Looking for a cheap all rounder

S

Superhuman

Shagaholic
My first post in the mic section so please bear with me. I'm completely ignorant about all things microphone as I have always recorded guitar direct until now. I'm looking for a reasonably priced all rounder. Something that I can stick on front of my amp for recording heavy tones and high gain lead and also have the facility to capture some vocals with. I'm under no dillusions of grandeur but I don't want a piece of crap either. Would an SM57 suit the purpose? How about an SM58? Any other suggestions welcome too.
Thanks!
 
The SM57/58 is a good mic for a whole lot of things but is not as much of an all-rounder in the big sense.

The SM57/58 wouldn't be high on my list for acoustic guitar although you can certainly get a passable sounding acoustic track if you work at it a bit and I certainly wouldn't reach for one if I was recording classical music of any sort.

However if electric guitar and vocals are the extent of what you are looking to do with your mic then the SM57/58 could be a very good choice.

Tell me how exactly does someone get a Rep Power of 59450 on a microphone forum and have to ask a really basic question like "what is a good all rounder mic?".
 
JM350 said:
The SM57/58 is a good mic for a whole lot of things but is not as much of an all-rounder in the big sense.

The SM57/58 wouldn't be high on my list for acoustic guitar although you can certainly get a passable sounding acoustic track if you work at it a bit and I certainly wouldn't reach for one if I was recording classical music of any sort.

However if electric guitar and vocals are the extent of what you are looking to do with your mic then the SM57/58 could be a very good choice.

Tell me how exactly does someone get a Rep Power of 59450 on a microphone forum and have to ask a really basic question like "what is a good all rounder mic?".
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Well, the points are for the whole board, not just the mic forum--and he's quite a good guitarist. I'm sure he's gotten plenty of rep points for his contributions to the guitar forum, mixing forum, etc...
 
MXL 990.
It's cheap and effective. Condenser mic that handles decently high SPLs. Requires phantom power (as do all condensers) so make sure your board/recording interface has phantom power.

Look for deals on the internet. I bought a couple last year for $80 total. Deals are out there.


Shure SM57
SM57 is also good. More expensive than the 990, but a better mic overall. It's durable and can be used on anything (pretty much) I've used it on vocals before and have gotten decent results. Guitar cabs, snares, harmonicas, toms, beater side of a kick drum - I've used it for all these applications with workable results.
 
baker_ said:
MXL 990.
It's cheap and effective. Condenser mic that handles decently high SPLs. Requires phantom power (as do all condensers) so make sure your board/recording interface has phantom power.

Look for deals on the internet. I bought a couple last year for $80 total. Deals are out there.


Shure SM57
SM57 is also good. More expensive than the 990, but a better mic overall. It's durable and can be used on anything (pretty much) I've used it on vocals before and have gotten decent results. Guitar cabs, snares, harmonicas, toms, beater side of a kick drum - I've used it for all these applications with workable results.
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Sorry, but the 990 won't work well at all in front of an amp. A condenser is rarely the first choice for micing an amp (especially not high gain work), and I'm afraid the 990 would be so even more rarely. But I agree with you on the 57.
 
Superhuman--

What's the bottom line budget? The problem is you've chosen a couple areas (amps & vocals) that really do best with 2 different mics (dynamic for amps, condenser for vox--in most cases). There are a couple that cover both well, but they're not cheap. (SM7b, RE-20).

If you absolutely had to spend just $100 on one mic, and ask it to handle both vox & electric--my bet would be the 58. Close enough to the 57 to handle cabs, but a tad better on the vox...

But if your budget can be stretched to even a couple hundred (US that is), I'd say to start with a 57 on the cab and then explore your options on an entry level condenser for the vocals. (Bonus: that condenser would let you get started with acoustic as well).
 
That's my question too...what's the budget? If I could have only one mic out of my locker, I'd take my SM7b over all the rest. It's the very definition of a generalist mic.

Frank
 
For $100, pick up an AT2020 (assuming you have a mic pre with phamtom power) and a GLS ES57 or ES58. You'll be able to cover pretty much anything decently with this pair of mics.
 
