Recommend a good microphone for recording?

[Kais]

I need an all purpose mic to record some demos in my basement, for mic-ing up a guitar cabinet, bass cabinet, vocals, keyboards, acoustics, ect. Price range is a bit flexible, I'm not sure how much one would cost. But firstly, does such a mic even exist? I'm really not familiar with mics at all. Thanks.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

Shure sm57.

I hate to be that guy, but it's time-tested and an industry standard. There are better vocal mics and better amp mics and better acoustic mics, but none of them can really do all three PLUS get beat to heck and still function.

If you're a fan of Top Gear, the SM57 is that Toyota Hilux they couldn't kill.

 

[Kais]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

Shure sm57.

I hate to be that guy, but it's time-tested and an industry standard. There are better vocal mics and better amp mics and better acoustic mics, but none of them can really do all three PLUS get beat to heck and still function.

If you're a fan of Top Gear, the SM57 is that Toyota Hilux they couldn't kill.

Thanks. Right, obviously if I were to buy 3-4 separate mics I would get better quality for each instrument. But your right, this seems to be the most popular mic, and a "standard". Best overall mic? Not too expensive either, can pick it up for $70 or less new

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

Thanks. Right, obviously if I were to buy 3-4 separate mics I would get better quality for each instrument. But your right, this seems to be the most popular mic, and a "standard". Best overall mic? Not too expensive either, can pick it up for $70 or less new

I would heartily suggest buying new from an established vendor or store. They're the target of scams and fakes, so if you get a dud make sure you can return it for a full refund. You can literally get scammed from the exporter and the packaging will seem legit.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[Kais]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

I would heartily suggest buying new from an established vendor or store. They're the target of scams and fakes, so if you get a dud make sure you can return it for a full refund. You can literally get scammed from the exporter and the packaging will seem legit.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

ah yes, I see the fakes on ebay now. Thanks for the tip, I will be sure to buy an authentic one. Ain't got time for fakes & scams

 

[Securb]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

Shure sm57.

I hate to be that guy, but it's time-tested and an industry standard. There are better vocal mics and better amp mics and better acoustic mics, but none of them can really do all three PLUS get beat to heck and still function.

If you're a fan of Top Gear, the SM57 is that Toyota Hilux they couldn't kill.

+1 on the 57 it is also great for vocals. Not sure if you need to drop Beta57 money a standard 57 does the job.

 

[Kais]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

+1 on the 57 it is also great for vocals. Not sure if you need to drop Beta57 money a standard 57 does the job.

well the beta is only $30 more, you think its worth it?

 

[jtougas]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

Any recording rig should have - at least - a '57 and a '58. If nothing else works well on the source, they will work reasonably well.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

the beta 57 is a terriffic vocal mic, i like it better than the beta 58

a sm57 is a great mic and everyone should have one. its easy to get a decent sound and reliable

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

If you're going with an inexpensive dynamic mic I'd spring the extra cash for the beta 57. It has a pop filter built in so it will work much better for vocals than a standard 57 which has no pop filter.

 

[Kais]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

If you're going with an inexpensive dynamic mic I'd spring the extra cash for the beta 57. It has a pop filter built in so it will work much better for vocals than a standard 57 which has no pop filter.

would the guitar quality essentially be the same with both mics?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

the beta is a better mic for most applications

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

I prefer the Beta 57 on everything vs. the SM57.

The SM is fine, but I have yet to find a situation where the Beta isn't a better choice.

However, I'm going to dissent with the prevailing opinion in this thread and say that a good cardioid or multi-pattern condenser mic is going to be your best choice for versatility.

Low budget:
Audio Technica AT2020 - great for acoustic and most vocals (especially male), and surprisingly good on most guitar amps. I use mine a lot.
Audio Technica AT2035 - same capsule as the 2020 but with a nice shock cradle and a couple nice-to-have switches.

Mid range:
Rode NT2 - hard to get a bad sound out of this mic; extremely versatile.
AKG C 214 - basically the front half of the legendary 414. Love it on vocals and electric guitar.

Everything I've listed above will be as good or better than an SM57 on a guitar amp, and much, much, much better on acoustic guitar and vocals.

If you insist on a dynamic mic, look at the Sennheiser e609 - my favourite on guitar amps, and not too shabby on vocals.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

As far as studio condensers go, I have an AKG perception which are very reasonably priced for what they offer.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

As far as studio condensers go, I have an AKG perception which are very reasonably priced for what they offer.

I liked using my AKG Perception 100 along with a Shure SM57 to double-track guitars. The 57 up close, the condenser a little further away. Works nicely for acoustics and amplified electrics. That's not a lot of money for mics, but I thought the results were pretty good.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

1. SM-57, because it's affordable, it sounds fine, and it's all you need to get started.
2. Yes, the Beta is worth the extra dough IMO, simply because of the more directional pickup pattern.

 

[ginormous]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

The SM 57 is the "swiss army" mic. It does a lot, it's reasonably priced, and there's plenty of fakes out there (so go to this website for details on the real deal).

If you buy from a US retailer, until Dec 31, there's a rebate.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

Having an SM57 never hurts. If you record a lot of acoustic guitars you may check the Rode M3 too. It is a small diaphragm condenser, much like a cheaper AKG C1000 that doesn't shine in any particular application really but does everything decent from field recording to instrument and vocal recording.

 

[Kais]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

thanks for the advice everyone, seems like shure sm57 is the pop vote. so i'll probably go with that, looks to be the cheapest also. i dont think condenser mics are a good option because i'm recording in my basement, background noise ect. if i'm feeling good i might opt for the beta57

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Recommend a good microphone for recording?

As electric guitar players, whether we know it or not, our ears are already 'tuned' to the SM57 due to it ubiquity.

It's a great place to start. Later you may want to think about augmenting the 57 with another dynamic, condenser, or ribbon mic, and blend the two together. Certainly not a necessity, but gives you more options.