Cheap mic for Home Recording...

A

AdevaRapper

New member
Hello, friends!
I have a little problem here: I only have 100$ and need to buy a good mic to use it on my PC at home. I have to mention that I need it for rap music. All I want is at least a medium quality... A friend of mine recommended a Shure SM 58, althought it`s made for live singing, he says that I may use it in a home studio?!? What do you suggest (for about 100$)?
10x!
 
with $100, you actually have a few fine choices......

Marshall MXLv93M
Marshall MXLv67G
Studio Projects B1
Marshall MXL990
Shure SM57


Id be ok using all these.....of course with the condensers (all of the above except the sm57) you'll need phantom power.....and all need a preamp......
 
Adeva, do you want the option of using it handheld,
and how good (or bad!:)) is the vocalists's microphone
technique?

Practically speaking, this will narrow it down to live performance
microphones like the Shure SM57, if that's the case.
.
What kind of mic pre and/or mixer are you using right now?

Chris
 
I only want to use it at home on my PC (without mixer hopefully). To record my hip-hop songs. The technique is... evoluating :) Anyway, I need a semi-professional mic. Are you saying that a SM 57 should do da work better than a SM 58 at home? Anyway, I want to get either a Behringer B1 or a SM 58. But do I need a preamp?
 
AdevaRapper said:
I only want to use it at home on my PC (without mixer hopefully). To record my hip-hop songs. The technique is... evoluating :) Anyway, I need a semi-professional mic. Are you saying that a SM 57 should do da work better than a SM 58 at home? Anyway, I want to get either a Behringer B1 or a SM 58. But do I need a preamp?
Click to expand...
Don't get either mic. Get a Studio Projects B1 or maybe a MXL V67. And yes, with all mics you need a preamp. Sometimes preamps are built into things like mixers or soundcards, so you don't always need a standalone preamp, but you always need a preamp.
 
I wouldn't get the Behringer B-1. Honestly, I haven't heard a good thing about it...and much better mics can be gotten for the same amount of money!

Technically you could just get an SM-58 and use the crappy pre-amp that's built into the sound card on your PC, using the "mic" jack with a converter that will go from your standard microphone cable (XLR) to one of those soundcard type 1/8" mini plugs. But trust me, you won't be very happy with the results if you use the built-in pre-amp. They're very noisy, and even with a good mic like the SM-58 your voice won't sound anything like it REALLY does. I guess if you have a bad voice this could be a cool feature, but mostly it sucks!

If you really want to do this for as cheap as possible, you might want to go the eBay route and get a used condenser mic and a cheap preamp that supplies phantom power, which all condenser mics use. I'm not sure if you know, but condenser mics are pretty much the standard for recording, especially vocals. They're also harder to use though, in that they're very sensitive, require better technique, etc. etc. But I think it'd be a worthwhile investment if you're truly dedicated to recording and doing some homework on this site to learn all about it.

I hope that's helpful! :)
 
V67g for hip hop and r&b

I use a V67g for Hip Hop and R&B.

I use my console's micpres.

I have a mp3 of it over in the Clinic.

2 male vox and 1 female.

all the same mic.

Go take a listen to it to get a idea.

Malcolm
 
oh yeah, so I didn't actually suggest a mic! Brain fart!

So, if you're really trying to go cheap, you could get an inexpensive condenser like this one, the Samson C01 Condenser Mic:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2537848927&category=41466

I've heard it's pretty good for the money, and you're not going to find one cheaper than that. You can get them brand new for $50 on eBay! Make sure you look around to find the cheapest shipping, etc. And that leaves you with another $50 to spend on a preamp with phantom power.

