazing for the money.