What else do i need other than my mic for good sound quality?

[atifkt]

I just got a good mic for around 70$.
Now i want to ask what else do i need to make the sound good and for the info the mic came with a xlr cable?
I have the sound card which came by default which is not good enough.
SO will i need to buy a pre amp or mixer etc.? and will i also need to upgrade my sound card?

 

[Massive Master]

1) I don't know of a "good" mic in the $70 range. But I digress.

B) The recording process is a process of stacking nickels to make dollars.

The core sounds are only as good as the song ---
The mic is only ever as good as the core sounds ---
The preamp is only ever as good as the mic ---
The converter is only ever as good as the preamp ---
The interface should be completely transparent to anything but a data stream ---

Then the mix is only as good as the core sounds that make it up ---
The production master is only ever as good as the mixes the mastering engineer is presented with ---

Going 'backwards' to some extent are the two 'rules' that govern basically every other 'rule of thumb' -

1) No matter your gear, no matter years of critical listening experience, no matter the core sounds, you will only ever hear as accurately and consistently as your monitoring chain allows you to hear - Period, no exceptions, end of story.

2) No matter how accurate and consistent your monitoring chain may be, it will only ever be as accurate and consistent as the room that chain is in allows it to be - Period, no exceptions, end of story.

"A good mic" is ONE - tiny, simple link in a long chain that makes up a quality recording.

THAT ALL OUT OF THE WAY:

Of course you're going to need a decent preamp. You're going to need *A* preamp before a mic will do much of anything. And again, that preamp is only going to be as decent as the following pieces in the chain (in this case, the converters, interface, etc.). If you have a common 'stock' sound card created without regard for sound quality (most aren't - that's pretty normal), don't expect much from it.

 

[xbxrxixtx]

For good sound quality I would suggest a better mic. My guess is that the $70 mic is not going to sound as professional as you think or hope. Like the other post said, there is a long line of things that go into play when recording. Personally I think the mic is the most important piece of gear because it captures the sound. Granted if the person singing or playing into the mic sucks, then the end product will suck (though maybe not as much with effects added). But besides the quality of the mic, the placement of the mic is important as well.

Then you have everything else in the chain. A good preamp, good a/d converters (if needed) good processing gear...etc. If you are just starting out, even with great gear you probably wont know how to properly use it and still will end up with sub-par sound.

From what I've seen in your posts I would get a solid interface to connect to your computer and go from there. A decent mic, and decent interface can give you good sounds if you know what you are doing. Then you can build from there by adding a better preamp, and better outboard gear or plugins.

 

[mjbphotos]

Read the stickied threads at the top of the Newbies section of this forum, for a start.

 

[rocksure]

1) I don't know of a "good" mic in the $70 range. But I digress.

B) The recording process is a process of stacking nickels to make dollars.

The core sounds are only as good as the song ---
The mic is only ever as good as the core sounds ---
The preamp is only ever as good as the mic ---
The converter is only ever as good as the preamp ---
The interface should be completely transparent to anything but a data stream ---

Then the mix is only as good as the core sounds that make it up ---
The production master is only ever as good as the mixes the mastering engineer is presented with ---

Going 'backwards' to some extent are the two 'rules' that govern basically every other 'rule of thumb' -

1) No matter your gear, no matter years of critical listening experience, no matter the core sounds, you will only ever hear as accurately and consistently as your monitoring chain allows you to hear - Period, no exceptions, end of story.

2) No matter how accurate and consistent your monitoring chain may be, it will only ever be as accurate and consistent as the room that chain is in allows it to be - Period, no exceptions, end of story.

"A good mic" is ONE - tiny, simple link in a long chain that makes up a quality recording.

THAT ALL OUT OF THE WAY:

Of course you're going to need a decent preamp. You're going to need *A* preamp before a mic will do much of anything. And again, that preamp is only going to be as decent as the following pieces in the chain (in this case, the converters, interface, etc.). If you have a common 'stock' sound card created without regard for sound quality (most aren't - that's pretty normal), don't expect much from it.

Absolutely agree with you here.......spot on!
When someone is new to recording and is just starting out at it there is so much to learn. I have written a few tutorials, some of which I believe would be helpful for the OP to read. They cover various aspects of the whole process of understanding audio things. It really is worth investing time in learning the terms, techniques, things to look out for etc whether someone is a newbie or a more experienced person. Some of my tutorials can be found at Rocksure Soundz Tutorials.