Need major help with picking a mic, maybe preamp and others. im stuck. shoot me now.

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winburg

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Hey all how is everyone doing. So i got some free time on my hands and im getting back into recordings (been about 10 years!) so much has changed as far as DAW and technoligy since i last done it. so originally i was just going to grab me a mic and a mixer and get rich quick, right ? lol all joking aside, so i went to do some research and i mean i just completely lost myself in everything. Im having trouble deciding which mic to get,then comes the preamps and then i had to ask myself some questions which i just dont have the experience to give a good answer so i have come to ask you great people. so here we go.

First off, im just going to start with a budget untill i gain my experience so i DO understand that i am going to get what i pay for and not to expect too much. with that being said. from all my research i have narrowed it down too these mics.

MXL 990
Behringer B-1
MXL V467G
(not the "V467i" dual thats $400!!)
MXL 2006

so i read some reviews on each as much as i could, i found alot of bashing on the MXL 990 but it had maybe a 4 star rating with a couple hundred reviews from amazon i think (if that makes sense) and i watched a video review on it which i thought sounded pretty good but he didnt say if he was using any compression and EQ while making the video. on the other hand the MXL V467G was highly recommended by another pro.

Preamps. everyone keeps saying i will need one with a condenser mic but since i am going on a budget here and would only be able to spend between $30-$70 on a cheap preamp im not sure if i would be better off trying to find a decent one or just skip the preamp all together and just use the one on the mixer i will be using. the mixer will also be a low quality, like a $50-$80 2-4 channel behringer or something. the only reason im considering a mixer is because there may be times i need to add a guitar etc.

and then one other issue is the inputs im going to be running in the computer. i really would love to get a sound card that has xlr inputs but the cheapest i can find is like the M Audio delta which runs about $200 and as much as i would like too i doubt i would be able to buy it. so i am also wondering that, if all i was able to get was the mic,preamp and a mixer and use xlr to run everything BUT once it came to running the mixer into the computer just run a "rca to stereo jack" converter would the hurt the quality so much that it would just make using the xlr pointless or what ? hope you can understand what i mean.

So again please know i do understand im not going to get that pro sound with the budget im on but i am experienced with plugins and such so i know for some situations and sounds i can make up a little loss for that.

So with everyones experience and knowledge, anyone experienced with any of these mics ? preamp or no preamp ? if yes on a preamp then which one would make a good combo with what mic ? and please help me on the mixer issue! i dont have my mind set on any the above yet so i am open to any other recommendations and anything that can help.

sorry in advance for such a long post i just want to give as much info as possible. thanks guys, every opinion will be a factor!
 
I'm sure you meant the MXL V67g and that would be your best bet out of your list to get your feet WET with. ;)
 
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moresound said:
I'm sure you meant the MXL V67g and that would be your best bet out of your list to get your feet with. ;)
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If my money was right i think thats what i would be going with but i cant help wanting to lean towards one of the others because of being cheaper but i think basicly what it all comes down too is the preamp. when i first started looking at mics i thought i had it all figured out untill preamps came into the picture and thats whats been throwing me off here. so say if i was to go with the V67G then would it make a difference if i got a $30 OR a $70 preamp. (meaning being that im buying a cheap mic is a higher priced preamp really going to make a difference ?) because if possible i would like to save $ with buying a cheaper one but not by sacrificing my sound quality. I would be comfortable enough with that "purdy little" V67G as long as theres no other mic/preamp combo thats a better bang for my buck. OR if you think the mixers preamp alone would be good enough then maybe i could just forget the preamp all together (someone slap me now)

P.S.
if anyone out there knows of a better mic and preamp combo for around $175 and under please speak now!
 
The MXL V67G is a good budget mic, and I think the reason you are finding mixers to be too expensive is that you are searching for the wrong thing. What you need is an audio interface, which has inputs(xlr, 1/4") mic preamps, and many have USB connectivity. So you would plug your mics into it and plug it into your USB port on your computer. Do a search for some used ones. In your price range, I have had great luck with an M-audio mobile pre, but that is the only one I've used in that price range. Do a search and read reviews, You'll find something.
 
yea im familiar with having to use a sound card and all that, i just dont have $200 to spare on getting the cheapest one i can find with xlr inputs which is the M Audio Delta.
So if i got this ART USBPhonoPlus v2 Computer Audio Interface would i still need a preamp for my mic or would this take care of that for me along with my interface issue ? BTW, usb ? really ? that wont be too much of a quality hit ? something about that just doesnt make me feel as confortable as i would with running xlr direct to pc, althought i see alot of ppl going with usb.
 
Well the interface you mentioned only has one input, and since you said you'd like two, I wouldn't go any lower quality than an Alesis i02 Express, which is $100 new. The fact that it is USB doesn't affect sound quality at all, only the speed at which the sound is transfered into the computer and is played back to you(latency), which is not much of a problem with either USB or firewire. What affects the quality is your A/D converters, which take the Analog audio signal and convert it to Digital waveforms that your computer can read. A sound card has A/D converters built in, and most computers come with very bad ones, so people buy new sound cards. But audio interfaces have their own A/D converters, so they bypass the crappy ones on your sound card and go direct in with digital input. Most audio interfaces have mic preamps and A/D converters(much better than the ones in your computer) built in, so all you would need are the mics/cables.
 