Actually, this little gadget would be great for what you're talking about, the ART MicroMix Pre-amp with Phantom Power:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2539143174&category=29950

It's $45 or so, brand new, has phantom power, and is designed to hook up to a PC sound card. It takes regular mic cord inputs, so you wouldn't have to deal with some sort of converter. Just buy a condenser mic, like above, buy a cord, and hook 'em up! You'd also need a cord to go from the pre-amp to the sound card. Note that when using a pre-amp, always hook it up to the sound card input that says "line," NOT the mic one, otherwise you'll be using the crappy card's pre-amps which will distort and degrade the signal.

That's about the best you can do for only $100, from what I've seen.

Good luck!
 
AdevaRapper said:
10x Again...
PS: A Creative SB Live has a preamp incorporated?
Click to expand...

Yup, any card with a "mic" input has a pre-amp of sorts, although surely a bad one. You won't get anything decent out of a pre like that.
 
So, I think I'll buy a mic now and a preamp a bit later. Which one should I choose?

- Shure SM 58
- B1 Studio Projects
- MXL v67
- B1 Behringer?

10x!
 
Please take the advice and get a preamp so you can use the line in rather than the mic in. The built-in preamps on soundblasters are universally disdained. In addition if you are getting a condenser mic you will need phantom power, which the Sounblaster does not have and most mic preamps do. If you don't have phantom power then buying a B1 or V67 you will get about as much sound as singing into a brick.

You still need to answer the question is whether this mic is going to be handheld or on a stand (expect to spend $20 for an economy mic stand). If you are going handheld then condensers are OUT and you should get the SM57. If you are going standmounted then you can go with condensers and the general consensus is that either the B1 or V67 would serve you well.
 
Of the 4 mics you mention - and if indeed you don't want to purchase a mic pre/48v - the SM58 seems like the only logical choice. The other mics need the phantom power.

The SM58 will always have a place in any studio for any number of uses - so you will absolutely get your moneys worth.

However at some point you will find that you want a condensor mic at which point you will also want a mic pre with 48v.
 
Exactly what mikeh said! If you don't buy either a pre or a phantom power box you won't be able to use any of these, other than the SM-58!

Take it from one newbie to another, you WON'T be happy with just the SM-58 just running into your sound card's mic input. You'll be like, "Damn, I sound like that?! I suck!!!" And you'll want to quit recording forever.

Get a cheap, decent pre like either of the ART ones mentioned above, and of the mics you mentioned, I'd go with either the Studio Projects B1 or the MXLv67.
 
I'm a big fan/owner of the Studio Projects B1, however, it costs at least 80% of his budget new.
But...

Just made MAJOR score on e-bay! :)

Got two Shure 545's (comparable to SM57) for only
about $50 in (supposedly) excellent condition (with mic clip), not including shipping.
So...

Adeva, if you want, send me a "PM" (private message),
and you can have one of them for $25 + shipping/insurance,
after I receive/inspect them. It could take about a week and
a half or so for this process. Want to make sure you'd get a
good vocal microphone. We can discuss it more via PM.

This way you could line it up with a decent mic pre like a used
dual mic pre "Audio Buddy", Berhringer UB series mixer, or the
Art mentioned earlier, and stay under/around $100.

Let me know!

Chris
 
Ok, so i have 3 options:
-Shure SM 58 without preamp
-MXL v67 + used preamp
-Studio Projects B1 + used preamp

I want to record my music INSIDE my room.
So, what do you suggest now?
 
Last edited:
AdevaRapper said:
I want to record my music INSIDE my room.
So, what do you suggest now?
Click to expand...

How big is the room? What shape? Ceiling height? What are the walls made of? Is it carpeted? ...there are LOTS of variables! But if you're in a room and not a studio, a dynamic mic like the SM-58 has an advangage in that it dynamics don't pick up much room noise, since they're inherently less sensitive. But again, I doubt you'll be happy with the sound, especially without a pre-amp. I'd still say go with a condenser. All you have to do to minimize room noise is record relatively close to the mic, to increase your signal to "noise" ratio, where here noise is room reflection, maybe some computer noise, etc. Then you can edit out the noise in quiet parts of the tracks if it's a real problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top