Shure SM57

As an all round mic that costs peanuts the msh-1 is ideal. I mainly suggested it cos it's cheap.

The guys are right an omni will be better for a single drum overhead cos it'll pick up in all directions rather than the spotlight effect of a cardoid mic. And as long as you aren't playing your amps at full volume then you'll be able to record them ok.

Everything recorded here except the electric guitar and the vocal was recorded with an msh-1. So that's the acoustic guitar, whistle and fiddle.

Bear in mind that I record in a good sized room that has a nice sound. If you are recording in a different room then things will sound totally different.
 
If this was already mentioned, sorry, but make sure if you go the MSH-1 route, you get an audio interface that has phantom power (or get a seperate unit). The MSH is a condensor mic, and therefore requires phantom power to work.
 
An omni is ideal for low whistle cos the sound comes out the finger holes as well as the erm.. non-finger-hole at the top.

Here's a photo of a man playing a low whistle while posing crouched on the floor of a photographers studio for those people who have no idea what I'm talking about. I'd mic him with an omni (msh-1) a foot or two out from the middle of his whistle.

ccshootlowwh7.jpg
 
Whatever you decide, go to ebay and buy used. That way you won't lose as much money when you try to sell your crap starter kit. Buying gear can quickly become a sickness, and you don't want to lose money when you stairstep. It sickens me to think about all the extra stuff I'd have if I hadn't bought new junk in the beginning.

I also wouldn't recommend you an omni mic, with the assumption that you aren't going to be recording in a decent room. Might want to avoid a room mic, if that's the case.
 
Barn Owl said:
ccshootlowwh7.jpg
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Oh, I was just kidding, but interesting stuff - I figured it was something that at least somewhat resembled a flute... although I did have the slide-whistle in mind at first :D

mikeyp62 said:
I also wouldn't recommend you an omni mic, with the assumption that you aren't going to be recording in a decent room. Might want to avoid a room mic, if that's the case.
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The only reason I went along with the omni suggestion is because the guy is stretching with even a single mic purchase, and a lone 57 isn't going to record a drumset - it just isn't going to happen. I suppose some time ago (1999) I recorded a drumset with a RadioShack dynamic overhead and it actually came out pretty well... worth a shot, I suppose.
 
mikeyp62 said:
I also wouldn't recommend you an omni mic, with the assumption that you aren't going to be recording in a decent room. Might want to avoid a room mic, if that's the case.
Click to expand...

Yeah but on the other hand you can mic close without a proximity boost that was my thinking anyway.
 
Thank you very much for that audio sample. That definitely met my standards. But I was wondering about this:

andyhix said:
If this was already mentioned, sorry, but make sure if you go the MSH-1 route, you get an audio interface that has phantom power (or get a seperate unit). The MSH is a condensor mic, and therefore requires phantom power to work.
Click to expand...

You didn't mean that it comes with an audio interface, did you?
 
BillC15 said:
You didn't mean that it comes with an audio interface, did you?
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Condensor mics need electricity to operate. This is usually supplied back up the xlr cable that you use to plug into the audio interface. If you want to keep costs down get an audio interface that has a couple of built in mic preamps. These preamps will provide the phantom power for the mic. Audio interfaces that don't have built in preamps won't be able to power the mic. Or indeed take the mic direct at all.

Best thing you can do is keep reading and keep asking questions before you purchase it'll be beneficial in the long run.

Another thing to look out for in your audio interface is low latency monitoring. Or direct monitoring. Without that you'll need a mixer as well.
 
Barn Owl said:
The closer the mic to the source the less room you'll pick up. What's your room like bill?
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My room is sorta small I would say. Not really much else to say about it.

Any way I have two more questions so I'll ask this one first.

Now I would probably purchase 2 msh-1's because to me, this sounds like a great deal. To record drums using these two mics in particular, what kind of configuration would you recommend? I was thinking of an X/Y config.
 
that's a good idea. there's a great sounding drum clip on the naiant site made by a member here (madaudio) using just a pair of msh-1's in a well treated room. it sounds very good.
 
Barn Owl said:
You might want to try this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiFOD1EeKhQ
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Thanks a lot for that. That will be very helpful. S now I'm going to ask my next question which is sorta off topic.

While I was looking for an audio interface I checked on stores like zzounds and Musician's Friend and a lot were around $170. However, I went to ebay and you could get them for like $20! Is this alright? What should I be looking for in a usb audio interface? I need some general advice.
 
Well you'll need to be able to record two channels simultaneously for a start, and unless you want to buy seperate preamps you'll want 2 preamps, and you'll need phantom power, and you'll want direct monitoring or low latency monitoring. And are you sure you want usb... don't you want firewire? And how much do you want to spend? The bare minimum or the best money can buy or what?
 
I read that is firewire for macs, but I do have a fire wire cable (the one that came with my iPod). So I suppose it would work. As far as price, do you think I could find what I need on ebay for around $50? I know that there's no such thing as that if I wanted to buy it new, but remember, I'm just getting started here.

This one looks like it has everything I would need: http://cgi.ebay.com/Edirol-FA101-FireWire-Audio-Interface-PC-Mac_W0QQitemZ300146133130QQihZ020QQcategoryZ41784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Firewire is not just for macs but a bog standard pc may not have a firewire port. FireWire is Apple's brand name for the IEEE 1394 interface so if you have a 1394 port on your pc you have a firewire interface.

I think you're going to struggle to get something with low latency and built in preamps for $50, especially firewire or usb. I dunno you might get an older pci card or something. Maybe someone else can chip in with suggestions in that price range.
 
when getting started I think having a pre amp is a must because that line boost is essential for going straight to your native sound card which tend to have high noise floors. I think the sm57 is a nice mic to start on-yes there are plenty of cheaper ones but at under $100 its a mic you can use at all levels of recording and isn't highly biased in its range so can use it for just about anything.

and always try to buy used! I would say 75% of my gear is used and I've saved alot of money this way. just take some time to surf the net and ebay and it pays off.
 
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