Scratch the Behringer B1 off your list. It is rather screechy sounding.
A device like this would handle your soundcard, preamps, phantom power and monitoring.

Peavey PV6 USB | Sweetwater.com

The MXL 67g is the best mic from your list. Much better than the 990.
 
I guess I'm the only one who has issues with MXL mics? My advice is to pick up an AT2035 for about $160 or w/e it is now. They really are excellent mics for the price.

As an aside, don't trust amazon ratings, that's where the professional reviewers go to make wild claims about how amazing everything is.

Also, never buy Behringer stuff. Period. Their quality control is horrible, and their customer service is horrible. I have owned several pieces of Behringer Equipment and it's all been bad. Except for PA speakers, but that doesn't help you here.
 
GeoffryMcDonald said:
I guess I'm the only one who has issues with MXL mics? My advice is to pick up an AT2035 for about $160 or w/e it is now. They really are excellent mics for the price.

As an aside, don't trust amazon ratings, that's where the professional reviewers go to make wild claims about how amazing everything is.

Also, never buy Behringer stuff. Period. Their quality control is horrible, and their customer service is horrible. I have owned several pieces of Behringer Equipment and it's all been bad. Except for PA speakers, but that doesn't help you here.
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Some MXL microphones are for the dogs Geoff. Which ones have you had a run in with?
 
moresound said:
Some MXL microphones are for the dogs Geoff. Which ones have you had a run in with?
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To be honest, I'm pretty sure the only MXL mics I have ever used were the extreme budget MXLs, never tried the V67g or V67i though.

Lets see if I can't make a list of those I have tried:
MXL 990
MXL 990s (I figured the "s" would make a difference. My mistake)
MXL 993
MXL R144
and
MXL 603s

I do believe that completes the list. I might have missed one or two, but I don't think any of them were over $250 new.
 
The R144 isn't to bad for micing up Guitar amps and the 603 are alright beginner budget SDC but you can have them modded HERE for some surprising results!
 
moresound said:
The R144 isn't to bad for micing up Guitar amps and the 603 are alright beginner budget SDC but you can have them modded HERE for some surprising results!
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Good to know. Most of the guitar recording I do goes through an amp program.

Interesting mod kit. Although I only listened to both tracks for about 30 seconds each, it sounds like the mod kit stacks up rather nicely. Thanks for the info.
 
GeoffryMcDonald said:
I guess I'm the only one who has issues with MXL mics?

Also, never buy Behringer stuff. Period. Their quality control is horrible, and their customer service is horrible.
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no, mxl makes lots of crappy mikes and several quite good mics. you hate the crappy ones as we all do. but their better mics are very good and in some cases quite excellent for the money.

and that behringer rule is great if you can afford it. personally I've had crappy or non-existent support from pretty well every low budget audio gear manufacturer, not just behringer. and the quality control is just as crappy from apex, art, and other companies who's budget gear is considered quite useful by most who can't afford better.

the behringer b2-pro is a terrific large diaphram mic for cheap. it's also made by 797 audio which should explain that if you know your chinese mic manufacturers. the B1 is not in the same league though and should be avoided imho as someone already said... it's actually by a different company. mics are one rare situation where behringer doesn't actually make it's own gear.
 
moresound said:
...the 603 are alright beginner budget SDC but you can have them modded HERE for some surprising results!
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and for less money you can just buy a cad m177 that sounds miles better on everything including on acoustic guitars... just cuz it's a small diaphram condensor doesn't mean it is any more useful where good small diaphram condensors mics are traditionally used. I'd rather use a ldc or ribbon or dynamic on acoustic guitar and overheads than use those sdc mics stock.
 
dkelley said:
and for less money you can just buy a cad m177 that sounds miles better on everything including on acoustic guitars... just cuz it's a small diaphram condensor doesn't mean it is any more useful where good small diaphram condensors mics are traditionally used. I'd rather use a ldc or ribbon or dynamic on acoustic guitar and overheads than use those sdc mics stock.
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Who is still selling these as new old stock I need to get a few.
 
Well, Mackie makes the Blackjack now for $150, which comes with two Onyx pres. I don't see the point of going any cheaper than that on an interface. It is good enough that, when you have a better front end, you can still use it with a laptop for location recording. And the pres are good enough that if you INSIST on getting crappy mics, then you'll know why they aren't recommended by those in the know.

Like Geoffry has said, I personally find anything by Behringer to be totally worthless, along with all of the mics that I've heard from MXL. Although, to be fair, I haven't heard all of them. But I've heard enough of them that sounded horrid that I've decided that nothing by MXL will ever make it to my mic locker, when you can get really good mics for $200 - $300 (i.e. the CAD M179, the Blue Spark and Bluebird, the Shure SM27 (formerly the KSM27), etc...).

A good starter mic that I recommend is the Audio-Technica AT2020. You can pick them up for $100 and they sound far better than most of the cheap Chinese mics out there. Again, this is a mic that you would continue to use after you have a MUCH more extensive mic locker of good mics to choose from. It might very well be the cardioid-only version of the 2035 that was recommended earlier.

So, $250 to get started out in recording - and have stuff that will satisfy you in the long haul - not stuff that you'll be wanting to replace very quickly because you cut corners so badly that you can't get the results that you want.

That's my two cents worth.
 
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