cheap mics need friends too...

[eldigman]

The guys that i jam with insist we record every jam we have. this involves a.) one loud drummer who plays like its his band and every song is a showpiece for his drumming excellence ,b.) an electric guitarist who deals with a really loud buzz coming from his torchured amp by shrugging his shoulders, c.) a terrible acoustic guitar player\singer who thinks that really loud vocals should be louder, and d.) an aging hippie bassist who has to some how harness all this without a real sound check in a room 16X16 and then record onto analog tascam then tranfer on to cd and distribute to said people. my question is: Right now i am using a jvc stereo microphone that i bought on ebay for 15$. its...not bad...i'm thinking of upgrading but on a budget, no more than 300$ for 2 mics. please offer suggestions! we play LOUD!! and i just want gritty and live sound.

 

[ROblows]

please offer suggestions!

Get a new band. Seriously. What you're doing doesn't sound like much fun.

 

[lexdrummer]

The guys that i jam with insist we record every jam we have. this involves a.) one loud drummer who plays like its his band and every song is a showpiece for his drumming excellence ,b.) an electric guitarist who deals with a really loud buzz coming from his torchured amp by shrugging his shoulders, c.) a terrible acoustic guitar playersinger who thinks that really loud vocals should be louder, and d.) an aging hippie bassist who has to some how harness all this without a real sound check in a room 16X16 and then record onto analog tascam then tranfer on to cd and distribute to said people. my question is: Right now i am using a jvc stereo microphone that i bought on ebay for 15$. its...not bad...i'm thinking of upgrading but on a budget, no more than 300$ for 2 mics. please offer suggestions! we play LOUD!! and i just want gritty and live sound.

If stereo straight recording is what you are after. look at the Audio technica AT822. Though the AT825 has better headroom, I think the price is a little over your budget. The 822 and 825 are solid performers. With your situation, it seems like two mikes might complicate things, as well as sift in some phase problems and equipment upgrade issues.

 

[louloomis]

Yes, I would upgrade your mics. Then, I would look at this as another gesture of reinforcement - to yourself - that you deserve a better band. You don't have to quit today...just begin to put out some feelers.

Many/all of the types of individuals you mentioned are somewhat typical and painful. I'm sure you've been in many bands yourself over the years so I don't mean to preach.

I've spent too much time screwing around with what amounts to "bad musicians". I hate to see someone else like you, who seems to be relatively focused and motivated, waste his time with some people who are not.

Sorry to preach again, but it's out of caring for a fellow musician. Music is hard, and people who are selfish make it even harder.

BACK TO MICS....here we go....

I would recommend a stereo pair. Many bands have successfully recorded and been recorded (without their knowledge) with a good stereo mic pair in an x-y pattern (or maybe some other pattern). I'm speaking about small diaphragm condenser mics here.

In your price range is a variety of new and used mics. Very roughly speaking (not all these mics are great, by the way, but they're in your price range: check out CAD, Audio-Technica, MXL, etc. Most importantly read as many reviews of these mics - the bigger the sample you have of literature and rants, the more you'll have to go on. Also, make sure you are aware of which of these mics need phantom power and which don't. If you have a very simple setup and don't want to add phantom power (external unit) then you will need condenser mics that can run on a battery, or some other type of mic like a high quality dynamic mic. Try to get 2 small diaphragm condenser mics, though.

Good Luck,
LL

 

[MISTERQCUE]

Get yourself 2 SM57's and call it a day!

 

[kid klash]

If you've got phantom voltage on your mixer/recorder, get a pair of Studio Projects B1's (around $200 for the pair, new). IMHO, they'll give you a more accurate snapshot of your rehearsals than a pair of 57's... which may or may not be a good thing...