Good all round mic.

[fatgoogle]

Im looking for a good all round mic as the title suggests, as im intending to record some of my own stuff this summer.

Id be doing vocals, mic'ing a guitar amp(ill D.I the bass), horns - mainly trumpet, trombone and sax and some light percussion.

Im pretty broke so thats why its just the one mic. So whats the top contender.

If i can find the money, i could be open to two mic's - one for vocals and one for everything else.

Budget is not huge btw.

Cheers
Sam H

[Alex Spencer]

Shure SM57 all the way. Great for everything you've just mentioned! It's almost identical to the Shure SM58 which is the industry standard live vocal mic, however it doesn't have the protective casing, meaning you can get closer to the diaphragm. It's still commonly used live still, even without the protection. Normally around £90 but you can pick them up cheaper. I got mine form the Amazon marketplace for £50 I think. No recording artist should be without a SM57!

http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/sm/sm57-instrument-microphone

[LemonCello]

[quote name='Alex Spencer' timestamp='1330973424' post='1565669']
Shure SM57 all the way. Great for everything you've just mentioned! It's almost identical to the Shure SM58 which is the industry standard live vocal mic, however it doesn't have the protective casing, meaning you can get closer to the diaphragm. It's still commonly used live still, even without the protection. Normally around £90 but you can pick them up cheaper. I got mine form the Amazon marketplace for £50 I think. No recording artist should be without a SM57!

[url="http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/sm/sm57-instrument-microphone"]http://www.shure.com...ment-microphone[/url]
[/quote]

+1 good kit

[Deep Thought]

I have a Shure PG58. About forty five quid. Apparently not as long-lasting as the SM58, but I give my SM to the drummer and use the PG.

[Alex Spencer]

57's sound good on bass too, you'd be suprised. I reamped a DI signal through a Mesa 400+ and then A/B compared an Shure SM57 against a AKG C112 (£2k+ condenser microphone, and a classic) through a pair of DynAudios and it was so close. Mix that with a bit of DI and you've got a decent tone.

[paul_5]

I'd recommend something with a bit more detail for vocals, but if you're only going to have one mic, then either an SM57 or 58 should be it. Virtually bombproof and can yield very good results if you're careful.

[fatgoogle]

Looks like its the sm57.

What would be the mic for just vocals thats more detailed, if i could afford one or find someone to borrow one of.

[Alex Spencer]

Live or recorded? If you want recorded then you really want the best condenser you can for your budget. A little research goes a long way. If you consider the frequency band of the human voice, and then compare it to the microphones frequecy response you can get a general picture of how the sound will turn out. It really depends on you budget though. The AKG C414 is the most versatile condener I have ever used, but at £700 each, you hope so. The C214 is a good alternative, although it ony has a cardiod polar pattern. Neumann U87 are another classic, but then you're looking at over a grand. The SE Electronics z3300 is the cheapest, fairly decent interchancable polar pattern microphone I've found, and you can get good results from them. Audio Technica do some good condensers for around £150.

Live? SM58 all the way. It's industry standard for a reason.

I've been in and out of studios for the last five years learning out this microphone and how they work, let me know if you need advice/fancy a good discussion.

[paul_5]

On the subject of SE mics then I've used one in preference to an AKG 414 for a male vocal - we both thought it sounded better (suited his voice better) and they can be had fairly cheap second hand - they're also really handy for acoustic instruments like acoustic guitars, mandolins etc. If you're well rehearsed, then you could always hire in better quality mics for a couple of days - a Neumann U87 can be yours for £15 a day from companies like Wigwam etc... Just a thought.

Edited March 6, 2012 by paul_5

[moonbass]

You might want to have a look at an AKG C1000s. If you're new to recording its pretty foolproof as you can use it a bit like a dynamic mic but get the 'breathy' high frequency quality that something like a SM57 would miss on vocals or acoustic guitar, or sax for that matter. You can use it on anything with very acceptable results though ( and I have!) I've had a pair for 12 years and they're still going strong. Most suppliers seem to have them at £99 so a bit of a bargain really (but it's worth making a pop shield out of a coat hanger and some tights if you're going to use a condenser mic for vocals!)

[charic]

[quote name='moonbass' timestamp='1331021711' post='1566259']
You might want to have a look at an AKG C1000s
[/quote]

Evil microphones!!

For a condenser on a budget : [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/rode-nt1-a-complete-vocal-recording-solution--68605"]http://www.dv247.com/microphones/rode-nt1-a-complete-vocal-recording-solution--68605[/url]

Recently found these microphones sounding much better than a 58 with my singer for "talking, whispering, shouting, singing and screaming"
[url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-55sh-2-dynamic-vocal-microphone-vintage-style--22321"]http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-55sh-2-dynamic-vocal-microphone-vintage-style--22321[/url]

or for slightly more (the one we picked, had a bit more low end definition and high end clarity)
[url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-super-55-deluxe-vocal-microphone--65718"]http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-super-55-deluxe-vocal-microphone--65718[/url]

[moonbass]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1331024430' post='1566308']
Evil microphones!!

