Tav Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 I am looking for some suggestions for a microphone for recording with the multi-track I am about to get. I would also be using it with my PC. Basically I need it for recording acoustic guitar, guitar amp, vocals and maybe some other bits n pieces. I don't want to shell out heaps, I would like to keep it sub 100 as I will only be using it on a small multi-track and PC for ideas/rough demos. I do however want a well made mic that will last and one that will capture the sound well enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.A.R.T Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 shure sm57 - its the one and only! 70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 i like the bd421 for all-round stuff. You could always look around (sound-on-sound forums?) and see if you can pick up an nt-1 (not a) for that or hopefully a bit under. I just nicked my friend's nt-3 and it's amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Have a look on the shure website (www.shure.com) and under Knowledge there are teaching materials, and I think there are tips on what mics are good to use for certain things. Might be worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 SM 57 is a good all-round mic which'll do you fine for putting down rough tracks at home. Sennheiser also do mics which are similar but slightly cheaper. I'd be dubious about buying second-hand mics. Most engineers would rather sell their grandmothers than a good mic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tav Posted April 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 I checked the Sure site and the SM57 came up in all the suggest uses I was looking for. I think it'll be that but I shall check those Sennheser mics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spellchecker Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Originally posted by soundian: I'd be dubious about buying second-hand mics. Most engineers would rather sell their grandmothers than a good mic. erk, just what i want to hear after what i've just bought off ebay.on a side note, i saw an MXL 77 valve microphone or something on ebay that never sold. you can buy it from turnkey for 700 quid, yet this thing got no bids and started with a no-reserve opening bid of 300 quid. the thing that confused me was that it had a 7 pin XLR - what the hell are the extra four pins for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Originally posted by spellchecker:erk, just what i want to hear after what i've just bought off ebay.on a side note, i saw an MXL 77 valve microphone or something on ebay that never sold. you can buy it from turnkey for 700 quid, yet this thing got no bids and started with a no-reserve opening bid of 300 quid. the thing that confused me was that it had a 7 pin XLR - what the hell are the extra four pins for? It would depend where the mic came from, if it was a defunct studio then you're probably alright. The extra pins would be for power to the valve. It should have a PSU with it as well, maybe that's why it didn't sell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig deadenstereo Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 some guy is selling a sm57 on the harmony-central amp forum for 40 or something. Look in the uk spam thread at top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spellchecker Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Originally posted by soundian:It would depend where the mic came from, if it was a defunct studio then you're probably alright. The extra pins would be for power to the valve. It should have a PSU with it as well, maybe that's why it didn't sell?Mine's a Neumann TLM103, it came from a guy in Fife, and I'm guessing (hoping) it was home studio usage. The MXL valve mic did come with a power supply actually. I'm surprised it didn't get a single bid. I probably would have, had I not bid on the Neumann instead. The guy with the MXL said he had bought two for a job, was keeping one and selling the other.I picked up a spirit folio mixer as well, should arrive tomorrow or saturday, along with the dirty old compressor unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Originally posted by spellchecker:Mine's a Neumann TLM103, it came from a guy in Fife, and I'm guessing (hoping) it was home studio usage. The MXL valve mic did come with a power supply actually. I'm surprised it didn't get a single bid. I probably would have, had I not bid on the Neumann instead. The guy with the MXL said he had bought two for a job, was keeping one and selling the other.I picked up a spirit folio mixer as well, should arrive tomorrow or saturday, along with the dirty old compressor unit. Maybe he was just upgrading, I don't suppose much people with a home studio could afford, or justify, having two 'main' mics. Or maybe it's just been knocked over one too many times. I've just bought a shitty little behringer tube pre-amp and the valve seems to be fucked. Excellent. I was hoping to get some distortion out of it, now it appears I've got more than I expected. Once I get some money off for that, it should be a bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hog Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 I got an ace mike from Tescos. We used it for the vocals on the last Spike Pile Driver album, it was 2.99. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tav Posted April 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 I'll erm keep that option in mind Hog lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hog Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 Originally posted by Tav:I'll erm keep that option in mind Hog lol. Aye! I lost it so we picked up one from ASDAs for about 6.99. phew thats expensive.....Im scared we are selling out!In all seriousness though, I have seen cracking deals on Ebay recently Including a proper set of drum mikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeornothing Posted April 17, 2004 Report Share Posted April 17, 2004 Originally posted by Alex:i like the bd421 for all-round stuff. You could always look around (sound-on-sound forums?) and see if you can pick up an nt-1 (not a) for that or hopefully a bit under. I just nicked my friend's nt-3 and it's amazing. Why not the NT1A? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 I don't know the NT1A but the NT1 was always a bit boxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeornothing Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 I've got an NT1A and I love it, only problem I have just now is the accoustics of the room in which I record, thin hollow plaster walls, and the NT1A picks it up too well....plus it looks nicer than the NT1 aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 AKG C1000S - it cost me about 130 18months ago so perhaps it's sub 100 now? Cracking piece of kit especially if your vocal delivery is quiet / bassy (Shures are crap at picking up quiet vox). The only gripe I've got at the moment is that it needs a fair bit of compression to pick up fingerpicking (although it might be I need a new battery for the mic!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Originally posted by ghost: The only gripe I've got at the moment is that it needs a fair bit of compression to pick up fingerpicking (although it might be I need a new battery for the mic!). ? Do you mean you have to compress the signal a lot to get finger-picking coming through as opposed to strumming i.e. compressing the strumming a lot. That's expected. The C1000 is a decent all round mic, I would have suggested it myself if I knew they were sub 100 now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imprinted Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 i've just seen an add in future music magazine for a company called iMuso selling a shure sm58 and a stand for 70...dunno if the promo's still on.Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by soundian:Do you mean you have to compress the signal a lot to get finger-picking coming through as opposed to strumming i.e. compressing the strumming a lot. That's expected. There's no strumming in the track, well, nothing substantial anyway. Even miked close to the neck the input level is very low, boosting the gain on the mixer brings in noise. It's maybe just my playing style that's the problem! I NR & compress it a little using a software plug in, and it sounds a tad metallic - should I try just adjusting the EQ and level on the original track and not use compression at all?Sorry for the blatant thread steal.PS. Not sure if you can listen online, but the track in progress is at www.soundclick.com/iansimpson - called Siren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest redmeat Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 I get the same thing with my C1000s. Try the battery first because the output does steadily drop before dying completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Will do. I see they're now making C1000S mics with a battery indicator - handy, if a little late. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundian Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 I would only use compression to even out any peaks on a low level signal i.e. high threshold, high ratio. Otherwise you will introduce more pre-amp noise with the gain make-up. The simplest solution to the C1000 battery problem is phantom power. A small mixer or an outboard pre-amp should do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 .. or the spaceship size 8:4:2 I've currently got in my loft? Once I've sorted out how to set it up (and build an extra room to house it) phantom power will definitely help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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