I need to buy a few mics.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chewie
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Chewie

Chewie

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I need to buy mics to record. I need to record vocals, guitar/bass amps and drum mics. What kinds of mics sould I buy for these uses?
 
What's your budget like? Also, not that it matters a whole lot, but what are you recording to?

Thanks,
RF
 
The hell with the budget. Here goes:

SM-57 for the guitar cabs.

Run the bass direct to console, ect.

Sennheiser MD-441U or SM-57 for snare and HH.

Sennheiser MD-421 for toms.

EV RE-20 for kick.

Sennheiser MKH-110 for overheads if you can find a pair. Excellent mic and a lot cheaper now than when they were making them.

Sennheiser MD-441 for lead vocal or any multitude of condensors.

Someone will recommend to you a good condensor for that purpose. The 441 is the only one I've ever used for vocal and most here do not use dynamic mics for that purpose.

I didn't say it was bad. If fact it is quite good. But most people here use a condensor for a vocal.

Oh, by the way, did you notice my user name? :D
 
go with anything audio technica........if you want an sm57....audiotechnica makes a copy that's EXACTLY the same, but is quite a bit cheaper..............audio technica makes badass mics for badass prices.............i just bought the atm25(bass mic) and 2 3035's................


also, this is jsut my personal opinion, but if you want to mic your hihat, you should probably use a mic other than the one miking your snare........but hihats have a lot more cut than most people think and will be about even with the cymbals in the overheads.
 
Marshall MXLv67 can be used for vocals and a drum room mic....

Shure SM57 for guitar amps and snare

AT ATMPRO25 for kick and bass cab, though id rather go direct, maybe a Countryman DI or a J-Station or a Sans Amp......

Marshall MXL603's can be used for overheads and acoustic guitar.....Behringer ECM8000's can be used for the same......
 
Definitely separate mics between the hat and the snare if you have the mics and the channels.

You've never heard a better snare or a hat than through a 441.
It shames a '57. No shit man.
 
For snares and toms, I like Beyer Dynamic M 201s. For kicks, I have used and liked Shure Beta 52s, though others here do not seem to like it as much as I do. For overheads when recording, though not live, I LOVE Earthworks TC30Ks or B&K 4006s, though I also like AKG 414 EBs if you can find them, or 414 TLs if you can not. Neumann U87s are nice to, but not my favorite. For guitars, my best sounding electric guitars have been an EV RE-20 and a B&K 4011, making absolutely sure that the diaphragms are perfectly lined up. For bass, I have always wanted to try DW Fern's active tube DI, but I have never had the chance. I mostly use a DI, but I like to have a Cab miced with an RE-20 to mix in. Vocals are the hard part. You need to try a number of different mics on a singer. A good place to start, which works well on most singers, is a Neumann U87. Of course, these are all unlimited budget microphones, but you did not list a budget, so I assume you have a nice big one.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
i would go with gidge and get those mics. Especially the ecm8000, how can you beat $40 for something that'll take care of OH and acoustic guitar. That's probably the least amount of money you can spend to record the tracks you are. I have all those mics and they have proved their reputation just from the couple times i've tracked with them.

Brandon
 
Chewie, you posted no budget. When the Neumann and Beyer people get done with you, you'll have to sell the Millenium Falcon to pay the bill. Anyway, you have to trust your own ears, and I'll be kind, and list mics that are less than the price of a car. This is my list of budget all-stars. As a Caveat Emptor, I'll say that these views are not mine, but mine and a composite of people whose ears I trust. I am hearing impaired, moderately, so I really have to depend on other people's ears- mic by comittee. Anyway, here's my list:

Large Diaphragms: Marshall MXL67, Studio Projects C1, C3, and T-3, Rode NTK,Oktava MK319,Shure KSM44/SL, AKG C414 B-ULS, At4033 (a very cool mid-size diaphragm),4047, and 4050.

Small Diaphragms: Marshall MXL603, Octava MC012,Behringer ECM8000, Rode NT5, Neumann KM184, Studio Projects C-4 (soon).

Dynamics: Sennheiser MD441, Shure SM-7 and SM-57/58 (and 57/58 Beta), Akg D112 (good for kick) and D770.

Of course YMMV, but most would agree that if you have 2 from each group, you can record most stuff, one track at a time. Also, many good recording people will hate something on the list above, but will probably like something in the same group. I'm weak on percussion, and there are lots of Audix, Sennheiser, Shure, etc. mics that work fine. That's why you have to use and trust your own ears. Two perfectly good tracking engineers, mixing engineers, producers, or musicians will wildly disagree about what sounds good.
 
Last edited:
donkeystyle,
what model of audio technica is a copy of sm57?
thanks
 
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