First-time experimenter...

[dereckg]

Alright, well, I guess I should mention that I'm extremely new to the 'home studio' thing and am essentially just looking for some pointers, mostly in terms of microphone purchases.

This small (very small) setup will be for a small (very small) art group - mostly, we're just people wanting to experiment in the musical medium. There will be lots of guitar (electric & acoustic), an electric organ, flute, some percussion (tambourine, bongos, etc.), and, more than likely, the occasional bit of vocals.

So far, after browsing the archives of this forum for the past week, I've decided to buy a used Tascam 424mkiii as my first multitrack recorder. I went this route since I'm an analogue enthusiast (just a part of my nature I guess), and wanted something decent 'for now' just to get my feet wet.

As far as mics go, I'm contemplating picking up:
1 or 2 SM57s - for obvious reasons,
a Sennheiser MD421 - perhaps
and........?

I know I could probably use a decent SD condenser, but am not really sure what to go with here. I was initially thinking the AKG C1000S, but am now not sure...maybe an Oktava MC012?

I'm also in need of a decent little preamp for phantom power, but don't want to break the bank here (I'll upgrade later I'm sure.)

Anyhow, I would love some advice. I'm a man on a budget, but I'm also easily persuaded

 

[LfO]

I'll put in a bit of support for the M-Audio AudioBuddy - can't be beat for the price. http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--THKMIMAB0

 

[Red Dog Studios]

Audio-tech. makes a good mic called the AT3035 but if you'll looking for somethin a lil cheaper, Studio Projects has some good condenser mics for under $150-$100.

 

[Saxiety]

You might want to look at the Marshall mics. They have a combo pack that includes two condenser mics that could work well to begin with. They both have a couple reviews on their website about the mics. I don't know about the street price on the Sennheiser (what I found quickly was in the $500 range for the mic you listed), but the Marshalls get good reviews from some and the two in the pack I mentioned should come out a little less since you are on a budget. Here are the links for the mics and the reviews:

Mic Pack

Reviews

 

[dereckg]

Thanks...

I was looking at an MXL V67, and am still contemplating it.
I've found the Sennheiser at a very reasonable price (one of the main reasons I'm considering it.)

LfO: Thanks, I've been thinking about an M-Audio - I also hear the DMP3 is quite good - though a bit pricier...do you know if it's worth the money to go for the DMP3 over the AudioBuddy?

Red Dog: I've looked at the AT3035 too, looks like it will be good, it's definitely a consideration. And yes, I've had my eye on a couple Studio Projects mics...they also seem up my alley.

Anyhow, thanks for the help everyone, I have some decissions to make - I'll let you know what I end up going with in terms of a LDC mic and mic preamp.

Any additional input would also be great as it will probably be a couple of weeks before I've bought everything I need.

 

[Red Dog Studios]

yeah i use the AT3035, if u wanna hear how it sounds, check this out www.nowhereradio.com/thirteenthstory/singles it's a song i did about a year ago. the all the vocal tracks was recorded with the AT3035 ran though a Art tube pre-amp, and i even used the one mic (AT3035) to record the drum kit (recorded it twice for stereo effect). on this project we was just messin around with the settings, so there could be room for even a better sound than this from that mic.

 

[dereckg]

Thanks for the link to those songs - I enjoyed them. I'm probably going to go with the AT3035 for my LDC, but, of course, it all comes down to what I can get a deal on . Now as for the rest......
?
By the way, on what did record 'The Bad Happy Ending'?...Just curious. Thanks.

 

[Red Dog Studios]

I recorded it on a Fostex vf-16 16-track recorder. you might remember it. it's about 5 years old, it's newest version is the Vf-160cd i think..lol but i use it for on location stuff now. I today just put a check in the mail for a new Roland vs-2480cd YEE lol. good luck finding the stuff you need.


zeke

 

[jonnyc]

Spend the extra money and buy the dmp3. Its not really that much more expensive and from what I've heard the audio buddy has a much smaller voltage than 48 which could give you problems with condensors in the future. I own the dmp3 and couldn't be more happy, its really amazing for how cheap it is, blows away my tupepre. IMO you couldn't get two channels this clean for any cheaper.

 

[dereckg]

Yeah, I've been looking pretty closely at the DMP3...I'll probably end up buying one since I've read that they're pretty decent.

Red Dog: nice work on the Roland
Also, I bought a used AT3035 for $100...so...that's one down...and so many more to go