Mic Upgrade

[beeatch]

Ill admit straight out to the fact that i know little or nothing about mics but i'm faced with a situation...

Im a vocalist for a acoustic/indie/rock style band and I need a decent mic for practice and some home recordings as we're lookin to get a budget EP sorted in the aim of getting some gigs sorted. The mic im using was a real budget job, was around £15 and its a philips...

I was looking at the shure sm57/sm58 models, which of these would suit better or is there other recommended mics for this price range (around £70). And basically what differences can i expect from the upgrade... should there be a huge difference in sound quality etc etc

any help is well appreciated!

p.s. im running the mic through a pa system (my budget mic doesnt have a speakon connection so cudnt run it through the mono, its goin through the line input at the minute)

Thanks

 

[emergencyexit]

Well if your going to want a live mic that you can use for your demo I'd say the 58 and most people would too. For your type of music I would not suggest the 58 for recording, but it will work fine for you now.

Ben

 

[beeatch]

so a 58 would be a better option than the 57? whats the difference between the two?

 

[scrubs]

so a 58 would be a better option than the 57? whats the difference between the two?

Internally, the 57 and 58 are almost identical. The main difference is the windscreen, which can slightly alter the way the mics sound. The 58, with the built in windscreen, is geared more toward live vocals. The 57, without a windscreen, is geared more toward instrument recording. Those labels are pretty arbitrary, though and either mic can be used for many applications. I don't own a 58, but I do use the 57 (with a foam windscreen) for live vocals, and it works great. The 57 is also good for miking guitar amps and for snare drum (and it's easier to place due to its smaller size). For versatility alone, I would go with a 57, but either is a solid choice. As stated before, a condenser mic would be better for recording vocals in most cases, but that would require a preamp with phantom power, which your PA may not have.

Other options to consider are the Sennheiser and Electrovoice vocal mics in that pricerange.

 

[beeatch]

My PA has phantom power so I guess I could use a condensor mic, but they are priced much higher than dynamic mics? But there should be a large improvement from the £15 mic im using now to the sm57/58? I just dont like the mic i currently have at all (it seems to create a lot of background sound). I want a real clean sound.

However I'm pretty sure the sm58 would do my job... as its mainly for vocals in practice and some recording. I may decide to later invest in some other means (pod?) of recording guitars, rather than micing my amp.

 

[emergencyexit]

I may decide to later invest in some other means (pod?) of recording guitars, rather than micing my amp.

BAAADDDDD IDDDEEAAAA BUDDY!

 

[pandamonk]

My PA has phantom power so I guess I could use a condensor mic, but they are priced much higher than dynamic mics? But there should be a large improvement from the £15 mic im using now to the sm57/58? I just dont like the mic i currently have at all (it seems to create a lot of background sound). I want a real clean sound.

However I'm pretty sure the sm58 would do my job... as its mainly for vocals in practice and some recording. I may decide to later invest in some other means (pod?) of recording guitars, rather than micing my amp.

Get a studio projects B1 from thomann. It is well respected in its price range. To the UK, shipping from thew site is £7 no matter how many items you buy, so if you're gona buy from them, don't just buy one thing. I bought loads of stuff for my PA, including stage monitors from there. Everything was the cheapest i could find on the net and shipping was only £7 from Germany to Scotland. I was amazed. There is a problem with one of the monitors, but i informed them and they were extremely apologetic and arranged for the couriers to pick it back up and take it back to them. They are sending out a replacement. Must've cost a bomb for them. Where do they make their money? Great company!! Here's the link