Cheap spoken-word mic?

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Shepherd

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Looking for recommendations for a good under $50 mic for, well, reading. "Books for the blind" kind of dealy, so I do lots of character voices, and when characters in the books SHOUT it still gets kind of loud. I'm not sure if this is an important enough distinction from singing to warrant its own question, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

This is a charity thing (hence the price restriction...I'm not rich, and this doesn't pay), and I'm a fair yodel away from anything approaching a recording professional, so I'm looking for something off-the-shelf...telling me to tweak the framhammer next to the lutz joint of a XKJ-876 will just result in blank stares and drool. I'll probably be mail-ordering this, too, so www resources are appreciated.

Thanks!
 
You should be able to find a used dynamic type mic for about $50, and just back-off the mic some when you SHOUT.
 
That's a toughie. My suggestions start at $80. (Studio Projects B1)

I know some folks have been satisfied with some cheaper CAD brand condensor mics. I have a pal who likes the Shure sm-80 (don't know the price though...)

As far as shouting, I presume you worry about the volume differences and/or whether the shouts will clip/distort. Two ways to work with this are "working the mic" (get closer when you're quiet and move back when you're loud) or using a compressor (but more gear=more $$...)

What's the recording setup? How good of a quality do you need? Is there a lot of ambient noise in the place you'll be recording? Ferinstance, if you're just recording to cassette on a cheapo tape deck, then you might as well get something from Radio Shack (well in your price range, and they do record sound! ;) ). But if quality is a factor, you'll find better options with a somewhat larger budget. And while a condensor mic would usually be my first choice for spoken word, if there's a lot of background noise in your space a dynamic would likely give you better results (less sensitive than a condensor).

Hope this helps! :)
 
Wow! Good questions. Okay...

I'll be recording in a finished basement, in a room with a closed door and thin walls, liable to pick up ambient noise (people moving and a radio or TV on in another room/upstairs, the oil furnace turning on and off in the next room, cats moving around outside the room, phones ringing, etc.). A relatively quiet room in a relatively quiet (but not silent) house.

I'm going to be recording this to a portable Minidisc recorder I bought a few years ago for journalism use, but never did any "serious" recording with. (edit: I now recall that the MD recorder also makes a mild mechanical whir every minute or so...more ambient noise) I'm hoping to dump it onto a computer to edit and then burn onto CD, maybe adding some background music on the computer, too.

Quality? Well, if I'm doing it, I want to do it right, you know? It's worth a little extra time and effort and expense to do something that I'll be proud of in a decade, but cash is short at the same time...
 
Get on ebay and find a used Shure SM-57. I bet you come damn close to the $50 specified limit. No phantom power concerns, and the shorter reach of a dynamic will pick up less ambient noise in your untreated room. Also, build a pop filter with pantyhose stretched across an embroidery hoop or even coathanger.
The good news about the 57 is that ten years from now, you'll be able to sell it for the current equivalent of $50! It is the cheap 'ho' of all purpose mics.-Richie
 
I'm doing the same thing

... recording books for the blind, that is.

If your mini disc recorder has "plug power", then you can get an inexpensive electret mic from either

Sound Professionals http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=home

or Giant Squid http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/

I attached mine to a headset like a Lab-Tech PC type, so I could move my head without going off mic. The quality of these mics is respectable, and with a foam cover, I never pop a 'P'.
 
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