Mic question

[Turd]

Sup, NG.
I've come to you today with a question.
Can you direct me to the cheapest, professional studio microphone?
Plz&thnx.

[Yoshiii343]

the cheap mics made from obscure chinese companies from your local computer store.

[Turd]

At 11/18/12 01:42 PM, Yoshiii343 wrote: the cheap mics made from obscure chinese companies from your local computer store.

I was thinking more around the lines of specific mics you would recommend.

[Schleif]

in my experience, if you want something cheap and decent, you can go for pretty much anything (such as an obscure chinese company, *hint hint*). but depending on what you mean with "professional studio microphone" there really isn't a cheap option. medium-priced products tend to be similar cheap crap with high price tags. and questionable paint jobs.

if you don't have much of a budget, you can still work with inexpensive equipment. as cheesy as it may sound, it's not about what you have, but what you do with it.

[DivoFST]

At 11/18/12 02:02 PM, LichLordMusic wrote: You can pick up decent USB microphones for vocal recording off of sites like Amazon for around Ã'£100.

Agree 100%...i have a USB Samson mic and it does the trick, so for it was worth the money no doubt.

[bassfiddlejones]

It depends on what you want to use it for. Vocals? Guitar? Bass?

A great all around mic is the Shure SM57. It's exactly the same as the SM58 but without the ball on top (which you can buy to turn it into an SM58 if you really want). Professional studios use this mic for everything. It's a very popular guitar mic, and a lot of people use them for vocals. You can pick one up for around $100.

If you want something more for acoustic instruments/vocals, I'd recommend the AKG Perception 420, or something in that price range. It's a large diaphragm condenser mic, and has a fantastic sound for the price. You can grab one for about $250. Don't expect to spend less than that if you want a half-decent large diaphragm condenser.

Again, it really depends on what you want to record, and how you're going to record it. You could have a U87, but with a terrible preamp and bad recording techniques it would sound like an MXL.

[ChimeraNoise]

At 11/18/12 01:21 PM, 3Flay wrote: Sup, NG.
I've come to you today with a question.
Can you direct me to the cheapest, professional studio microphone?
Plz&thnx.

What's your budget?

[Turd]

At 11/18/12 02:02 PM, LichLordMusic wrote: You can pick up decent USB microphones for vocal recording off of sites like Amazon for around Ã'£100.

Like what, do you think? I'm looking for crisp clean quality, a mic that'll last me a long time.

I would suggest getting some form of dampening like a snap-on vocal booth for your mic stand or even cheap dampening tiles which are like Ã'£25 for 25 will do the trick unless it's srs business recording.

Y'know, what's funny is that I don't even have a stand. I've got a VF420. It's not complete shit, but I'm looking for something that'll give me a more professional sound quality. Also I don't quite follow what you mean by "dampening." Care to explain?

[Turd]

At 11/18/12 03:11 PM, ChimeraNoise wrote: What's your budget?

$100-$150ish, around that area.

[ChimeraNoise]

At 11/18/12 04:17 PM, 3Flay wrote:

At 11/18/12 03:11 PM, ChimeraNoise wrote: What's your budget?

$100-$150ish, around that area.

I'll just list several good mics in that price range, assuming you've already got the necessary equipment for them.

In no particular order:
Shure SM57 ($99).
Shure SM58 ($99).
MXL 990/991 package ($99).
MXLV63M w/ shockmount ($99)
Audio-Technica AT2020 ($99)
Sterling Audio ST51 ($79)

[MetalRenard]

For that budget I've had a lot of people recommend this: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3D aps&field-keywords=blue+yeti+microphone

I haven't tied it myself yet though.

[garlagan]

At 11/18/12 04:58 PM, ChimeraNoise wrote: Shure SM58 ($99).
Audio-Technica AT2020 ($99)

I'd suggest choosing between these two. Both are great depending on what you need. First one is dynamic, the other one is a condenser mic. If you're gonna record in a noisy ambient go for the SM58. Otherwise, go for the AT2020. Just like almost every condenser, it's got a big frequency response (20Hz - 20kHz approx).

SM58
AT2020

[ColonelMagus]

This is my microphone.

It's not a specific brand, but it's pretty good.
It says Supreme CU-1 and I bought it for about $130.
I live in Norway though, so stuff is a little more expensive here.
It may not be a proper brand, but I guess I was lucky it works as well as it does.

I hope you find yourself a good one.

[MetalRenard]

At 11/18/12 08:28 PM, garlagan wrote:

At 11/18/12 04:58 PM, ChimeraNoise wrote: Shure SM58 ($99).
Audio-Technica AT2020 ($99)

I'd suggest choosing between these two. Both are great depending on what you need. First one is dynamic, the other one is a condenser mic. If you're gonna record in a noisy ambient go for the SM58. Otherwise, go for the AT2020. Just like almost every condenser, it's got a big frequency response (20Hz - 20kHz approx).

SM58
AT2020

This, exactly. Personally I would always go for a condenser mic is I was recording vocals. They just have that extra crispiness that other mics don't.

[Megamannt92]

At 11/18/12 01:21 PM, 3Flay wrote: Sup, NG.
I've come to you today with a question.
Can you direct me to the cheapest, professional studio microphone?
Plz&thnx.

A Samson c01 or AT2020.

Both obtainable used on Guitar center for 30$-50$. Note that you need a phantom power source for a condenser mic.

See:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Search/Default.aspx?internal=1&b rowser=&fsrc=&src=samson+c01
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used-Gear.gc?src=AT2020&ipp=25