What's a good mic?

[Nightburst]

I know the SM57 is the industry standard for micing a guitar cab but I'm shure there are other less known mic's out there which are probably as good or even better. I'm looking for something in the same price range as the sm57. (100 Euro's) Stretching the budget a little is ok.

I intend to use it for home recording so I need a specific cable too? I'm going from the mic diretly into the pc board or into my MD player so I'll need a mini jack on one side. Do these cables even exist? Is there any impedance issue with this I should look out for?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What's a good mic?

My current favourite mic for guitars, and the one I used on all the rhythm and harmony guitars for the album is a The Ball mic by BLUE. It's a phantom powered dynamic mic, and it has a flat midrange, and a very open top end. I will probably use it on my next album as well! Highly recommended.

I would run the mic into a mic pre, like the ART Tube MP, and then use a 1/4" to mini-plug cable going out of the mic cable and into the LINE INPUT on your MD recorder.

 

[gordon_39422]

Re: What's a good mic?

I would run the mic into a mic pre, like the ART Tube MP, and then use a 1/4" to mini-plug cable going out of the mic cable and into the LINE INPUT on your MD recorder.

That would yield the best results in tone and eliminate impedance problems.

If you are goin to use it for vocals as well, the BETA 58 by Shure is an awesome mic as well. A little more pricey than the SM 57's and 58's, but the headroom and clarity is phenomenal for all applications!

Just my humble opinion!

 

[Nightburst]

Re: What's a good mic?

My current favourite mic for guitars, and the one I used on all the rhythm and harmony guitars for the album is a The Ball mic by BLUE. It's a phantom powered dynamic mic, and it has a flat midrange, and a very open top end. I will probably use it on my next album as well! Highly recommended.

I would run the mic into a mic pre, like the ART Tube MP, and then use a 1/4" to mini-plug cable going out of the mic cable and into the LINE INPUT on your MD recorder.

Thanks for the quick reply!

That makes me wonder:

If I get a condenser mic I'd have to use a mic preamp with phantom power? I plan on getting a small mix board in the future but I don't want to spend a lot of money on that kind of stuff yet.
So would it be better to get a mix board (which has a power amp inside to run several mics into) or to get a mic pre-amp?(because it is cheaper?)

If I go for the mix board, I'd probably want something powerfull enough to use 2 or 3 mics for band practice in my band's future rehearsal room?

Sorry, lot's of questions...

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What's a good mic?

Either one will work, so long as it has phantom power. Most cheap mixers have inferior mic pre's in them than a stand-alone unit of the same price.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: What's a good mic?

That would yield the best results in tone and eliminate impedance problems.

If you are goin to use it for vocals as well, the BETA 58 by Shure is an awesome mic as well. A little more pricey than the SM 57's and 58's, but the headroom and clarity is phenomenal for all applications!

Just my humble opinion!

Thanks for the suggestion,
I've been reading about it and it's awesome, but I just can't justify spending 300 on a mic...

 

[Nightburst]

Re: What's a good mic?

Either one will work, so long as it has phantom power. Most cheap mixers have inferior mic pre's in them than a stand-alone unit of the same price.

OK, thanks!

Are cheap mixers that bad? (Looking at some of Behringer's stuff)

 

[Nightburst]

Re: What's a good mic?

How about getting a Mic (SM57) and a Behringer Tube ultragain mic 200? Will cost me 105 + 59 = 164 Euro's. (Just checked some websites) Is that a good setup?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What's a good mic?

How about getting a Mic (SM57) and a Behringer Tube ultragain mic 200? Will cost me 105 + 59 = 164 Euro's. (Just checked some websites) Is that a good setup?

That will be a smashing setup for guitar tracks! The '57 is actually a very versatile mic. Placed carefully, I've tracked band rehearsals with just one in the center of the room, about 7' above the floor.

 

[gordon_39422]

Re: What's a good mic?

I love the 57!! I also run a Behringer UB802 6-channel mixer with 2 channels that have dedicated pre-amps. Granted they are not the best in the world, but I personally think they rock for the price. I do my recording directly into my PC through an EMU 0404 audio interface. I have absolutely no complaints with the mixer, and it is small enough that it fits in a little cubby hole on my desk. I think I paid $60 for it brand-new! Plenty of quality for the amatuer home recording hobbyist.

Oh yeah, I got the Beta 58A for 150USD, that is only 50USD higher than the SM58. That is about 110 Euro at the current exchange rate.

 

[diatribe]

Re: What's a good mic?

