Which mic should I buy?

[Cyou]

Hello all,

Since I am new to digital recording, I am keen to buy 2 things:

1. An external usb soundcard (with onboard preamp) for my laptop (I was leaning towards m-audio's mobilepre)

2. An 'all purpose' condensor mic (preferably under $200) that I can use to record simple accoustic guitar and vocal tracks.

Does anybody have some advice regarding which gear I should purchase? I am sorry since you probably get these questions all the time, but your help will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Cyou

 

[Leeking]

1. tascam 428 is a good choice if budget allow.

2. SP C1 (refer to avatar... )

 

[Cyou]

Thanks for your quick reply Leeking,

Pardon my lack of jargon, but could you please tell me what SP C1 is short for as well as 'Avatar'? You're dealing with a complete novice here...The tascam looks pretty good. Thanks again

Cyou

 

[Nosferous]

Studio Projects C1

an avatar is the image on the left hand side under each persons username. But I have avatars disabled in my profile, so you may not even see the avatars if you have it disabled as well.

 

[Cyou]

Thank you Nosferous and Leeking

The Studio Projects C1 looks really good. Just what I'm looking for. Cheers

 

[chessparov]

The Tascam 428 is a nice unit, however, it doesn't have phantom power
for a condenser IIRC.

Chris

 

[DJL]

The Studio Projects C1 looks really good. Just what I'm looking for. Cheers

Checkout the Marshall MXL V67G microphone, it's just as good if not better than the Studio Projects C1... and the Marshall MXL V67G also COST LESS than the Studio Projects C1 too.

 

[Dot]

I'm a big fan of the SP C1 for vocals, but it's not nearly the all-purpose LDC that you get with the $79 Studio Projects B1. Also, you could additionally get DJL's recommendation of the MXL V67, which runs $79 - $99. So, you could get two mics that complement each other well for less than a C1 - and I think they're better suited for your purposes.

The V67 is very colored and a bit dark, and the B1 is fairly neutral and great on acoustic gtr, vox and just about anything else.

Then again, if you just wanted to start with one mic, I'd go with the B1.

Dan Richards
Digital Pro Sound
The Listening Sessions

 

[Dethska]

Read the FAQ by Grahamware. It will tell you about all the budget mics you are interested in.

 

[Richard Monroe]

What Dot said-Richie

 

[Innovations]

The mobilepre is a nice cheap unit, only suffering from one significant limitation, that being the inability to record at 24/96.

As for the mic, I would suggest the B1 unless you like warm mics with lots of proximity effect then you could go with the V67G

 

[Cyou]

Thanks to everyone for the input....I will keep an eye on this thread before becoming too impulsive on the purchasing front.

Innovations, this limitation mobilepre suffers from (not being able to record at 24/96) - Can you please explain this a little more, bearing in mind by lack of recording jargon? Also, are there any similarly priced preamps you can recommend? Cheers in advance.

Cyou

 

[Cyou]

By the way, Thanks Dethska for pointing me in the direction of Grahamware's faq. Really good stuff.

Cyou

 

[Dethska]

YEAH! I'm helpful.