For a condenser on a budget : [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/rode-nt1-a-complete-vocal-recording-solution--68605"]http://www.dv247.com...solution--68605[/url]

[/quote]

Yeah, but to be fair they're both £60+ more expensive!
(Don't get me wrong, I know the Rode sounds a lot better, but you what you pay for)

Edited March 6, 2012 by moonbass

[charic]

[quote name='moonbass' timestamp='1331025505' post='1566325']
Yeah, but to be fair they're both £60+ more expensive!
(Don't get me wrong, I know the Rode sounds a lot better, but you what you pay for)
[/quote]

The only thing I've ever found a C1000 good for is Hi-Hat though

[discreet]

Another vote for SE here. Been using them for a while and they are truly excellent at any price.
Luckily they are also very affordable. [url="http://www.seelectronics.com/"]http://www.seelectronics.com/[/url]

[url="http://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/se-electronics-se2200a-shockmount.html"]http://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/se-electronics-se2200a-shockmount.html[/url]
[color=#ffffff].[/color]

Edited March 6, 2012 by discreet

[51m0n]

Rhode NT5 on hats on the cheap....

For a real all rounder that is like an SM57/58 but better (ie wioder frequency range) a Heil PR 22, if you can stretch to it a PR30.

Both will give you a better general purpose mic than a 57, the PR30 will give a lot of large diaphragm condensors a good run for their money.

If you want one mic to do pretty much anything well then the PR40 is a sublime mic in front of a lot of different sources. Not cheap, but a lot cheaper than a great dynamic and a decent LDC togethor...

[moonbass]

Well, all I'd say is that there are plenty of decent cheap (-ish) condenser mics out there that will record most sounds a lot nicer than a similarly priced dynamics.

[shizznit]

Sure SM-57's are good for mic'ing up guitar cabs, wood and brass instruments, percussion (drums if the player is quite light)...basically anything that is loud and excitable. They don't sound too bad for bass cabs, but I prefer to use combination of an AKG C1000 (maybe a C414 depending on the type of cab) and a cheap Sure PG52 drum mic to capture the low end. I blend them together and the results a very pleasing. I generally don't mic up bass cabs if single tracking because of the unwanted hiss from the speakers, but those mics will do the job very well if you want to record a live band performance.

SM-57's and SM-58's have already been suggested for vocals and they will do the job, but they are very directional and you will find if the singer moves ever so slightly out of position it will change the signal volume to the desk or get a bit foggy in tone. I always use a condenser mic that has selectable pickup patterns so you can change the dymamic field to suit the singer and the room. I absolutely love my AKG C414. Surprisingly quite warm for a non-tube mic and picks up very. I use it all the time to record acoustic guitars and piano's too and it sounds amazing. For some reason it sounds better with female vocals. I have tried it lots of times with blokes and the top end is not as present. I normally switch to a Neumann M147 which is an awesome tube mic which I have use of by kind permission from a friend over the past 18 months or so.

All the mic's I have mentioned are pretty cheap, with the acception of the AKG C414. I bought mine for £700. You can get cheaper mic's, but I believe that you should invest more into getting a good vocal mic rather than an instrument mic because recording vocals can be a nightmare at times. If you start well it will help you later when mixing. Large diaphragm mic's are very useful for other instruments and depending on the quality of the mic you can probably get away with using just one mic for everything that you want to record, but be very careful with close placements up to loud speaker cabs as you will get a lot of unwanted distortion or ambient noise. I would always go for a SM-57 for things like that as it can take a bit more punishment, especially in the higher frequencies.

But, as with everything musical, it all depends how serious you want to take recording and what kind of budget you have. There is no right or wrong way really. It all comes down to what sounds right to your ears and what results you want from the instruments/vocals you are recording and that takes a bit of experimentation.

[ShergoldSnickers]

If you can pick up a used CAD m179, that will do it. Multipattern from omni to 'figure of eight' to loose and tight cardioid. They use the term 'continuously variable pattern'. It can handle high spls and yet is capable of picking up detailed sound when required. This was the first mic I bought and it's stood the test of time.

Simon's suggestion of the Heil mics would also be definitely worth looking at.

[url="http://cadaudio.com/M179.php"]Details of the CAD m179 here[/url]

[url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct01/articles/cadmics.asp"]Review here[/url]

[51m0n]

A Neumann M147 is a long long long way away from cheap in anyones book....

The reason I keep banging on about Heil is that they are not old school dymaincs, they use very high powered low weight neodymium magnets, and have an extrememly extended freq response as a result.

They are designed primarily as broadcast mics (so very very good on voice), yet are extremely robust (so good on kick drums, guitar cabs etc).

They are the best all rounders I've found yet. Honestly....

Edited March 6, 2012 by 51m0n

[shizznit]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1331032367' post='1566479']
A Neumann M147 is a long long long way away from cheap in anyones book....
[/quote]

I did mention that the Neumann doesn't belong to me. I was recommending the mic's that I own, just to clear up any confusion. I was simply suggesting that different mic's suit different vocal tones.

At £700 the AKG seems expensive, but I agree that next a to a Nuemann it's a penny sweet. I am very fortunate to have access to one when I need it.

[51m0n]

Yup, lovely mic mate, enjoy it!

[shizznit]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1331036609' post='1566580']
Yup, lovely mic mate, enjoy it!
[/quote]

I'm just lucky that the mate I am borrowing it from keeps forgetting that I have got it! How can you forget that you are missing a £3k mic??

[51m0n]

Have a couple of £6k mics to play with as well....

[ShergoldSnickers]

What would I do with 6k......?

Mmmmm [url="http://www.themicstore.co.uk/small-diaphragm-studio-mics/dpa-3503-130v-stereo-ab-kit-incl-2x4003-microphones.html"]tempting[/url]

[shizznit]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1331039682' post='1566653']
Have a couple of £6k mics to play with as well....
[/quote]

Oh, he has those too...believe me!