best condenser mic?

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ltwrestler

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Hey just looking into condenser microphones and wondering what has worked well for others. Willing to spend 500-600 dollars for one, but if a 300 dollar one does the job just fine that's preferred. Just have no idea how to differentiate between them except by the price tag.
 
Er, it depends on what "the job" is. There's no "best" condenser mic, they all have strengths and weaknesses and the choice very much depends on the range of things you want to record.

Unless you always record exactly the same thing, it occurs to me that with a budget of $600, I'd probably spend $300 on an LDC and the other $300 on a pair of SDC...it would give a lot more flexibility.
 
maybe I should have posted this in the noob section lol, but I have a SM58 and a SM57 and those work alright, but aren't giving me the good full sound I'm looking for. So are the two mics I have SDC? I don't really know what SDC and LDC is (googling it now), but the main thing that I want is something that will get a good full warm sound from acoustic guitar and vocals similar to Jack Johnson. I was going to use my SM mics for recording amps... again I'm not a pro and I just make do with what I have, but for some reason have the impression that a compression mic will be worth the money if it can get the sound I'm looking for.
 
I don't have much experience either, but if you're looking for something around 300 USD then you might do what I did and get an SE2200a. I have one and I am happy with it for now. In addition I got a pair of SDC. A 3 mic approach to recording acoustic guitar (SDC) and vocals (LDC) seems to me to be a good choice. Also it brings you lots of opportunities to tweak the sound compared to a 1 mic approach (for instance more reverb on vocals than guitar, EQ, different compression rates etc)
 
maybe I should have posted this in the noob section lol, but I have a SM58 and a SM57 and those work alright, but aren't giving me the good full sound I'm looking for. So are the two mics I have SDC?

No. The SM57 and SM58 are dynamic mics. A dynamic mic works by attaching a diaphragm to the a coil of wire which is moved (by the sound waves) in the field of a permanent magnet generating small amounts of electric current.

SDC stands for "small diaphragn condenser". Condenser is another type of microphone where the diaphragm moved by the sound waves is one plate of an electrical device called a capacitor which is charged by the provision of an electrical current (hence the need for phantom power on condensers). Since the condenser doesn't have to generate electricity, just modify it, they tend to be able to respond to much more subtle sounds. (There's a subset of condenser mic called an electret mic btw, but they are much closer to condenser than dynamic in how they work.)

LDC stands for "large diaphragm condenser" by the way. These tend to be those nice big studio mics like you always see in pictures. SDC mics tend to have diaphragms around a half inch in diameter and are great a producing detail. LDC mics tend to have a diaphragm around an inch (or more) across and often give a "warmer" sound while still preserving detail and accuracy.

However, dynamic mics are usually much more robust. Although they generally lack the detail a condenser can give, on some sound sources this can be a genuine advantage. For example, a lot of radio studios use dynamic mics for the cliche "announcer sound" where warmth and resonance are valued. Dynamics can generally also take much higher sound levels--for example your plan to use them on a guitar cab is an excellent use.

(By the way, a third main type of mic is a "ribbon mic" but, as we're not talking about these, I'll let you do your own Googling :) )
 
thank you for the quick lesson! I think I'll end up getting two SDC and an LDC like dainbramage mentioned. And sorry for posting this in voice, should have been in the microphones section. :face palm:
 
The SM57 and SM58 are awesome live performance mics. They're tough and reliable. They are not immune to feedback but they are somewhat resistant to it. Don't ever lose them.

However, they don't really have the frequency response for studio work. The 57 is more of an instrument mic than a vocal mic but it still has about the same freq response as the 58. For general studio work, if you like Shure, check out the KSM32 or the KSM44. Might be a little over the top but its a starting point.
 
On my Soundclick link below
- Heartbreaker = Rode NTK
- Nothing Longer = Maudio Sputnik
There are some examples - note they are processed with compression and reverb but it should give you an idea.
 
On my Soundclick link below
- Heartbreaker = Rode NTK
- Nothing Longer = Maudio Sputnik
There are some examples - note they are processed with compression and reverb but it should give you an idea.

Nice work
 
Everyone hit it on the head depends what kind of sound you want and what your doing around that price range all the mics i've seen named are good to add to it i use the akg c214 ldc mic gives off that warmth if thats what your looking for around the 350-4 range depending where you buy from but research an more research will get you where you want make a top 5 list an process of elimination is the way to go depending on what you want to do.
 
Im in love with my neumann tlm 102... its just above your 600 price, just make sure your interface has phantom power and get a pop filter.

The mic works great on everything... vocals/acoustic guitar/ drum overheads (very crisp)... thats all i've tried it on so far... i used it on the snare too which was GREAT.. however it was giving too much high hat bleed... and a high hat off axis sounds like crap! lol..
 
It's a tolerable all rounder for live use that should never see the inside of a studio except for heavy metal vocalists who spit when they scream.
 
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