As always you hear two sides to each, but which mic should I use, a condenser or a dynamic mic?
I am looking to record acoustic guitar and vocals and need a mic that can do both as good as it can for a cheap price, which leads me to believe that maybe the Shure SM57 would be a good choice, as it is mentioned to be a great well rounded mic, especially for it's price range. However, I've been told that I would need a condenser to get the professional sound I need, which would mean I would need to look all over for a good condenser.
I would like to just jump into getting the SM57 because of it's rep but am hesitant because I am not knowledgeable with this. What difference would a condenser mic make? Should I not just get the SM57?
Since you are serious and concerned about your sound quality, dumbass, (I love that handle - it makes me laugh when I write it in that context - it is useful to avoid knowing when one receives insults) for practice sessions (to check tone quality, and a dozen other qualities that I can't focus on when I'm playing), I have chosen a condenser. I am obviously a dumbass on the clarinet but a large diaphragm condenser is the wisdom most recommended for acoustic instruments generally, and woodwinds especially. A dynamic would be ok if you will always use close miking, within a foot or so. Outside of that range the sound will become thinner - less low mid and bass. Will you be using this mic for mostly live performance or for recording? For practice or performance? For live performance, the characteristics of the dynamic will probably work better for you in more situations because it doesn't pick up other sounds in the room nearly as much as a condenser would. I am going with a condenser mic 1) so that I won't be confined to keeping my instrument in close proximity to the mic; a dynamic picks up mostly what it is pointed at. Clarinet sounds come from the entire instrument, not just from one point like the bell. Similarly the entire guitar generates some portion of the sounds, not just the hole. A condenser is better at picking up the whole package. So unless you want one dynamic pointed at the tone hole, and another pointed at the fret board, one condenser a few feet away will give you more natural sound than one dynamic focused on one part of the instrument - unless you have it a few feet away in which case, again, the sound will thin out. 2) I want to pick up the natural sound of whatever room I am in. A condenser will pick up more of the ambiance of the room - it is logical to me that a condenser will generate the sounds more as the human ear in the room hears things, not focused just on just the source its pointed at - e.g. one part of the guitar.
I am in the process of testing a number of mics, including
the AT2020,
AT2035, the MXL990 Stereo, MCA-SP1, CAD GXL2200, (these have received the best
reviews for my purposes in the lower price range of condensers) and the built in pair on my Tascam DR40 recorder. The Stereo version of the MX990 does give a nice presence and immediacy to the sound, recorded 6 feet away from the instrument. So now I am experimenting with other stereo pairs.
For me the mic hunt is half the fun.