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Big Kenny
New member
and I'm the Queen of Sheba
Chili
Site Moderator
Well, considering where Sheba is historically located.... you're in the right neighborhood. (Being a mod, I have access to a little more info that gives me reason to believe he's legit.)
Dogbreath
Im an ex-spurt
And just to throw another mic option out there.
V67G...goes for around $100
good mic for the bux.
You'll need phantom power.
I like cake.
And cheese.
V67G...goes for around $100
good mic for the bux.
You'll need phantom power.
I like cake.
And cheese.
mshilarious
Banned
Guys, we need to chill on the newbies. I know there have been a couple of bad newb threads lately, I was in the thick of one of them. I know that after three or six or nine years, some of you are tired of answering the $100 mic question. Just move on and don't post on the thread then. This is a newb-friendly board. Please, let's not have to have us constantly moderate the board to make it safe for newbs.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Shadow_7
New member
Well I've been called anass and I'm probably the nicest guy from a certain city/state you'll ever meet. It's all relative, not that I'm related.
$100 is about what my mic CABLES costs before taxes. Gotta love retail. SM58, it has a metal windscreen so you shouldn't need a pop filter for it. Audacity can record. Although to make it sound pro you have to do something other than just record. Although it'll probably sound just as pro as pro on a $10 clock radio, so even that is relative.
darrin_h2000
Banned
Wanna buy a few cables?
Shadow_7
New member
Well my 25' mogami quad cores were about $55 each at GC. With a stereo pair, I needed two. I am in the market for some 10'-ers with special shielded connectors. Not that I find myself in proximity of a radio tower much, but it's damn annoying when I am. Plus I've read that anything past 20' has a noticeable degredation to the signal. And I'm looking to marry my video gear with my audio gear soon, so 10' should be more than enough. I figure 3'+ for elevation / boom poles, plus 3'+ down to the field recorder in man purse, plus some slack for rigging. Or if I put the field recorder on the ground, or other "options". Given a choice between the 9' or 12' at GC, I'd probably go with the 12'. But their inventory / selection is dodgy at best. And most of the GC staff seem a bit brain dead.
darrin_h2000
Banned
I am in the same situation...Im running Liquid7 on my DAW computer.
I have 2 Monster cables that came free with some mics I bought and 2 mogamis that I bought at a garage sale for $2 total...half a spool of Mogami that I won at an auction for $8...so Ive spent less than you have on one cable but my entire studio has been rewired with the stuff...the ends costed me a few smackers but I can make a good cable.
I have 2 Monster cables that came free with some mics I bought and 2 mogamis that I bought at a garage sale for $2 total...half a spool of Mogami that I won at an auction for $8...so Ive spent less than you have on one cable but my entire studio has been rewired with the stuff...the ends costed me a few smackers but I can make a good cable.
Jim Lad
New member
Hey Anass:
I joined this site just over a year ago when a newby just like yourself asked the exact same question and was given the exact same treatment as you were.
I messaged the individual with some encouragement and suggestions of my own and have not returned to or posted on this site since.
At the invitation of one of the more respected members here, I'm back but this time I will offer my help via the thread rather than private messaging.
I'm not a fan of Shures but that's just me.
One of the others suggested an AKG Perception. I have the AKG Perception 100 and would highly recommend any AKG Perception model as a first microphone. By the time you have recorded one album, you will know what you like and dislike about it and in turn, know what to buy next.
Second choice would be any of these Behringers. B1, C1, & C3.
These are all condenser mics and all have their strengths and weaknesses.
For your instrument, go with the Behringer C2 pencil mics/matched pair. ($79 US) They are about the best deal on any microphone and will serve you well.
I like the M Audio, Fast Track Pro (Audio Interface) for starting out. It has 2 inputs as well as every other feature you'll need but haven't heard of yet.
DAW... Download Kristal Audio Engine (It's free and will get you started) and immediately join their forum. I know many of the members. They are extremely friendly and helpful. Before you join them however, CHANGE YOUR NAME!
That's part of the reason this thread turned sour but only part.
Good Luck!
I joined this site just over a year ago when a newby just like yourself asked the exact same question and was given the exact same treatment as you were.
I messaged the individual with some encouragement and suggestions of my own and have not returned to or posted on this site since.
At the invitation of one of the more respected members here, I'm back but this time I will offer my help via the thread rather than private messaging.
I'm not a fan of Shures but that's just me.
One of the others suggested an AKG Perception. I have the AKG Perception 100 and would highly recommend any AKG Perception model as a first microphone. By the time you have recorded one album, you will know what you like and dislike about it and in turn, know what to buy next.
Second choice would be any of these Behringers. B1, C1, & C3.
These are all condenser mics and all have their strengths and weaknesses.
For your instrument, go with the Behringer C2 pencil mics/matched pair. ($79 US) They are about the best deal on any microphone and will serve you well.
I like the M Audio, Fast Track Pro (Audio Interface) for starting out. It has 2 inputs as well as every other feature you'll need but haven't heard of yet.
DAW... Download Kristal Audio Engine (It's free and will get you started) and immediately join their forum. I know many of the members. They are extremely friendly and helpful. Before you join them however, CHANGE YOUR NAME!
That's part of the reason this thread turned sour but only part.
