$300 for a condenser mic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Juan_M
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Juan_M

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Hello everybody!

I have about $300 to buy a condenser mic. I want to buy it new, not from ebay and my setup is the following:

SONAR 3
M-Audio Firewire 410
Studio Projects VTB-1

I will use for acoustic guitars and vocals. What are your suggestions?
Thanks!

Juan
 
How about an Audio Technica 4033. The Swiss army knife of condensors.
 
I like the 4040..

i also saw that someone was selling an NTK around here or gearslutz...

I know I rave about these mics ofte, but they're the ones I have and I love em.

Jacob
 
Lots of options in that price range that can do the trick admirably...some that I have used and liked at $300 or below:
Rode NT1000: bright but not brittle like the nt1a, responsive, neutral mids
ADK v51: forward in the mids, slightly noisy depending on what version you get
at3035: not too much definition, but also not harsh
at4033: like someone else said, swiss army mic...nice mono acoustic guitar mic
Oktava mk319: ok, but lacking in detail
mxl v67g: my favorite of the mics listed here...strangely colored, but it works

If you go used, you might find an at4050 around that price.
 
Thanks guys! lots of great suggestions! I've been looking at AT 4040 very closely, it looks like a great mic for the price. The 4033 also looks great, specially for $250!! but I've read 4040 is actually better...?
Rode NT1000 also looks great and everyonw has only good things to say about it!
 
Im in the same search for a decent condensor. I have the at3035, but I dont really like it. Will the AT4033 or 4050 be an upgrade (that I can hear)?
I was also looking at the KSM32 or the Baby Bottle (used of course).
ahhhhhhh...I just wish GC would let me demo the damn mics
 
I wouldn't say a 4040 is better, just different from the 4033.
 
cracklin' said:
Im in the same search for a decent condensor. I have the at3035, but I dont really like it. Will the AT4033 or 4050 be an upgrade (that I can hear)?
I was also looking at the KSM32 or the Baby Bottle (used of course).
ahhhhhhh...I just wish GC would let me demo the damn mics
Click to expand...

The 3035 is a different animal than the 4033, but for my money, the 4033 is an upgrade; and the 4050 is an upgrade over both. The bottle is great on some sources and not right on others - probably not an ideal first mic, but excellent to have if you already have something utilitarian.
 
Hey guys!

Thanks all for your suggestions. I finally received an AT4033 today and I'm blown away! It sounds awesome on vocals and acoustic guitar and picks up my room like nothing I've heard before. Thanks so much for the info! I think I picked the right mic :)
 
300 Dollars !!!!

dude dont even spend that much ,you can prob. buy an MXL 990 condenser mic,and it comes with an MXL 991 overhead mic for drums for only 100 dollars .
 
I went through this same thing about a week ago. I was choosing between a CAD m179, AT4040, SE2200a, and M-audio Solaris.

I ended up getting the SE2200a and I'm very happy with it so far. I think I may get the CAD or Solaris soon because I want to play around more with different patterns.

I'm pretty sure I would have been very happy with any of those mics, I think this is probably a good price point for mics of this quality.
 
Sure an MXL 990 & 991 may be cheaper, but you get what you pay for. With something like the AT 4050 you get multiple patterns, and a mush smoother reproduction that may even border on a little dark of a sound, but still retains some high frequency extension. With an MXL990 you will never bea ble to make anything sound naturla unless you put a sock over it to help counter the huge and harsh high frequency bump. Everything through the 990 just "sizzles", and not in the good way. That deosn't mean you should never own one, but lets not kid ourselves and pretend that an MXL 990 is in any way shape or form a good bargain as a main or primary mic. The may be other MXL mics that would fit this bill much better, but any of the Audio Technica 40 series mics in my opinion would be a much better foundation to start with when investing in your first primary go to microphone. Especially the 4050 and 4047.
 
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