I use 57's, 58's, and beta 58's all the time. If i was going to start over i would get a 57 first
-last time i started with a 58 many years ago-

I think behringer makes very good stuff for the price and it will get you started. I think that is the important thing.

Look at the bay, you can find 57's cheap on there especially if you are not in a hurry to buy.

The thing I like about the 57 over the two 58's is the amount of gain they can handle, they work the best for my vocals and others in my range(tenor), and you can use them for everything you are recording from drums to piano to an airplane.

If you get a small mixing board, which i would recomend, make sure it has enough imputs for your whole band so when you do get into your rehersal space you won't have to buy a bigger one, you will already have the tools to work on a nice P.A.

Also, don't spend big money on nice mic's yet, get the basics sounding good and you will see more improvment and less disapointment down the road.

Just a couple of thoughts-hope it helps some
DJM

 

[Xeromus]

Re: What's a good mic?

I work in a studio, and am a recording student and have access to the studio and equipment here which means hundreds of mics, including many mult-thousand dollar ones. And what I've found, and even what my teacher has told me, they are just different flavors, and sometimes the most basic, inexpensive mic will do the job better than very expensive ones. I like the Blue baby bottle for miking up nylon string guitars. My choice for miking amplifier speakers? SM-57, it just doesn't get much better than that. I'm partial to a CAD 22-A that I own for vocals, I like it a bit more than my 58.

condensers can be nice at times, but I feel they capture TOO MUCH of the frequency range and are much brighter and sensitive than dynamic mics, even with the gain turned down on the mixer, that's just their characteristic.

 

[DirrtyCraig]

Re: What's a good mic?

I totally agree. Every mic I've evr used other than an SM-57 changes the sound too much. I've always found if you can dial in a good tone and get your levels right, the 57 will represent your cab sound best.

 

[bluey@sunni]

Re: What's a good mic?

try a shure Beta57A, studio quality, will take alot of SPL (this means LOUD) or if you have sharp attack sound go for a Beta52A. This is the same as your drummers kick drum or it should be! Rode an Australian company also make some wicked gear, rode.com.au I think. I agree that an SM57 will cover most uses but a top shelf condenser is best just be careful of the SPL you put in, this causes distortion because of overload by signal ie a 747 at takeoff is 140dB, you go deaf because it basically "distorts" your hearing permanently.

 

[Xeromus]

Re: What's a good mic?

try a shure Beta57A, studio quality, will take alot of SPL (this means LOUD) or if you have sharp attack sound go for a Beta52A. This is the same as your drummers kick drum or it should be! Rode an Australian company also make some wicked gear, rode.com.au I think. I agree that an SM57 will cover most uses but a top shelf condenser is best just be careful of the SPL you put in, this causes distortion because of overload by signal ie a 747 at takeoff is 140dB, you go deaf because it basically "distorts" your hearing permanently.

SPL = Sound Pressure Level for those who don't know. Being a musician and recording engineer and owner of some common sense personally I've deducted - if it's too loud, turn it down. If something is loud enough to hurt your ears or cause ringing you're doing something wrong. Any time I play somewhere loud or if go to a concert I wear earplugs. You can still hear everything but you don't have direct SPL in your ears. The other problem is most tube amps don't sound great until they get cranked. Unfortunately that sound level is not practical nor safe. I'm a big fan of attenuators and good sounding combo amps. Some of the best recordings I've done were either direct or recorded at a low to moderate volume. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I like sound quality over sheer loudness a great deal. Loudness is ugly to me. And MOST important of all I feel my ears are one of my most important tools. How could I work or be a musician if I couldn't hear very well? Doesn't that seem to defeat the purpose?

I went off on a tangent I know.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: What's a good mic?

I always use an AKG414....I like to get what I can, besides it can cut out some of the massive bottom my Hiwatt sometimes produce
The 57 is nice because it is so midoriented, but it can easily give you that slight remote feel.
The AKG is more expensive, but I love the clarity, but that is not for all I guess??

 

[Nightburst]

Re: What's a good mic?

Thank you all for the great reply's! You guys really know your stuff.

I bought the sm57 and the Behringer tube ultragain 200. Expect some good quality clips in the future!
Sometimes I feel almost guilty for owning such an amp and not sharing clips with everyone here.

 

[MikeS]

Re: What's a good mic?

We've used the Shure SM-57, BETA58, and Sennheiser E609. The 58 is an outstanding vocal mic. The 609 has been our #1 cabinet mic for some time. I also like it because you don't have to run phantom power with it great for simplicity's sake (worked in our case b/c for the longest time we were making recording far too complex. This way we mic the cab, grip, and rip).