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Hello,
I'm just starting out doing some home recording. I know a bit about instruments, but don't know anything about microphones, short of information i have picked up from speaking with friends and reading the microphone FAQ posted here. I'm on a tight budget and would like recommendations for a microphone i should purchase. I'll give as much detail as possible on my setup and what i would be using the mic for.
The style of music is slow, mellow, instrumental post-rock (sigur ros, tortoise, etc). Most things I am recording like bass, guitar, keyboards, drum machine, are going first through any pedals that might be used, to a Yamaha MC-802 mixer, with a t.c. electronic m300 effects processor hooked up to the loop (used mainly for digital delay on the guitar and reverb on other things like the drum machine). Then the outputs of the mixer are hooked up to my soundcard. I realize this may not be the best way to record some of these instruments, but until i can afford nice amps and microphones, it will do. Obviously I can only record one instrument at a time with this setup but thats fine for me for now, until i can afford some type of multi-input soundcard setup.
Now, the thing i need the microphone for is for certain instruments that don't have a line out, such as xylophone, melodica, accordion, etc. There will also be slight vocals i might add to certain songs but they will not be prominent. There is also a small possibility i might want to record some acoustic guitar but this is not a priority. Also it should be noted that, as of this time, we are mainly just recording things to help with the song writing process and to have something saved to be able to continue working on it, but as of right now I don't have a way to do so for these instruments, short of a cheap radio shack mic i borrowed from my parents. Probably the most we would be using these recordings for would be very early demos for giving out to friends or family, so it doesn't need to sound awesome, just nice. At some point in the future, we may end up using a studio of some sort, or at least a friend with a better recording setup, to do a final recording, but maybe not, depending on how things turn out here. It should also be noted, that most of the music I am into is fairly lo-fi, so i'm not too particular about getting the absolute best sound possible, however i like to be smart with my money and just want to make sure my money is going in the right direction, as in the mic i buy will be fairly appropriate for the job i am doing. My budget could be anywhere from $100 to maybe $200 or a bit more if needed, and I would like to start with one good, all purpose dynamic mic, and then maybe a bit later invest in a condenser mic of some sort, within a similar price range, so recommendations for either would be great. A local music shop currently has the following available, Shure SM57, SM58, and Beta 57A in stock, so i was considering one of those, but i don't mind looking elsewhere if there is better value for my money in a different mic. Also, recommendations for recording methods for instruments of this type, such as mic placement (where and how), would be appreciated. Keep in mind i'm a beginner without much understanding of x-y configurations, compression, and eqing, so if you get too technical it will be over my head. Keep it simple enough for me to understand and achieve my simple purposes.
Also, one more question, my bandmate has offered to donate a Shure BG 1.0 mic for recording purposes, but I can't seem to find much info on this mic, as in is it any good at all, and if so, what is it best suited for recording?
Thanks so much in advance,
Brian.
I'm just starting out doing some home recording. I know a bit about instruments, but don't know anything about microphones, short of information i have picked up from speaking with friends and reading the microphone FAQ posted here. I'm on a tight budget and would like recommendations for a microphone i should purchase. I'll give as much detail as possible on my setup and what i would be using the mic for.
The style of music is slow, mellow, instrumental post-rock (sigur ros, tortoise, etc). Most things I am recording like bass, guitar, keyboards, drum machine, are going first through any pedals that might be used, to a Yamaha MC-802 mixer, with a t.c. electronic m300 effects processor hooked up to the loop (used mainly for digital delay on the guitar and reverb on other things like the drum machine). Then the outputs of the mixer are hooked up to my soundcard. I realize this may not be the best way to record some of these instruments, but until i can afford nice amps and microphones, it will do. Obviously I can only record one instrument at a time with this setup but thats fine for me for now, until i can afford some type of multi-input soundcard setup.
Now, the thing i need the microphone for is for certain instruments that don't have a line out, such as xylophone, melodica, accordion, etc. There will also be slight vocals i might add to certain songs but they will not be prominent. There is also a small possibility i might want to record some acoustic guitar but this is not a priority. Also it should be noted that, as of this time, we are mainly just recording things to help with the song writing process and to have something saved to be able to continue working on it, but as of right now I don't have a way to do so for these instruments, short of a cheap radio shack mic i borrowed from my parents. Probably the most we would be using these recordings for would be very early demos for giving out to friends or family, so it doesn't need to sound awesome, just nice. At some point in the future, we may end up using a studio of some sort, or at least a friend with a better recording setup, to do a final recording, but maybe not, depending on how things turn out here. It should also be noted, that most of the music I am into is fairly lo-fi, so i'm not too particular about getting the absolute best sound possible, however i like to be smart with my money and just want to make sure my money is going in the right direction, as in the mic i buy will be fairly appropriate for the job i am doing. My budget could be anywhere from $100 to maybe $200 or a bit more if needed, and I would like to start with one good, all purpose dynamic mic, and then maybe a bit later invest in a condenser mic of some sort, within a similar price range, so recommendations for either would be great. A local music shop currently has the following available, Shure SM57, SM58, and Beta 57A in stock, so i was considering one of those, but i don't mind looking elsewhere if there is better value for my money in a different mic. Also, recommendations for recording methods for instruments of this type, such as mic placement (where and how), would be appreciated. Keep in mind i'm a beginner without much understanding of x-y configurations, compression, and eqing, so if you get too technical it will be over my head. Keep it simple enough for me to understand and achieve my simple purposes.
Also, one more question, my bandmate has offered to donate a Shure BG 1.0 mic for recording purposes, but I can't seem to find much info on this mic, as in is it any good at all, and if so, what is it best suited for recording?
Thanks so much in advance,
Brian.
