Help me decide how to start my mic collection

T

thewanderer24

New member
Hi folks. I will have probably $250 to spend on mics in the next couple weeks.

The type of recording I will need the mics for initially will be acoustic guitars, female vocals (voice/style-wise think Janis Joplin meets Etta James), and occasional other instruments, like flute, sax and trumpet.

I have an MXL-992 (Large Diaphragm Condensor) that a throw in with my firepod from Musician's friend. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but don't have big expectations of it.

Any specific suggestions on which way you'd go and why in this situation?

My hope would be to get at least 2 mics with this money, but curious to hear some different thoughts.
 
i'd say get an at4040. i think its about $300 new, but you can get it for $200 on ebay, even less. such a great mic for acoustic and vocals. very transparent.

if you want two mics, that will be very tough. make sure to get an sm57 though.
 
The more I think about it, the more I think one "better" mic would be better than 2 "just ok" mics.

the 4040 had my curiousity, and I was also curious about the studio projects c-1

I could always go get an SM57 in a month or two, or when I see a deal on a used one.

Thoughts?
 
treymonfauntre said:
you can also get a gls es57 which is a carbon copy of a 57
Click to expand...

could you really say that they are of the same quality?
i know what carbon copy means, but i thought that only applied to paper. Because im looking for a cheep instrument mic.
 
i'm willing to say they are of the same quality, yes. as a matter of fact i regard mine as higher quality because i bring them out to use as live sound reinforcement instead of my 1 real sm57. wouldn't want to damage that overpriced tool! but seriously, i have 4 of them and you can't notice a difference for the life of you. back to back the only thing you'll notice is that the es57 actually has a bit more internal gain.
 
The best advice I've gotten regarding mics (which I've actually managed to follow) is to only buy mics that you're going to keep. This rule doesn't apply to things like recording interfaces where a first-timer probably can't afford/justify an HD rig. But when it comes to mics there are plenty of great low to mid-priced choices that you can keep forever.

Some that I would suggest:

Shure Unidyne 545 III (early incarnation of the 57, sounds better)

AT4033 (never had it sound bad, but it won't blow you away either)

EV RE15/16/18 (all great and can be had pretty cheaply)

Sennheiser MD421 (toms, horns, electric guitars, bass, not too sibilant vox, etc...)

I guess if I had to pick one on that list to start out with I would say the 4033. Someone mentioned the 4040 which I haven't heard, but that may be a good choice as well.

Bottom line, start out with a mic that can do a lot of things well. Once you get into it you'll discover what kinds of things you tend to mic a lot and what the mics you have aren't giving you. Then you go looking for a mic that fills in one of your holes. If you do it that way, you'll save yourself a lot of reselling and trading-in.
 
thewanderer24 said:
the 4040 had my curiousity, and I was also curious about the studio projects c-1
Click to expand...

I have both. Both are great. Both have good points to them and do their jobs very well. I like em a lot.

If you want a C1 let me know...I might have a buyer on my 4040 but I'm still looking for a buyer for the C1...

Jacob
 
Well, "carbon copy" is never as clear or pleasing to the eye as the original, but like the guy said, that applies to paper.

I would buy the AT mic anyday before I'd buy a Studio Projects. Not that SP is bad, just not as good as AT for the same money.
 
I am going to suggest that you play around with the 992 for a few weeks. I think that you are believing that it can't possibly be any good because you got it for free but it is not a crappy mic. Moreover it will give you an idea what you want different in the next mic.
 
Of course, I suggest the sE Electronics SE2200-A

Please see my current thread where I A/B'd the ($269-$299) SE2200-A with a ($2800) Neumann U87 then see the 3 following links/reviews.
A great starter mic that I have used on vocals and acoustic guitar with no problems at all.
(Please also see SE2200-A comments on my website on the Studio Stuff page)
BG/HSG

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=184590

http://www.sonic-distribution.com/2/pages/reviews/FMU150 g 2200A Platinum AWARD.pdf

http://www.sonic-distribution.com/2/pages/reviews/MTM11.p096 SE2200A.pdf

http://www.musicmart-mag.co.uk/content/reviews/default.asp?Category=Article&Type=6&ID=187

You should hear it through a good Tube Pre. :p
BG/HSG
 
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Innovations said:
I am going to suggest that you play around with the 992 for a few weeks. I think that you are believing that it can't possibly be any good because you got it for free but it is not a crappy mic. Moreover it will give you an idea what you want different in the next mic.
Click to expand...

+1

Good advice IMHO. ;)
 
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