WhiteStrat said:
Sorry, but the 990 won't work well at all in front of an amp. A condenser is rarely the first choice for micing an amp (especially not high gain work), and I'm afraid the 990 would be so even more rarely. But I agree with you on the 57.
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While I agree with you outright, I still think that the 990 is a viable option. It will save money, and can be useful for a lot of applications. In the past I've used a 990 on vocals, guitars, and drum overheads.

With vocals, you'll get a pretty full sound (for the price at least), but I think the high ends were a little "hashy". The presence vocally just wasn't right. It was a combination of the cheaper mic and the vocalist just not sounding good using it. I still got nice results with other vocalists.

With guitar amps, I simply set the mic up in a sweet spot 3-4 feet away. I'm fairly confident it can handle most high-gain situations at this distance, but I don't want spread any false rumors.

I've also used a pair as drum overheads. I prefer SM81s for this job now, but they produced a pretty clear sound for drums.

Don't ask why I had a pair. It was a deal I couldn't refuse. I just sold one of them a few months ago.

Add: I do put in a vote for the 57 though. It's just a little bit more expensive
 
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baker_ said:
While I agree with you outright, I still think that the 990 is a viable option. It will save money, and can be useful for a lot of applications. In the past I've used a 990 on vocals, guitars, and drum overheads.

With vocals, you'll get a pretty full sound (for the price at least), but I think the high ends were a little "hashy". The presence vocally just wasn't right. It was a combination of the cheaper mic and the vocalist just not sounding good using it. I still got nice results with other vocalists.

With guitar amps, I simply set the mic up in a sweet spot 3-4 feet away. I'm fairly confident it can handle most high-gain situations at this distance, but I don't want spread any false rumors.

I've also used a pair as drum overheads. I prefer SM81s for this job now, but they produced a pretty clear sound for drums.

Don't ask why I had a pair. It was a deal I couldn't refuse. I just sold one of them a few months ago.
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Dude, no sweat that you have a pair of 990's. I have 4 of them! :eek: (We all have a past!) I was just getting started and needed to separately track 4 vocalists at once, and couldn't resist the price.

But given just one mic, I'd still pick a 57 (even the GLS clone mentioned above) for vox & electric guitar. The 57 would be a compromise on the voice, and the 990 would be a compromise on the guitar. But I think the 990 would be worse at electric than the 57 would be at vocals.
 
There is sound advice (no pun intended) already. I like the idea of getting a SM7 or RE20 used, or maybe a Heil PR40. You could also go an entirely different route, and get one of the those Cascade or Nady ribbon mics.
 
Now for really cheap

Hi,

Now for really cheap and an actual all rounder. I use a pair of these for field recording all the time. I call them my secret weapon.

Realistic 1070b omnis. (Yep, Radio Shack!) I bought a pair on eBay for $30, shipped. $15 per mic. they were made by Shure in Mexico. They look just like the EV RE50s but they have and extended frequency range making them more suitable for recording music than the RE-50 or EV-635 both of which are also great mics but with attenuated bass and treble.

They are omni dynamics and they will take anything you can throw at them. Fantastic on acoustic guitar. I did a whole CD with a pair of these right on the guitar (sometimes less than an inch away) and an SDC cardiod condensor over my shoulder. I even sang through one for a track on the last Hungarians CD, "Blues For Peace". (The very similar EV 635a is a legendary R&B vocals mic)

The 1070c and 1070d are the same mic. The 1070d is black and says Shure on it so it goes a little bit higher but still under $30 per mic.

Since they are omnis they're probably not the best choice for live stage use with a loud band. Other than that truly all around mics. Horns, bass, guitar cabs, harmonica, vocals, acoustic instruments, etc.

And after you get more into recording and purchase some cardiods and some condensers you'll still have a great pair of dynamic omnis in your arsenal.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
and just to throw even more...:D

for cheap, one more vote for the 57 and if you can stretch another hundred, a Marshal MXL V67G. The 67 has done pretty well on vox with me. So for $200, you've got amps and vox covered.

my thoughts...
 
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