Fifty dollar mics

The Prodipe TT1 is a pretty cool mic for $19 or so. Here's a link to a thread about it from a while back.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/equipment-forums/microphones/good-dynamic-mic-under-$30-319406/

My user review is on page 4 of the thread. Also check out the SOS review linked in the thread.
 
25 dollar mic subthread

Hi,

This is pretty weird. I thought $50 was cheap for a good usable microphone. More and more are showing up for around $20. Behringer XM8500?? Who would have thought? But I know that moresound and Richard both know what they're talking about even though I haven't yet tried the mic.

I did try my $20 ProdPipe last night that was recommended on this thread a while back and I was knocked out. I sang "Autumn Leaves" with The Ad Hoc Combo and it sounded terrific. Blew me away.

George, the other half of the Hairy Larry and George duo, uses an SM 58 but I've moved him onto an AKG D770 with greatly improved results. New in the box on ebay for $25.

Yeah, pretty weird.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
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omtayslick said:
The Prodipe is shockingly good for 20 bucks isn't it?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it kind of blew my mind. I had been doing some announcements over it and it sounded good. Then when I started singing I went wow! Since it fits in the little case with my mixer that's where it's staying. A very solid feeling mic that also sounds good.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
I have 2 Peavey PVi2 mics that were super cheap we use for speaking & B-vox at gigs and talkback.
They have been used several times for recording scratch vox that worked surprisingly well, in fact sometimes trax were quite usable.
Very accurate and sensitive for a dynamic with really good off axis rejection.
 
bassbrad said:
I have 2 Peavey PVi2 mics that were super cheap we use for speaking & B-vox at gigs and talkback.
They have been used several times for recording scratch vox that worked surprisingly well, in fact sometimes trax were quite usable.
Very accurate and sensitive for a dynamic with really good off axis rejection.
Click to expand...

bassbrad,

We used three Peavey CD20 Celebrity mics for our front line vocals mics at Blues Fest for years. They've lost their foam now.

The Peavey mic I really like is the 520i, good for bass and horns as well as a really good dynamic vocals mic. It's more of a hundred dollar mic than a fifty dollar mic though. I pick my hundred dollar mics a lot but then I pick my fifty dollar mics a lot too.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
hairylarry said:
bassbrad,

We used three Peavey CD20 Celebrity mics for our front line vocals mics at Blues Fest for years. They've lost their foam now.

The Peavey mic I really like is the 520i, good for bass and horns as well as a really good dynamic vocals mic. It's more of a hundred dollar mic than a fifty dollar mic though. I pick my hundred dollar mics a lot but then I pick my fifty dollar mics a lot too.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of he Peavey 520i as well. Great mic for the dough.
 
I'd like to thank you, Hairy Larry. I had to sell off some 414s and an SM7b a while back to get my family through a tight time. I've been looking over the posts on this discussion trying to find useful budget mics that will do the same jobs as some I have sold. This thread has helped my thinking and my attitude tremendously. $25 seems like the magic number for me. For that price, I've been able to find 2 635a's (22.50 a piece), a Shure 1070D, three really decent sm57 knockoffs (after the resonator disc removal), and a Peavey PVM45. I already had a couple of RE15's but they are not easy to find for $50 anymore...more like $150. Some of these mics are quite nice through a great preamp like my Millennia. I kept my Oktava MK012s, and these mics along with the inexpensive but good dynamics are getting me very close to the target. I just have to think about it a little more. Sometimes, they add some nice character that the sm7 or 414 didn't.

The nice thing about these cheap dynamics is that not only do they sound good, but they are tough. I would not hesitate to put up a couple of the 635s or the 1070s and play a 4 or 5 piece bluegrass set over them.

By the way, good luck finding that 33-1070* for ten bucks on Ebay anymore. I guess your preaching finally took hold.
 
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This is a good thread and it should continue.
Has anyone tried the Seismic Audio SA-M20 or SA-M30? They come in around $40 and look to be 58/57 knockoffs. But we have seen that some knockoffs can be quite good.
 
Yes, let's keep the thread alive. Recently I have picked up 2 older AKG dynamics from ebay. A D120 and a D190. They're a lot of fun to mess with, and I like the sonics. One was $43 and the other was $36, so they fit the $50 thread criteria.

Ebay is a wealth of cool old dynamic mics. They get overlooked a lot because everyone seems to want the flavor of the month condenser.
 
