First microphone purchase

A

apj

New member
Alright I have basically two questions here:

I have very limited mic knowledge. I went into Tom Lee the other weekend and was looking at getting a single sm 58 for recording. The sales guy led me to this Se electronics 1000a condenser mic he said would work better for recording if only using a single microphone. Well it turns out my fast track USB does not have phantom power so that is not working. I am aware that you can get the phantom power boxes but I guess now I'm wondering what's a better route to go. I've read that condenser mics can distort with loud drums and guitar, is this true?

Would I be better off getting a sm58 if only using a single mic or what is going to work better. Also, is there any way with the fast track USB to plug in more than a single microphone through an adapter or something. If not what would be the cheapest way to do that? Thanks.
 
A few things.
1)I like Tom Lee but Long & McQuade are more reasonably priced and have about the same or slightly better selection as well as some second hand gear.
2)The Fast Track USB is M Audio's only bad interface. It won't do at all. I'd move up to the Fast Track Pro.
3) Where are you? (City)
 
You could try a different interface. M-Audio Mobile Pre has phantom and TWO channels. Runs about $80 - $100 used on craigslist. At one time I actually had two of them.
 
I'm in Vancouver. Yeah I was worried I would have to get a different interface, there's no way I can get that one to work with more than one mic I guess hey.

At this point I'm thinking of taking the condenser mic back, from reading a bit more it seems it's not what I want. Are they really that sensitive to distortion when recording loud drums or guitar?
 
I don't think condensers are necessarily more vulnerable to distortion (in the mic) than dynamics - you have to look the max SPL handling capability of the particular mic. There could be a trend that dynamics have a higher rating, but I know there are plenty of condensers that can stand very loud noises.

I know there's a trend that condensers have a higher *output* than dynamics, so even if the mic is doing fine with a loud source, it may be putting out a signal that's hot enough to push the next element in the signal chain (the preamp) into clip-land and you'd get distortion at that point. That can be handled with a "pad" either on the mic or the preamp, or inserted in-line.

No comments on any of the mentioned interfaces since I've never used them. Note this, though -- many bus powered interfaces I've used don't supply a full 48 volts of phantom power, so having a good inline phantom power supply handy isn't necessarily a bad thing. The flip side of that is that most condenser mics I've used don't actually require the full 48 volts, so it's not a big deal (I have a couple that do, though, and if I want to use them directly with my bus powered interface, I have to use an inline supply, even though interface claims to supply phantom power - if I don't the mics sound awful).
 
Depends on the SPL rating. And if you're overloading the interface with too much gain. As long as the SPL rating is 135dB or higher you should be mostly safe. 125dB or lower (sans pad), danger zone (with proximity). You can always mitigate some of that with distance and placement. And there's attenuation options too. You probably don't want to record with the amp on 11 anyway.
 
I'm over on the island.
That Fast Track USB wont do at all and will be the root of all of your problems.
You really should step up to something that supports ASIO.
 
Yo apj! You seriously have the cart before the horse. You are talking about tools without first defining the job. I can sell you a great hacksaw, but if you need a hammer, you will be seriously screwed. Let's start with this- What exactly are you trying to record, where are you trying to record it, and what do you intend to do with the recording?.

If you are doing live recording of a band in a club, that is a whole different ball game than recording a band practice in your garage. That is different from recording a demo with the instruments added one or two at a time. Jim Lad's impression is probably correct, but until you tell us what you are trying to do, we can't possibly tell you how to do it.

Next, what is your budget, and what do you already own? It makes a huge difference if you already own mic stands, cables, a mixer, etc. Once we know what you are trying to do, what you intend to do with the finished recording, what you already have, and what you can afford to spend, our solutions will get a lot more useful.-Richie
 
Richard Monroe said:
Yo apj! You seriously have the cart before the horse. You are talking about tools without first defining the job. I can sell you a great hacksaw, but if you need a hammer, you will be seriously screwed. Let's start with this- What exactly are you trying to record, where are you trying to record it, and what do you intend to do with the recording?.

If you are doing live recording of a band in a club, that is a whole different ball game than recording a band practice in your garage. That is different from recording a demo with the instruments added one or two at a time. Jim Lad's impression is probably correct, but until you tell us what you are trying to do, we can't possibly tell you how to do it.

Next, what is your budget, and what do you already own? It makes a huge difference if you already own mic stands, cables, a mixer, etc. Once we know what you are trying to do, what you intend to do with the finished recording, what you already have, and what you can afford to spend, our solutions will get a lot more useful.-Richie
Click to expand...

Haha yeah you really did sum it up. I've done recordings both in studio and DIY before. Basically I'm looking to just record songs, but recording everything separately (drums, guitar, bass, vocals, maybe keys). I originally was planning on getting a single sm 57 or 58 and starting to build a collection from there. The guy at the music store mentioned that condenser mics were good for what I was wanting to do (trying to capture drums with a single mic at least for now) so that what drove me to that. Basically I'm trying not to spend a ton. I have a few different interfaces and recording software right now, that is basically it. I've done really good recordings before with a single mic just by letting the room do the work so I feel I can do that again, just wondering what the best equipment is for that sort of thing, if the condenser is the way to go or if I should get one or two dynamic mics and go from there.
 
Jim Lad said:
I'm over on the island.
That Fast Track USB wont do at all and will be the root of all of your problems.
You really should step up to something that supports ASIO.
Click to expand...


Sorry what is ASIO? Yeah, I know the fast track is a quite a remedial product. I plan on slowly upgrading things right now I'm basically thinking of getting at least 1 or 2 quality mics.
 
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