Yo Mike-Mat! You are becoming confused by acronyms/jargon. He said "LDC", not "LCD". That's short for "large diaphragm condenser" mic. OK- if where you want to be is about $100, your options are fairly limited, but you have some. Whether a condenser mic or a dynamic works better for you has to do with your microphone technique, the acoustic space in which you are recording, the quality of the preamp/mixer into which it is plugged, and personal opinion. The biggest advantage of condenser mics is that they have generally hotter output, which allows you to turn down the gain on the mixer/preamp. Less expensive preamps are usually noisy as hell when they are cranked up, and the preamps in mixers, by and large, are cheapies. OK, my best preamp is about $1200 per channel. Guess what? When you crank that baby up, you won't hear a thing. Characteristically, dynamic mics are often used for broadcasting/voiceovers precisely because of their low output, That means that if you don't turn the preamp up too far, and you are fairly close to the mic, it tends to pick up just the voice in front of it, rather than a lot of ambient (commonly called "background") noise. Condenser mics are often used for very good vocalists in studios where you have better control over ambient noise (traffic, crowd noise, etc.). But- these are not laws, they are just tendencies. The advantage of condensers is that they often reveal details of really good voices that tend to be glossed over by dynamics. That is a downside also, as condensers will often pick up *bad* details, such as lip-smacking, poor diction, foot tapping, handling noise, etc.
So- given that your preamps are not top of the line, a condenser could be a good choice *if* you have a good sounding, quiet room, and you take the time to learn to use it. Some of the best voiceover dynamics have very low output, and do best with a kickass preamp, such as Shure SM7b and Electrovoice RE20, which you will recognize from every picture of a radio broadcaster you ever saw.
Next- regarding the companies you don't know as well- B.L.U.E. (that's Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics) is a respected company that builds everything from wicked cheap USB computer mics to the $5000+ high-end studio mics you will see in the studio sections of American Idol. Rode is an Australian based company that mostly builds mid-priced condenser mics for the budget-limited studio market. Their quality and customer service is very good for the price. CAD is an American-based company that does a lot of what Rode does. Marshall Electronics, which builds the MXL line, markets American designed and Chinese-built mics, mostly condensers, primarily for the entry-level market, and are beginning to expand into the mid-priced range. Some of their mics really do suck, and some of them are really excellent entry-level bang-for-buck choices, particularly the V67G referenced above.
Moving right along- most of the people above are suggesting you should be looking at used mics, not new, so that you can use your limited budget to get the best possible mic(s). That's your call, not mine, but I think they are basically correct on that point.
Now that we have defined some terms and put you into perspective, it becomes possible to make some actual recommendations, which may make more sense to you now.
I can't tell you whether you will end up preferring a condenser or a dynamic. It's a matter of taste. All that I can recommend to you is that you buy mics from well known, respected manufacturers, so you can cut your losses by selling them if they don't work out. If the mic is good for recording *something* or *somebody*, you'll be able to sell it for a bigger percentage of what you paid for it. And- we don't all agree on what sounds good, so you might hate my recommendations, and someone else might love them. YMMV.
It would be helpful to know what AKG mic you are using right now, as AKG manufactures a *huge* variety of both dynamics and condensers, ranging from truly awful to studio standards. In general, the best dynamics are cheaper than the best condensers, which can literally cost thousands. In this case, I will try to recommend mics that can be had for under $200, at least used. As far as condenser vs. dynamic, all you can do is buy a good cheap condenser and see if it works for you. If not, sell it and move on.
My favorite dirt-cheap dynamic: Behringer XM8500- shockingly good for $20 new.
Standard dynamics-usually $50-60 used, $80-100 new:
AKG D770 (discontinued but fairly easy to find used)
AKG D5 (best current equivalent of D770)
Sennheiser e835
Shure SM58
Better dynamics you might get lucky and find used at a decent price:
AKG D112- often marketed as a "kick drum mic", it is a huge surprise as a voiceover mic. $250 new- $150 or-so used. You could do a lot worse.
Shure SM7b- a radio broadcast standard- it will require cranking up a preamp. That's one of the reasons I recommend considering the D112 above. It needs a lot less preamp gain.
Sennheiser MD421- A live and studio multi-application standard for *decades*.
Badass dynamics you probably can't afford, but included for reference:
Electrovoice (EV) RE20
Sennheiser MD441
Condensers:
I would avoid anything truly dirt cheap by Samson, Nady, Behringer, CAD, or anybody else for $60-or-so new. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Cheapies ($100 or a little more):
MXL V67G (my favorite of this price group)
Studio Projects B-1
CAD M177
AKG Perception 120
At or under $200:
B.L.U.E. Spark ($200 new)
AKG C2000B ( a favorite of mine- $330 new, can be found for $150 or even less on ebay or Craig's List)
Rode NT1a (About $200 new- much less used)
AKG Perception 220 ($180 new- a fair price- but I still prefer the C2000B)
B.L.U.E. Bluebird ($300 new- I got mine in a pawn shop for $150- another worthy ebay search)
AKG C535- a discontinued handheld stage condenser mic- used to be $300 or so new- a used one in the $150 range would be a great find.
Of course, there are many, many, other options, but those are cheap/inexpensive mics that work for *me*. Hope it helps-Richie