Good Luck!
mshilarious
Banned
That's not true. If it were true, why would you need to read about it? You should be able to hear it easily. Any cable effect must vary with the length of the cable. Indeed, cable capacitance does. But 20' is far too short to matter with low-impedance professional microphones.
Try this very simple test: take every cable you have but the shortest and chain them together, plug them into one channel of a stereo preamp. Plug the shortest into the other channel. Connect to a pair of mics. Record a source (preferably at 96kHz), then swap the mics and record again.
HF rolloff due to cable capacitance will be readily evident as a 6dB/octave drop above the corner frequency. What is your measured corner frequency (-3dB point)? Is it below 40kHz? How long is your daisy-chained cable?
Can you measure any difference in interference? If so, how are the cable connector shells wired? Terminated to ground or not? For a single cable it usually doesn't matter, because the mic will tie pin 1 to chassis and the preamp should too. But when you chain cables, if the cable doesn't tie pin 1 to chassis then you have a short length of unshielded cable. A minute with a soldering iron will fix that (if you daisy-chain in actual use).
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Big Kenny
New member
okay, sorry, I am not the queen.......I am the Duke, and not of Sheba.........
get a Beta 58, they just always sound good
get a Beta 58, they just always sound good
Jim Lad
New member
Interesting read. I have allowed my set up to be dictated by the length of my cables and have strictly adhered to the 20' rule. In fact, when I'm using the audio interface, every cable is 10'.
Maybe a decent snake is a worthwhile purchase after all.
Shadow_7
New member
I only have 3 XLR cables. One radio shack and two mogami. All 25', so no way to compare / test just yet. The TRP does have some high impedance which is supposed to be for longer cable runs. And other mentions that cable length does matter. I don't imagine that it's much of a difference, but I do believe that there will be a difference. Perhaps only for the battery life of my field recorder. And perhaps a bigger difference with phantom powered mics. I don't really know since I don't have the gene pool of gear to test it.
I mainly got 25' because the math seems to suggest 6' up to the mic from the floor, 3' up to the daw from the floor plus enough slack to put some distance between the two. Plus 25' is the minimum length to go to the opposite side of the room while hugging the wall. When I was recording on a laptop with an interface that needed a plug to record longer than 30 minutes, 25' was too short when the only wall with a plug was on the wrong side of the ensemble.
As far as mics, SM58, learn it, love it, and figure out where to go from there based on what you don't love about it. $100 stereo pair for the C2's? I might have to check those out. It might prove useful / sacrificial when recording at sleazy bars or in the rain.
darrin_h2000
Banned
I havent recorded in a "sleazy" bar yet...but If I had to Id simply run cables out of line outs on the mains mixer using adapters
darrin_h2000
Banned
Hmmm...The perception and AT20 series...along with the PG Shures are aimed with marketing to the Home hobbiest in mind...none of them are up to par with the full line pro mics from those manufacurers...but the good news is that because of the economy alot of the good mics especially the AT40 series can be had used for about the same price as those new...theres no reason to settle for mics they cut corners on.
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
The point of mshilarous's post was that there is no need to test. You will not detect a difference, nor will it affect the battery life of your field recorder.
The AKG's are okay . . . you won't suffer from using them either. However, as Darren notes, if you do a bit of scavenging, you can usually find normally higher-priced mikes at very attractive prices.
lollygagger8
New member
To the OP: Check out the Nady RSM-4 Ribbon Mic. Remove the inner mesh. Very good and "real sounding" for $80. I used to bash on chinese crap, but this mic really surprised me when I borrowed it from a friend. No I have two coming, and I'm going to get rid of the inner mesh, and change out the transformer.
But with ribbon's, you have to be careful with them.
If you are only using your $100 mic for vocals (whichever you choose) the SM57 or SM58 are always good choices.
Always use a pop filter for vocals.
But with ribbon's, you have to be careful with them.
If you are only using your $100 mic for vocals (whichever you choose) the SM57 or SM58 are always good choices.
Always use a pop filter for vocals.
darrin_h2000
Banned
They have one at a local pawn shop for $100...and it didnt even work.
Try Craigslist...I just bought 2 beyerdynamics an M69 and an M88 for $100...and he threw in a free cable to sweeten the deal...the combo costs $750 new.
Jim Lad
New member
I'm into Nady. Great mics but really touchy for a beginner.
I found the RSM 4 a bit dark. (Passed it along to a friend)
The RSM 5 astounding
and the RSM 2 better still but all requiring a touch more gain than the most interfaces have to offer.
The AKG Perception, like any other mic under $100, is not going to be your go to mic forever. I thought I had made that point but any 1" dia Condenser mic in that price range is still a good place to start. I choose AKG for the quality. The C1000S has been my live, vocal mic for 10 years and never a problem so AKG has basically won my loyalty.
I found the RSM 4 a bit dark. (Passed it along to a friend)
The RSM 5 astounding
and the RSM 2 better still but all requiring a touch more gain than the most interfaces have to offer.
The AKG Perception, like any other mic under $100, is not going to be your go to mic forever. I thought I had made that point but any 1" dia Condenser mic in that price range is still a good place to start. I choose AKG for the quality. The C1000S has been my live, vocal mic for 10 years and never a problem so AKG has basically won my loyalty.
PhilGood
Juice box hero
So, does this mean I can't recommend everything at The Shack for best mic under $100?
