confused/frusterated and in need of advice

[WEBCYAN]

Well, I just spent my entire savings from 5 years of working(im 18) on stuff to record my own album.
I have a great electric guitar, bass, acoustic, drum machine, keyboard/synth(one of those huge ones the size of a bed....), and more....BUT, I never really considered microphones. Little did I know they were THAT expensive.
Problem is I am quite broke...

I went out and bought a cheap $35 mic from RadioShack. Big mistake. The quality absolutely sucks. Everything is full of WAY too much bass and it hardly picks up fine sounds like the high e string of an acoustic guitar...

I want to go with a condenser mic. From what I understand those are the best.

Basically I need a mic that doesnt drown the sound with bass and is able to pick up a wide range of frequencies so that it sounds very crystal clear. But, I need somthing under $100.

Any suggestions? Quality is very important, but so is cost...

 

[VOXVENDOR]

AT 4033

Audio Technica 4033 is probably the cheapest condensor I would recommend...
I do believe they go for something like $299-$349..... Im not sure but one of the detail-freaks around here will give you a more accurate price, this is just my guess....

Also, check out used, but make sure it's not screwed....

BG

 

[VOXVENDOR]

Oh, I almost forgot.... Just for the sake of throwing something further into the topic..... Try fiddling with your eq a bit..... Way, way back when I was just starting out, I remember using a $39.99 Radioshack mic, and it was crap.... But once I realized how to eq it and get rid of the unwanted tones... It then became usable..... (But nowhere near great)... just usable...

Keep in mind, you will need LOTS of eq... im not talking about a bit of minor tweaking...

I think I killed alot of low mids, and had to turn up the highs about 85% in order to make it sound ok...
BG

 

[WEBCYAN]

$300 is a bit out of my range....

I did try messing with the eq and it worked alright... But there was somthing that just didnt sound natural...

 

[Wide Awake]

What do you want to record ? Give us a list of everything you plan on recording in the near future.

 

[WEBCYAN]

k.

I use drum machine software, so thats ok. And i can hook my synth to the computer... but everything else i need to record.

basically a guitar amp, and vocals.

My main desire is a mic that has a very wide range. The radio shack mic is swamped with bass and it only picks up a decent signal if your practically touching the mic.

I need somthing that can pick up the bass, but ALSO is able to make the treble crystal clear...


btw, what kind of name is bleeding gums?
I take it you have gingivitis(based on where you live...)
Im in that same boat. Im 'this' close to peridontitis....

 

[Eurythmic]

Sounds like a Shure SM-57 might be your best choice.

 

[WEBCYAN]

thats not a dynamic mic is it? From what ive heard dynamic mics are best for performing, but for studio recording you basically need a compressor mic..

 

[Wide Awake]

People use dynamic mikes, large diaphram condensers, small diaphram condensers, and ribbon mikes on guitar amps. A good dynamic mic no more then a few inches off the grill of the amp is good. A Shure SM57 or SM58 would be good. They are also good vocal mikes. With that budget I'd buy the SM58.

If you can rob a convenience store and extend your budget, I would buy one of these;

Studio Projects C-1 $230

Marshall MXL V67G $200

ADK 51 $220

 

[WEBCYAN]

"If you can rob a convenience store and extend your budget"

Ill have to work that in as a song lyric.. pretty funny.

The rs mic i have now is ...ok... for recording the amp, but...but...oh i dont know.. I feel lost. Im not too knowledgable when it comes to mics, or spelling for that matter...

 

[Vurt]

Take Eurythmic's advice on the 57, but get two of them. They're highly renowned for guitar mic'ing.

As for vocals, I'm going to contradict what I said the other day about not recommending the AT4033 to anyone on a budget. Your apparent heap of quality gear and desire to make a great-sounding record disqualifies you

Save up for a 4033 or some other good mic, and use one of your 57's for vocals in the meantime. Experiment with different techniques and you might be surprised by your results. Try running one 57 into a PA/amp and then recording it with the other. Stuff like that.

Do you have preamps? What are you recording to?

