Little Help? Suggestions for Mic's to buy

[ACIDBANDIT]

Hey everyone. I have a small apartment, with my "studio" residing in my family room. No, it's probably not the best place in the world for it, but it's all I have for now and seems to get the job done. After going through the homerecording MIC FAQ, I was just wondering what would be a good mic in the $100-200 range for recording lead vocals and acoustic guitars? For good, warm vocal recording is a condenser mic reccomended? I already own a Shure SM57, which I use to mic my marshall vsl 100 4x12 half stack and a Shure SM58 which I currently use for vocals. Most of these condenser mics that I looked at require a phantom power supply. My Fostex MR8 doesn't support phantom power, do I need an external mixer or is there some other kind of alternative for supplying phantom power? Sorry if there are so many questions, any information is very appreciated!

Thanks for your time,
-Dave-

 

[Innovations]

No you do not need to purchase a separate mixer just to get the phantom power. You can use a phantom power box.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...5388877/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/180619/

Or you can get one of several condensers that have a battery power option.

 

[chessparov]

Dave, have you tried your SM57 with a pop screen vs. the SM58?
It will usually sound better than it for most singers.

When you place the SM57 to the side towards your mouth, it'll mellow out
the presence peak=warmer tone.

If you don't need both at the same time, you could sell the SM58 and add the
$$ to your budget. Here's what I would get with the $260 (or so);

1) Studio Projects B1-reputed to sound good on acoustic guitar and nice
for vocals too. Around $100.

2) Studio Projects VTB-1 mic pre
It has a dark coloration in solid state which complements the B1 well
IMHO.
Around $130.

Or...

3) If you need a dual channel mic pre, consider the M-Audio DMP3.
IIRC some dealers are selling them for around $160 now.

Chris

 

[ACIDBANDIT]

BTW, Quick edit to my original post:

My studio space is a fairly large open room (aka my ghetto family room). Obviously, i'm not going to get perfect silence no matter what mic I get, but are there any condesner mics that are particularly good for this kind of workspace? Or is a condenser the wrong kind of mic to get for this application? Sorry, I am a confused newbie. All those 60 page MIC FAQ's frazzled my brain

-thanks again-
dave

 

[chessrock]

Sorry, I am a confused newbie. All those 60 page MIC FAQ's frazzled my brain

The FAQ is basic reading designed for quick and easy use by anyone with at least a third-grade education, I'd say.

And you'll get a lot better information out of it. Anything really insightful or earthshattering on the subject has already been said by now, in all likelihood.

 

[Big Kenny]

Ouch, get an audio technica 3035 or 4033, or an sp c1