Tom,

As you say the AKG dynamics provide fantastic bang for buck. I have 2 D120s I carry with me all the time. When I got my first one I thought it was light and cheap so I did an A/B comparison with my Beyer Soundstar and I really couldn't tell the difference. Here's my inventory sheet on AKG dynamics.

1 - AKG D120E dyanamic cardiod $30.70
1 - AKG D120E dyanamic cardiod $23.25 (2010)
2 - AKG D190E dynamic cardiod - early Beatles live vocal mic *
1 - AKG D310 dynamic cardiod vocals cabs - The D310 and the D3800 were $70.95
1 - AKG D321 dynamic cardiod vocals cabs - $46.33 2010
1 - AKG D3800 hypercardiod dynamic - bought with AKG D310 - bad capsule
1 - AKG D690 dynamic hypercardiod - $19
1 - AKG D690 dynamic hypercardiod - (2010)
1 - AKG D770 - dynamic cardiod $26.00

I work hard to get low prices but you can see what's possible. Not listed are two good D3800s and a D320. The only mics on the list I don't use all the time are the 190Es but I used to use them a lot before I got so many others. I use them mostly for live music but I also use them recording. I used my pair of D120s to record conga drums stereo and was very happy with the results.

You can hear them here on "Blood Red Sun".

Blood On The Water : John Spencer : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
wretchasketch,

The 1070Ds always command a premium because of the magic word Shure on the mic. The 1070B, and C are sonically identical. I had a 1070A, it was Taiwanese, not Mexican and had reverse polarity. There is also an unlettered 1070 but I never bought one and they aren't seen often. The grey colored 1070B usually goes the cheapest.

There is a 1070D on Buy It Now for $75 plus shipping. I don't think he'll get it. There is a 1070B at auction for about $20 with shipping. I put it on my watch list so I can see what it brings.

I now have my second PL9 both under 60 so eligible for discussion here. You have to wait a long time to get a PL9 at that price because they don't come up often and then they sometimes go for $100. Their big brother, the RE55, is the best omni dynamic ever made and would be a mic of choice recording Symphony Orchestras back in the days of hifi. Now the RE55s still go around $150 but the PL9 may be the same mic in a shorter stick or it may be an almost as good PL series mic. So they should set the curve and no dynamic omni should go for more than a PL9.

Dynamic omnis have no cachet. No one's going to go wow when you set one up. But they do everything good and some things great. Just don't use them to record a live show in a crowded restaurant.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
Hi Larry,

Not disputing your claim the the RE55 is the best dynamic omni ever made, because I have never used one. But another contestant for that honor may be the Sennheiser MD211U. However. we are getting out of $50 territory now. The Sennheisers are long discontinued and usually go for 200-300, and are tough to find. I have 3 and they are great on everything I've tried them on.
 
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The GLS es-57 for $$30 has gotten extraordinary reviews, comparing to a SHure SM57. Same thing with the GLS es-58 and the SM-58.
 
My bluegrass band needs to buy 6 stage mics. I'd like to get something in the $25 range, new, all the same, where we can set the gain, eq, etc uniformly and mix ourselfs by 'working the mics'. My fear is that the options right now will sound fine on instruments, but be a little harsh for vocals. I'm looking at Audio Technica M400S, Behringer XM8500, Digital Reference DRI100, and the GLS ES 58s and 57s. Our PA mains are currently a pair of KUSTOM 15" speakers I found used and cheap. It may be possible that brighter mics are a plus, especially on instruments...but again, I don't want the vocals to sound too harsh. We don't often have the luxury of working with a sound engineer, so it's usually just set the PA and play. Recommendations?
 
It's amazing, actually. I was doing a mic and preamp shootout as a project, and I wanted a mic that really sucked. I figured a $20 Behringer ought to meet that standard. The shocking part is- how much it *didn't* suck. It sounds like an AKG mic, such as a D770, which for $20 (now up to $25, I think) is really not bad. I've used it for live vocals and voiceovers with good success. Maybe a little bright, but at that price, it's a gem. It has survived in a studio with $12,000 in the mic cabinet. That says a lot.
 
great testimonial, but I believe I would put that $12,000 in a safe or a bank.

seriously though, the bear injures are up to something like a hundred 63 reviews on Amazon right now. most negative comments seemed to be from people who think the mic should come with its o wn speaker or you should be able to plug it straight into your computer... or complaining about no switch. well, I got your switch. the Audio Technicas are a little bit tempting because right now 6 of them with cables in a gig bag are being offered $150. there's just not much data in the way of comments on them.
I'm sure I would be happy with the GLS stuff too, but I have a feeling they are all about six one and half a dozen the other.
 
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