 

[WEBCYAN]

since i dont know what a preamp is, i suppose i dont have one.
im going straight to the sound card.

the crappy rs mic is ok for the electric guitar. kind of... but what I really need is a good vocal mic.

I dont know if this helps, but...naturally my singing voice is almost exactly like Jay Gordon of Orgy(the band that i basically try to emulate). My voice has alot of mid and treble tones. Obviously a bass heavy rs mic isnt good for those kind of vocals.

 

[VOXVENDOR]

Bonnie Raitt Uses SM57's for Studio Vocals.......


Alot of people do use dynamics in the studio believe it or not.... However a condensor is more usual in a studio atmosphere....


If you buy a condensor, you will need a Pre-amp with a 48 V supply to the mic input.....

Does your soundcard do this? (I don't know much about cards...)

An SM57 will plug right in to anything pretty much...(as long as there is a gain and not just a line level input....)

BG

PS... By the way.. a "Pre" is just an amplifier for a microphone (or instrument.)

 

[frist44]

sm-57 will save you.

Not too long ago, I had a really crappy sound card. The ones that come with the computer with a mic in and line in and with a sm-57 and sm-58 basically recorded my whole band. With the help of eq and other things to cover up unwanted noised and frequencies I was pretty impressed with the outcome. $100 will easily cover the cost of the sm-57 and if you get both the 57 and 58 from ebay, you may be able to come close to affording both of them.

Plus, you will continue to use these two mics for various things even if you do upgrade your equipment.

hope that helps,
Brandon

 

[Vurt]

WEBCYAN, I have a feeling that costly mics are the least of your problems right now. Is your soundcard sufficient? Will you need a mixer? Will you need one or several preamps? What tracking and/or processign software do you plan to use, and is it sufficient?

You may have a lot of dough wrapped up in instruments, but you need to consider a lot of other things to get them recorded properly. It all depends on the quality you're after.

 

[detuned6]

Musicains friend has a Cad M37 condensor for $100.( you will need phantom power) I just got one and it sounds really good on guitar cabs. Its a clear sounding mike a little on the low mid side but for a $100, very good. Like everyone said and everyone will tell you , get a sm57, you cant go wrong.

 

[Eurythmic]

>Bonnie Raitt Uses SM57's for Studio Vocals.......

I'm pretty sure that Phil Collins does (or did), too.

 

[Gidge]

if $100 is your absolute limit, you HAVE to go with a dynamic mic because if you get a condenser, youll have to have phantom power for it, and thats more $$$$....

I think your major problem right now is that you are going straight to the soundcard with your mic....your first priority is getting a decent preamp......

Id recommend a Midiman Audio buddy
http://www.zzsounds.com/searchresults.music?z=1233474271208&l=1&b=p&w=audio+buddy

try the RS mic with it going into the line in of your soundcard...if thats not enough of an improvement, collect cans, sell blood, or whatever you have to do...get a Shure sm57.....

 

[Garak]

The problem is most likely the soundcards built in preamp your using and not the radio shack mic. Get an old mixer or something to use as a preamp first then get a 57.

The preamp or mixers output would go into the line input on the soundcard.

The onboard preamps on computer soundcards are the worst ever. They make stuff like behringer's mixers look really good. Preamps FYI boost mic level upto line level. The ones on computer soundcards sound really bad and are very noisy. You could even use an old tape deck that has a mic input and rca outputs, just jam it in record and it should be usable as a preamp. Beats the onboard crap.

One other thing, if your getting too much bass move the mic away from the source. With all directonal mics as you get closer to the source the bass increases.

 

[WEBCYAN]

ill look into the sm57.

if i move away from the mic the bass does decrease, so does the entire sound. It will litereally pick nothing up thats not within 2" of it.

How important is a soundcard anyway. I guess thats another thing I didnt take into consideration.

I think I have a Crystal WDM Audio. Im not sure if thats even the sc, but i think it is. IS that sufficiant?

I spent all my time on actual songwriting and forgot to include ways to get it to my computer.