Good Starter Set, Help?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Largeman
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Largeman

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Hey there,

I'm looking to finally start recording on my own (been using my schools equipment for some time) and I have a solid budget to work with (around $2000 dollars). I need some help picking out what I should get. Remember this is a starter set so i need to spread my money around. Here's what I got so far.

Shure DMK57-52 ($400)

Essentially a 3 pack of SM-57s and a Beta52A

Rode NT1-A-MP ($549)

A matched pair of Rode NT1-As

I want 2 SM57s just for general use. I figured that I could get a good deal buying the drum kit. However if I will be using the Rode's for Overhead's I'm not sure if i'll need that third SM57 if i already had kick, tom, snare and overheads.

Main questions are

1) How good is the Beta 52A Kick mic?
2) Should i just get 2 SM57s and get another type of mic for the kick? (or just another SM57?)
3) Is it worth it to spend the extra $100 on the Rodes to make them a matched pair? Or should i just buy 2 of them individually?

-Charlie

I also posted a topic on the MOTU 8pre I am considering buying. If you have any comment on that feel free to comment on that thread as well.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?p=3464898#post3464898
 
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Hey Charlie ....welcome
Before you go all nuts and spend all your money do consider the fact that most of the microphones I own I purchased used.

Once you have decided on what you want, get them used.

Used microphones come up for sale here all of the time. Under free ads just 2 days ago the microphones that you mention were for sale but are now sold.

You could post what your looking for. I imagine that would be fine as well.





:cool:
 
Before you go all nuts and spend all your money do consider the fact that most of the microphones I own I purchased used.
Click to expand...
Yep!
And he's snapped up every decent mic here for the last month. :drunk:
Under free ads just 2 days ago the microphones that you mention were for sale but are now sold.
Click to expand...
And who bought them? :eek:
 
Jim Lad said:
Yep!
And he's snapped up every decent mic here for the last month. :drunk:

And who bought them? :eek:
Click to expand...

Yup... I have gotten some smokin' deals on some great microphones! :D

I didn't get the 52 and the 57s.
My inventory of 57s alone are 23 plus 2 broken ones ---- need them for I have multiple live rigs that go out every week!




:cool:
 
Thanks for the link to that drum recording post, and the used suggestion xD

Do you have any comments on the mics in particular? Or the setup I want to use?

Are the Rode's as good as people say they are for their price?

How good is the Beta52A?

If I'm going to use the Rodes as overheads is getting them in a matched pair important?

Are there any alternative mics you would suggest?

Thanks xD
 
The Beta 52a is a fine choice for kick. Not my personal choice, but it's more flexible than the Audix D6, which is what I prefer (I have an extra, actually, if you are interested in buying used). I assume you're using the NT1as for overheads since you're getting a matched pair. Shure's SM81s are also popular choices for that application. I have the Audix ADX51, which works at least as well. I don't think I'd get the full Shure drum kit, though. I haven't found SM57s to be particularly useful for anything. I have the Audix pack (in case you couldn't tell by now) and have found the i5 to be much better suited for snare (it's got better high-end response) and the D2 and D4 better suited for toms (for similar reasons). 57s are kind of dull. You could also check out some of Sennheiser's offerings, but I haven't tried those. The only potentially negative thing about the Audix mics is that Audix advertises them as "pre-EQed," meaning that they are not necessarily the best choice for all styles of music, but for any style where I would mic the toms, I don't see why I'd bother using anything else. Kick I can see using something else, but it works great for rock or metal.
 
Thanks bigcheese. Thats the kind of thing I was looking for.

My biggest problem with the Audix set (which looks really good from what I can tell) is that it seems it's soley for drums.

One of the reasons I want the Shure 57-52 set is that because it uses 57s I can use those for everything. If I go with the Audix set I'm still stuck with one one general purpose mic, instead of three.

The ADX51 does have the bass rolloff and 10dB switch which is really nice, the Rodes don't have those. They don't seem to come in a matched pair, but from what I've been researching that's not as big of a deal now-a-days (as long as you buy the 2x single mics at the same time from the same vendor)

Edit: From what I've been reading online it seems that the Audix set is great for micing drums, and thats about it (the i5 included). I might go ahead and buy the set for my drum kit. If I add 1-2 SM57s onto the top of that mix for general use I would be pretty happy. The only obstacle with this plan is cost. It's bumping up my plan for a starter set up mics almost $450 dollars.

If worse comes to worse I'll be going with the Shure set, but I definatley like the Audix set and will keep it in mind for future purposes.

Final problem is deciding between the ADX51s and the NT1-As. Once i figure that out I think i'll be ready to make my purchase.

Thanks alot for the suggestions guys. Was a big help.

-Charlie
 
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