I remember Greg_L saying he used a 2020 for vocals, so you can go listen to a bunch of tracks in the MP3 mixing clinic. I haven't heard any of his songs that have acoustic (if there are any).
You mentioned vocals and
acoustic guitar in your first post, and yes, we were all muy confused by the reference to dynamic mics in the thread title.
I think you do want a condenser -- you just need to do something with your room to make it work if it doesn't. If it's a reasonably cluttered living room or bedroom, it might not be too bad (kind of a crap-shoot) -- if it's a small to medium sized, completely empty space with no attention to sound-worthiness, then you have a some to do.
Ideally, I think you want two small diaphragm condensers for the acoustic and one large diaphragm condenser (*or dynamic*) for vocals (and an ambiance track for the acoustic, if you're so inclined).
I know how much the pound is versus the dollar, but I'm not familiar with mic prices in the UK, assuming that's where you are. I remember visiting a strip of music shops that were a few blocks from the British Museum, and thinking, wow -- sure glad I'm not here to buy stuff
If you get a chance to try out some mics, you should -- we all say that and mean it, and should also realize that most people don't have the opportunity, but if you do, take it.
As for recommending the actual mics, I'm afraid to do it -- several different possibilities pop into my head, but I'm thinking about me, not you
. I think of myself as a pretty good
acoustic guitar player and a complete crap vocalist. It always borders on irresponsibility to spout off a bunch of mic models. OK, but here goes -- this is just the ones I know something (however little) about that are probably available to you and sort of fit in your budget. I buy almost all my mics used:
SDCs:
*Naiant X-Qs - really like these, but they're omnis, which precludes my favorite X-Y stereo micing technique, but I still use them quite a bit - very inexpensive. Never tried them for vocals, but I have a X-T that I played with and thought might work. Note that there are other models for sale from Naiant that might be even better. (I buy Naiants new
).
*Shure SM-81 - I use these quite a bit, particularly when I want my acoustic instrument to blend into a mix - two of these would hit your budget pretty hard, and they're really not suitable for vocals, imo.
*Oktava MC/MK 012 (that's either MC or MK) - I use these more and more - I think they color the sound a little, but in a great way. I almost always use them for solo acoustic these days. Never tried one on vocals -- there are some other capsules available that are LDC, but I don't have one. Prices are trending upward, but you may be able to swing two of these.
* AT 4033 - I don't use these that much, but have made some good prominent sounding tracks with them. For the guitar, I'm getting a somewhat similar sound to the 012's, but smoother and with a touch less detail. These are "medium" sized diaphragm mics, and some people use them for vocals, but I think they're too bright, but on the right voice I bet they're good. I was lucky enough to get two for 300 dollars together - I think prices are usually higher.
LDC
* Oktava MK-319 - I've got three of these, one of them modified by Oktavamod - that's my favorite. I modded the other two (details elsewere, but total cost outlay was about $1). I got all three of them each for less than $100, and "stock" - none of them sounded good to begin with, and one (the one I sent to Oktavamod) was unusably awful. Now I use them all the time and like them.
* AT 4040 - pretty good sounding LDC - I have some good tracks with this one -- not bright like the AT4033.
** and if you're a good vocalist with a somewhat powerful voice (unlike me), think about using a dynamic like the ones already mentioned.
OK - I didn't mention a whole bunch of mics that would probably be great choices for you because either 1) I didn't think they were easily available or would probably fall outside your price range, or 2) I don't know anything about them -- there are a lot of mics in category #2
