At 4/2/15 02:34 PM, GrahamNG wrote:
At 4/2/15 02:04 PM, Lich wrote:
If you don't mind filtering out static manually or you have a gate VST to help you on the software-side: Grab a Shure SM78 or SM58 second hand on ebay, they are both excellent microphones sub-£100 and there are usually like 5 or 6 of them up for bid or buy all the time. Either one should go for under £65 used, I picked up my SM58 from a seller who dropped the price down to £40 because of some cosmetic damage (still runs flawlessly to this day). If ambient noise is an issue and you want to stick to hardware for it all, just DIY dampen the area with clutter and hanging blankets to help filter it out or run the mic through a noise Suppressor pedal like a Boss NS-2 (which are like £20-30 used).
If you are really adamant about ambient noise cancellation on that price range of £65 though the only Mic I can immediately think of would the the Shure 562 and even then that would exceed your price range unless you grab it second-hand (they are also harder to find used and brand new you are looking at around £75-90).
Thanks for the reply. Do you have any experience with the AT2020? It's 60 pounds pre-owned and apparently is a really nice condenser. I actually have a microphone boom arm and I was wondering if I slapped my pop filter on it and put it about 1/2 foot away from my face would I get favourable results. Other than that, I'm leaning towards the sm58.
I've got an AT2020. For vocals, I hate them. They are really bright, brittle, harsh, and thin. At least I find from what I remember. Oddly enough, the freq response graph on them looks pretty nice, but I've never enjoyed using mine. Probably why it just sits there.
The pop filter (depending how good it is) is to take away plosives that would overload your mic. P/D/B/T noises. If its a crappy one (like the Blue Spark comes with) its more a spit filter than pop (read, useless). Placement is key, but it also depends on the polar pattern and response; if you, say, 45 degrees off of center, some mics may roll down like 3 or so dB.
I recall buying a second hand NT1A off ebay for about 150 USD (about 100 pounds). Thats a little out of your budget, but honestly, I'd say save up for a little bit. I enjoy the NT1A a lot, especially for the dirty cheap price I got it at. Bundles are usually more in cost however and naturally. That, and Michael Joly of Oktavamod has a modification for relatively cheap to get you a pretty damn convincing emulator of a U87 (400 USD/270 pounds), versus what, 3k plus USD for a U87; not bad at all from an investment standpoint.