Studio quality microphone $200 or less

  • Thread starter Thread starter theflyingfoal
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Yo Flyingfoal! Nady-not. Studio Projects B-1, C-1, ADK Hamburg/Vienna, AKG C2000B, CAD M179- all worthy mics at their price point, and all suitable for something in the studio. *BUT*- What makes you think a $200 mic can be had that sounds like a $1000 mic?!? Sorry, dude, but reality sets in. There is generally a reason why $1000+ mics cost that much, and why cheap mics are, well, cheap. I want an Indianapolis racer, but I can only afford a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Can you tell me where I can find an $18,000 car that's just as fast as those NASCAR monsters? The answer is NOWHERE. I can't. I can recommend perfectly good inexpensive mics to you, but don't delude yourself into believing that it's a Neumann, Gefell, Brauner, Schoeps, DPA, Manley, B.L.U.E. Bottle, or whatever, because it isn't. I also want a 1930's Martin dreadnought, but I've only got $100. Do you think a Rogue will get me there? It looks the same, so....
Get over it. Top flight gear costs a lot more than entry level, and pretending that it's all hype won't change that.-Richie
 
Check out the Audio Technica 3035. It does a lot of things well for about $200 new.

Also the AKG C2000B Richie mentioned would be another contender. Same price, and to my ear they are similar.

Also the Audio Technica 4033 can usually be found for about $200 used. It is good on acoustic guitar and many voices.
 
thanks guys

one can but try- nearly everyone has been very helpful

Audio Technica, AKG and a Rode if I can afford it are on the list, it's all about the price. Yes, it's true that a strong signal (voice / diction etc) to start with is perhaps most important, but you can go some long way to ruining it with poor or poorly-chosen equipment. Also, the human voice, and speech in particular is perhaps the most musical thing in the world, the nuances, the inflections, the subtleties, the many styles of expression. This is what I am trying to capture with a modest to mid-range mike, to render it as professionally as I can. There is no harm in aiming as high as you can, whether it is mikes or other things in life, so once again I'd like to thank everyone for their advice, it's gotten me a bit further along the road.

The Foal
 
As other posters have noted, radio voice over mics have traditionally been EV RE-20s or Shure SM7s (after they threw out all the worthless the RCA ribbon mics :D ). Both are great mics and it is possible to find one for $200, but it does require some looking and some luck. I have one of each in great shape and paid $200 for each used over the web. Guy I bought the RE-20 from asked me what they were used for. :p It was basically unused. Worth looking around for. You might also consider an EV RE-15 or RE-16. The RE-16 is the "vocal" version of the RE-15 and has a built in pop filter. Good enough for Elvis. The RE-18 is good too. Have a similar sound to the RE-20.

If you really want a condensor, an AKG c535eb is a decent compromise. Can be used on both vocals and guitars. Has a roll off switch and is well made. It is a currently produced mic and is about $160 used on e-bay.

As mentioned previously, the Marshall V67 is OK. Mars had a run made in all black with "mogami" wiring (ooh, ooh) that then got blown out through Sam Ash for @$80 after the Mars bankruptcy. They are surprisingly decent for an inexpensive chinese condensor. I have one of those too, although I don't use it much. Not as garish as the green and gold ones. Decent, but not my first choice considering that you could probbaly pick up one of the following mics for under your price point.

There are a lot of other chinese capsule based LDs that are good, but not great, mics. I would look for a used mic to stretch your $$. If you shop carefully, you should be able to do pretty well. I've seen used AT-4033s go for around $200 from time to time. A solid LD condensor, if a bit bright on some sources.

A used AT-4054 -- which has the AT-4050 capsule in a handheld mic that is cardioid only with bass roll-off -- is a great mic. They were discontinued when the current model AE5400 was released. They go for @$150 used on e-bay. If you can find one of these, it would be well worth considering - I'd take it over the AKG C535eb. They also made the AT-4053 which has the same capsule but no roll-off -- although it might not be what you want if you want to do voice over work with it.

Another possibility would be one of the Groove Tubes mics from the Alesis era. You might be able to find a used AM-51 or AM52 for @$200 these days. Good quality all purpose LD condensor mic. The AM-52 is a multi pattern mic while the AM-51 is cardioid only.

Good luck.
 
For spoken word, CAD's GXL2400 is a good value at about $80. I've tried a number of mics in the 'under $200' range (Rode NT1A, Marshall 990 and 991, the V67g) and the CAD is the one that didn't end up on eBay. For an extra $100, the Peluso CEMC6 is a solid performer, too. There are a few samples of a number of sessions recorded with a CEMC6 that are posted around here. Check those out.
 
I think a really good question to ask would be , " whats a 200 dollar mic that seems to perform better than the other 200 dollar mics out there ? "

As for my opinion as to what mic is worth looking at , I would say a Studio Projects b-1. It's very versatile and youre asking alot for one mic to handle. Good Luck getting the mic you like. :)
 
Erockrazor said:
I think a really good question to ask would be , " whats a 200 dollar mic that seems to perform better than the other 200 dollar mics out there ? "

As for my opinion as to what mic is worth looking at , I would say a Studio Projects b-1. It's very versatile and youre asking alot for one mic to handle. Good Luck getting the mic you like. :)
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I'm not sure if it qualifies as warm, though, which was part of the original question. To the original poster: ever considered a ribbon? Is there a reason you're going with a LDC for your voice?
 
thanks guys

well, made a purchase, went for studio projects t3 valve, got it from a cowboy but it arrived pretty bashed up, got my money back so back at square 1...
 
jkokura said:
Lots of people ask this question dude...and most get the same response. When it comes to quality equipment you pay for what you get. 200 for a Studio Projects C1 give you a quality mic at a very resonable price. 100 for the SP B1 gives you another quality mic for less...and they're suited for different uses.

Tell us exactly what you want to do (style, instrument, etc.) and how much your budget is...then we can help you narrow down your choices...but if you want a "sounds-like-$2000-but-only-payed-$150" mic - there is no such thing.

Jacob
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Well, in this day and age you have $100 - $200 mics that sound great with specs that match $2,000 mics. You also have $2,000 mics that don't sound good for what you need or may sound great on one voice/instrument and not so great on another. Not to mention you'll find many experienced producers and engineers just have different opinions on the same mic. Some pros (many) record E guitar and vocals with a $90 Shure 57 and some use a $2,000 mic. So to say you can't get a $2,000 mic sound from a cheap mic is simply an opinion, (and what is a $2,000 mic sound anyway?) but many would disagree. While I don't own any $2,000 mics I have access to many high end mics and I choose a lowly old B-1 as often as any of them. There's plenty of pro (not "pro") reviews of cheap mics comparing to high end mics, they can't all be bias reviews. And in the end just about everyone believes a 57 is a good/great cheap mic and Shure doesn't have the market cornered. "Sugar Mountain" was recorded on a cassette recorder with the built in mic by Neil Young at home, sort of puts things in perspective .. at least for me. A great song and heart felt performance shines through no matter what the price of the gear used.
 
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