One mic to meet all my needs?

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sashagolovinski

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I just ordered an m-audio mobilepre usb/preamp/sound interface. I plan to record single track audio to my laptop under the following scenarios:

- cooking show style instructional videos, audio & video synced in post. there will likely be lots of opportunities like this, this is just what is already in the works. I'll be happy if I get close enough to tv studio quality sound to fool the typical listener (not saying a lot in some cases).

- tracking my son's reading fluency progress (I record him reading to me using a $10 GE computer mic from target & my laptop's mic input, recording with Audacity. that sounds like total ass and I have to use audacity's noise filter to get rid of all the crap which makes our voices sound a little off).

- occasional vocals and acoustic/electric guitar for amateur musician friends who are too poor for studio time and want to capture their creations. for me this is mostly just for the fun of recording. I don't have any delusions about attaining quality suitable for commercial releases. I don't have any real studio space but I plan to improvise with rigid fiberglass panels and/or hanging moving blankets. right now I can only record one track at a time (with audacity) but I might get a multitrack recording app if I feel the need.


the mobilepre has built-in phantom power. I've done some searching here and found rumors of its phantom power being low, but I've got a digital multimeter so I should be able to test that as soon as it arrives and return it if necessary, plus the usb 2.0 spec requires roughly 10-20 times the current capacity of pretty much any condenser mic (according to wikipedia) so as long as the voltage is where it needs to be I'd think it would be okay at least in the power respect.

One of my main requirements is phantom power and balanced inputs so I'll have flexibility to use condenser mics if I want to and also so I wont pickup so much noise with long cable runs (the mic will be far from my noisy laptop).

First question - will the mobilepre likely be good enough for my purposes?

Second question - what mics should I be looking at? I'd like to find one mic that is a decent compromise for all those situations, but if that isn't realistic, what would you recommend?

After reading everything at hr-faq dot org it sounds like an SM57 would be the best thing for me to start with... probably?

Video people like shotgun mics to pickup things at a distance with the mic out of scene and reject off-axis stuff but they tend to be pretty expensive and I haven't read much about people using them for singing vocals or instruments.

I'm not sure what my budget is really. If I could find one mic that could do everything I need well and I was confident I wouldnt be wasting my money I could probably spend $200-300, but no knowing what to expect, $50-100 is a lot more comfortable to me.

Any input or direction is appreciated! Thanks!

-Sasha
 
You're asking for a tough compromise. There's any number of mics that would modestly cover some vocals and an acoustic guitar--but video's a whole different thing. I know--I do both.

I've got over 60 mics in my music studio, but when I started doing video at work, none of them (not even any of the likely suspects like small diaphragm condensers) did well hanging from a boom for video work.

So I ended up buying an Azden shotgun mic for video work (Google Azden--you'll find various models for $100 to $250). I love the Azden (I use the SGM1000 for $239) for video work. I do remote shooting, and there's often low rumble noise (HVAC etc) so I use the lo cut filter to avoid picking that up, then EQ some bottom end back into the voices in post production.

Maybe that mic would work well for the occasional musical recording--I never thought to try since I have other mics just for that. But if the video thing is even a money maker for you, I'd make that the priority and get a mic that does that well first. Then either try it on other sources, or make some money from the video projects and buy some more mics! :D

And by the way, the SM57 is a universal workhorse of a mic--that's why you keep coming across it's name, but it's a dynamic mic and will do poorly on video. You have to be close to a dynamic for it to do its job, and when you hang it from a boom out of the video shot, it'll never pick up the speaker in any usable fashion.
 
A less expensive option

sashagolovinski,

Video studios everywhere use omni dynamics. Lav mics for voice and stick mics for interviews and music.

Lav mics go pretty cheap used. I got an EV 647a and an EV 649b. Each cost in the low twenties.

For stick mics the EV 635a or RE50 run between $50 and $100. The Realistic 1070b, c, or d is a clone of the RE50 made for Radio Shack by Shure. They are cheaper in the under $30 range.

So one lav mic and one stick mic could be had for $50 to $100. You could start there and then see what needs improving. If you plan on having guests on your cooking shows you might start with two lav mics instead.

A pair of omni dynamics is also a great starting point for learning to record music. The lav mics have a severely attenuated frequency response since they are designed for recording voices. The EV 635a and RE50 less so. The Realistic 1070 series has an extended frequency response. EV omnis with extended frequency response include the PL9 (hard to find) and the RE55 (pricey). The Naiant omni condensers are flat from 20 to 20K and are great for recording acoustic instruments. I believe they are forgiving on the phantom power voltage too. They go for a little over $50 for a matched pair.

I haven't used the Azden shotgun mics that WhiteStrat recommends but I bet they will record music well too. They are certainly reasonably priced at $100 to $250 and used they might be cheaper. I do a lot of YouTube video work and I will be adding them to my Ebay watch list.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
I'm kinda with Larry on the lav thing...I think he's on to something there. Of course, you'd have to use something else to record music with your friends, but that's where the $99 SM57 could take over. You could probably do both on a $300 budget I think.

Frank
 
Wonder if the MXL Mic Mate for USB that has phantom, which works on condensers and dynamics, would be another good idea. They offer a free 2 track recording program with it on their website.

Costs less than the Mobile Pre and you don't need to screw around with "drivers" for the computer. Just plug & play. Nice clean sounding pre too IMHO.

The other guys here know a lot more than me regarding guitars, however, the EV 635a is an excellent vocal mic. Bob Ohlsson, who was one of the main staff AE's at Motown in their
glory days thinks the 635a is great at that BTW!

Chris
 
chessparov said:
Wonder if the MXL Mic Mate for USB that has phantom, which works on condensers and dynamics, would be another good idea. They offer a free 2 track recording program with it on their website.

Costs less than the Mobile Pre and you don't need to screw around with "drivers" for the computer. Just plug & play. Nice clean sounding pre too IMHO.

The other guys here know a lot more than me regarding guitars, however, the EV 635a is an excellent vocal mic. Bob Ohlsson, who was one of the main staff AE's at Motown in their
glory days thinks the 635a is great at that BTW!

Chris
Click to expand...
Chris!

Long time no see!! How are you?
 
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