Condenser mic or not?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lomas
  • Start date Start date
L

Lomas

New member
Hey everyone!

I'm still very new to all this home recording stuff but I have a question. I bought me a Sm57 mic 'cause everywhere it seems that everyone likes it to make a decent recording at home.

So today I went with a friend who was gonna buy one for himself too. But at the store the guy said basically "well we have this condeser microphone for the same price. this is what you need, it's better than the sm57 in every way".

So what's the deal? Have I misunderstood all of this talk about sm57 being such a good allround microphone? If this other mic would have cost more I would have thought "yea off course he wants people to buy the more expenxive mic" but since they cost the same.

Well, off course now he bought a mixer that he didn't expect to buy so I guess in that way the guy sold more but still..........
 
They both have their place. In terms of sensitivity a condensor wins hands down, in terms of high frequency responce, the edge goes to a condensor as well. But a dynamic (SM57) has good things about it too..It's rugged as hell, you don't need phantom power to run, it won't pick up background noise nearly as much as a condensor. In the long run, you'll probably need both (or many of each if you contract Gear.Acquisition.Sydrome), but which one to get first if a toss up. What kind of condensor was he offered? some of the really cheap ones sound like crap.
 
I wouldn't want a condenser that cost the same as an sm57, unless it was an ADK or maybe an SP.
 
Lomas said:
So today I went with a friend who was gonna buy one for himself too. But at the store the guy said basically "well we have this condeser microphone for the same price. this is what you need, it's better than the sm57 in every way". l..........
Click to expand...

All I can assume is that music store guy was an idiot that have never made a record in his life. A Shure SM57 is one of the greatest pieces of recording gear ever made, and is probably on more gold an platinum albums than any other single piece of gear in history. At $75 you are going to have to struggle to find a condensor mic that is even usable, and even if you found a decent one at that price to be able to say it will be better than a 57 "in everyway" is just moronic. Never trust this guy for any advice on gear ever again.
 
According to Electronic Musician mag Cake recorded their new album almost exclusively with the SM57*: vocals, drums, guitar, trumpet solos. It's likely the best first mic you'll ever buy because it sounds good, is low cost, and you'll never have a good reason to sell it no matter how many mics you buy in the future.

*Disclaimer: they ran it through a $2k Universal Audio preamp/compressor...
 
Yeah I had a feeling he wasn't to be totally trusted...

I actually don't remember what kind of mic (or brand) it was my friend ended up getting, but it was the mic that the guy told him to get. This microphone used to cost around 1800 swedish kronor (I'm from sweden). Now it cost 955 which is exactly what they charge for the sm57.

It just made me think "what the hell! did I misunderstand everything?" 'cause according to him it sounded like all you need is this condesor mic.

For a second I almost thought "damn, why did I just buy a sm57 if this thing is so superior and cost the same?".

But thanks everyone, you just made me feel ok about it again!
 
The first mic I ever bought was a SM57 and it still gets regular use along with mics I've recently bought that cost $500-$700. I've found that it's great in front of a good sounding guitar amp more than anything but when it's the only mic you have it can be used for just about any source with decent results. I used it to mic a bass amp in the past and got good results. It's hard to beat for the $.
 
Yeah that's what I thought when I bought it.
Basically I'm not into this to become a great studio technician or whatever, I just want to be able to record decent demos or whatever at home without stress.

Thanks again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top