As far as budget, a brand new US 122L, RE20 and XLR mic cable big enough for a dorm room could easily be package dealt with a reasonable sales assistant for $500, and could be done used from eBay for probably even cheaper.
G.
I agree completely. That's why I tried to present the interface solution, because that is how most people do it. It wasn't until recently that the miniaturized card recorder/interface has become a viable option. I do however, believe that the Tascam unit you referenced above is most likely just as incapable of dealing with an SM7 as every other cheap interface in the world, including the unit I recommended. There are a few outboard preamps within the price range that can do it-DMP3, for example. If I wanted to use a mic like RE20 or SM7, on a budget, I'd use that and an upgraded soundcard. While I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that a condenser is *not* better than a dynamic, the limited clean gain of the preamps in most interfaces has a tendency to work well with cheap condensers, and hotter dynamics. That's one of the reasons I still have an AKG D3800 tripower around. (Hmmm- I'll have to try that through the H4n- I haven't tried that).
The point is- you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. The real question is-how do you build a basic recording rig for $500? No matter how you do it, it's not going to be Abbey Road. Preamps and mics, everything, is entry level. I understand the attraction of a mic like RE20, SM7, or MD421. It's a chance to use a mic that is found in every big-name studio on earth. Ha! it's *not* entry level! Your selection, in it's own way, is every bit as valid as mine. However, I do believe the sound-of-dorm-room issue will rear it's ugly head early on, no matter what kind of gear he uses, and if he has the ability to move to a Music Department practice room or radio broadcast room (some universities even have real studios), portability will be a big plus. Yeah, you could haul a DMP-3 around, no problem, it's small. But most laptops won't accomodate real sound cards. Unfortunately, I don't know of a USB interface in the entry-level price range that can produce the gain required by large diaphragm dynamics. So you're back to a desktop, which can take a real souncard. You get to use your cool dynamic, but you lose portability. That's why I like MD421, because it can live with less gain, which will produce less noise. I've used it with a Mobilepre, and they got along pretty well.
I'm also of the general opinion that if we start with entry level gear, it's good to have enough different toys to learn the basics. Here's where we agree, for sure- A dynamic mic is perhaps the most basic tool of a tracking engineer. A stereo pair and a cardioid condenser are almost as basic. SSGlen and I both know that by the day Somelsewhere sees a gold-pressed master in duplication, he will have spent quite a bit more than $500. I think that would cover the copyright fees and mechanical royalties for my first CD. Like him, I just want Somelsewhere to have the tools to learn basic tracking and mixing. Nope, no "my idea is better than yours" here. In fact, I said up front that my version was not the mainstream solution. I think it is cutting edge, though. The micro-recorder is slowly coming of age. I can't wait to see a $3000+ Great River/Microtech Gefell version of
the H4n, 10 years or so from now.
Oh yeah- and that said, I don't know what your major is, Somelsewhere, but if you haven't signed up for any yet, you should consider some 101 level music courses, or higher, if you have the prerequisites. Join the choir. Not only will it improve singing and sightreading, but is a great way to meet some of the best singers on the campus, of both genders. You'd be surprised how many of them do Pop/Rock/Reggae/Emo/Ska,Blues/R&B/Folk/Country or whatever, also. Music theory doesn't hurt (much), really.
The only other really good advice I can give is to always think about the signal chain in reverse. It's not about the end. It's about the beginning. It starts with the song. Then the performance, the instrument, the room, the mic(s), the cables, the preamp(s), the A-D conversion (if any), the recorder/software, the mixing, FX, dynamic processing, mastering, duplication, packaging. Give me a good song, performed well, on a good instrument, in a good room, with cheap mics and pres into shareware, well mixed, and it will always sound better than a bad source, recorded in a cruddy room, with world class gear. Then, mixing and mastering will make or break it. In the end, Somelsewhere, before you see a finished album, you will have spent more time worrying about where to put the mics than you did on what mics they were.
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as it will with an LDD, even if the numbers are not as severe. Either way they've got that basic lesson of recording digitally at reasonable analog levels coming to them pretty quickly.
