Microphone Questions...Help!

[MusicMan91]

First off, I am looking for a bunch of mics in an isolated area, to record my drums. Any ideas? Should I use one mic, for a guitar, and the other for a vocal? Or just one for both? I am thinking of spending a lot more on one mic, than on the others. Which one deserves the higher quality, drums, guitar, vocals?? Thanks a lot, I am just a rookie with a lot of questions.

One more thing. If you wouldn't mind, I thought it would be a cool idea to build an i-Mic, http://www.planetharmonica.com/ph2/VE/TMI-micUK.htm. I am having trouble on how I would go about building it. That site seems to confuse me

Thanks.

Chris

 

[Dan DA]

Could you more specific about the sound you're after? What equipment to you have already. Any preamps or mixers? Phantom power for condenser mics?
What quality level are you after?

 

[chessrock]

First off, I am looking for a bunch of mics in an isolated area, to record my drums. Any ideas? Should I use one mic, for a guitar, and the other for a vocal? Or just one for both? I am thinking of spending a lot more on one mic, than on the others.

There's no easy answer to your questions. My initial thought is that you should have a stereo pair of all-purpose type mics where one of them could also be used for vocals and other things. If it were me, I would hop on ebay and try and get myself a deal on a couple of Audio Technica 4033s and a shure sm57 (or maybe a kick drum mic -- ATM Pro?).

You could use a pair of them as drum overheads with the 57 on kick and you could probably get away with no snare mic. You could also use them to stereo mic an accoustic guitar . . . they sound great on guitar amps, and I've heard very few vocals cut with them that didn't sound good.

In terms of which one deserves the higher-quality mic -- Whichever one needs it the most and/or sounds good with it.

 

[MusicMan91]

As of now, I have no amps. I have been basically been recording things with this small headphone mic, that I found to record abstract noises to make songs that are still a work in progress. I haven't had the funds to get into the mics/amps situation.

"Could you more specific about the sound you're after? What equipment to you have already. Any preamps or mixers? Phantom power for condenser mics?
What quality level are you after?"

Well, I am creating an isolated booth-like area, so I want good enough sound that is acceptable on a Demo CD. Nothing that professional, staying at a more home-recording like sound. Any Amp suggestions??

 

[chessparov]

The quality (or lack thereof) of the "room" will be a big factor in recording your drums. One idea may be to find a local church that will allow you to record there with good acoustics. Just remember to tip the collection plate!

If it's in the budget, you can have your drums recorded at a local pro studio with a good sounding room. Pay attention to how they do it, and now you just got a "lesson" included in the price.

Best of luck,

Chris

 

[Dan DA]

If you don't need to record more than two channels at the same time, look into the M-Audio Audio Buddy. If you need to use more and you are on a very limited budget, check out a small mixer with preamps. Either of these will give you phantom power, which you will need for condenser mics.
I agree that you should try and get a stereo pair, and a good dynamic mic like an SM57, or a large diaphragm condenser, like the Studio Projects B1. They are both priced at about $80 each.
A good stereo pair might be the MXL 603s, you could buy their stereo kit with shockmounts for around $200.
Which mic should be best is almost impossible to answer. It depends on the sound of the instruments you're trying to record, the room, etc.
These recommended mics would be great, especially for demo work.

 

[FlamingLips]

I don't understand what you mean by two channels? Can somebody explain that to me???

 

[chessrock]

It means recording 2 things at once -- like a stereo mic setup or maybe two vocalists at the same time, etc.