What Mic Should I buy?

[Dr. Varney]

What kind of mic do I need for speech and vocals?

Condenser? Diaphram? I have no idea what any of this means. I want it to be hand held so I can put it on a stand. I have a mic which cost £3.99 and now I have a budget of £30 and I might even buy a second hand one. So what features and specs do I look out for? I just want to minimize hiss.

 

[Armistice]

I love your "I don't know anything, so educate me!" approach.

Why don't you do a bit of research yourself so you can ask a more focused question?

I'm sure someone will pop along and give you an answer sooner or later, but if you have a budget of 30 pounds then knowing what other equipment you already have and what you're trying to achieve would be necessary to give you any answer at all.

No point buying an LDC for 30 pounds and not having a phantom power source, or money to get one, is there?

Try the microphone forum to upskill yourself - that would be the place you should be asking this question anyway.

 

[Dr. Varney]

Point taken, Armistice. Didn't realise there was a mic forum. Thank you.

 

[Dr. Varney]

I've just found the mic FAQ. That's got me started. Cheers.

 

[Dr. Varney]

I was in a hurry yesterday so I impulse-bought the Kam KDM400 Dynamic Kit for £16.99. I was given an XLR cable into the bargain. It's a vast improvement over the Goodman's cheapo, which just had a thin wire going to a small jack plug. All the hiss is gone because pre-amp needs are minimal. I'm very happy with it.

It's certainly not the last mic I'm ever gonna buy but it works well as a stop gap until I can afford something finer.