Best microphone for me?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jonal
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Jonal

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Hello everyone!
First off, new guy here, great to be in this fun looking forum!
Second, I have played guitar and sang for a very long time, but only recently got interested in home recording. So i need a mic. All i need it to do is start me off recording (guitar and multi-track vocals) and be around $100 (89 Euros or 66 Pounds).
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
 
You're going to hate this advice, but...

...wait a couple of months and do some saving up. For what you're asking to do you don't just need a microphone. You need:

-Mic
-Mic Stand
-Pop Screen
-Cable
-Audio Interface
-Headphones (closed back type)

Your current budget won't stretch to this, at least not with anything worth having.

Why do I say this?

Well, the mic is self-obvious and, if you think about it, the stand, pop screen and cable should be too. However, the audio interface is key to this. The mic inputs that come as standard on computers and laptops are not meant for any form of semi-serious music recording. They're meant for cheap $10 mics and Skype calls. On guitar and vocals it'll be very noisy ("hissy") and also prone to distortion any time you get a bit loud. It'll also have the wrong kind of connector for a decent mic...and not provide what's known as "phantom power" if you decide that a "condenser mic" is the best match for you, which is very well may be.

USB mic? You'd still be pushing your budget to get anything decent and it would be the audio equivalent of painting yourself into a corner as you learn more and want to add a different mic for guitar than for voice or whatever.

Sorry.
 
Save up for a Blue Spark at least and buy the stand and all the necessary equiptment to get it running. If you're not willing to save up, all you could get is a Blue Yeti or a Samson CO1U (both are bottom of the barrel if you looking for something good.) you could also get a Sm57 which would be a far better option than those two.
 
You aren't going to get far with $100, considering you're going to need a pre-amp as well, which will matter just as much if not more than the mic itself. Cheapest I'd go is a Shure SM57/58, and I'd push you towards a Rode NT1 or Rode NTK (probably too expensive). Yeah, this doesn't even include the cabling, the stands, the headphones, etc. You can do it cheaply, but those are the results you'll get as well. Don't go TOO cheap, but definitely try to squeeze your way in on the low-end side. It'll help you get real good with EQ and compression!
 
I use a Sterling ST51 (bought for $115, is now about $99). more than satisfied with it. the link below has tracks where the vocals were all recorded with it. you can be the judge, but i can tell you that my vocal quality is the most common positive comment from fellow mixers. i'd use that until you learn more about recording, then upgrade in due time.
 
Heres a good beginner option. audio technica atr2100 . Amazon.com: Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone: Musical Instruments $58. It comes with the dynamic mic, desktop mic stand , 2 cables. The microphone has a single channel USB interface built it that includes a headphone jack and volume control. You can monitor direct from the mic,. or from the pc. It gets great reviews.You will only be able to record one track at a time. You would record a scratch track,. say guitar and vocals. Then use the same mic to capture your guitar on a seperate track while listening to your scratch track on head phone. Repeat process untill all additional instrument and vocal tracks are captured in your choice of daw. This process works fine for a solo artist. Your limitations in this scanario are that you only have one mic flavor to play with , and that you cannot capture more than one track at a time. If your just looking to start out I think this has excellent value as the mic also has an xlr cable and will still find use in live scanarios with a mixer/pa or if you upgrade to a multi-track audio interface in the future.
 
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