Good all around Mic for Recording?

[ApeDosMil]

I want one for drums/guitar/vocals that isn't expensive,

what do you guys suggest?
Thanks.

[markD]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

just get one of those MXL condensers. they're cheap and you can get a pretty good sound. you'll need phantom power or just get a cheap little tube mic preamp.

[sambencuda]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

Can't go wrong with an SM 57. You can pick em up used for 60-70 bucks.

Jim

[T-Town]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

sure 57 mike is the jack of all trades.

[taxistationary]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

Shure SM57! They're friggin great. I remeber I recomended them to a drummer I to play with for over heads and they picked up every thing great...even the kick drum! I can't think of a better mic for the price...

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

Well, when CAD E-100s are discontinued and available for 110 bucks on the net new, that's a serious mic for the money. When i hear them, the sound in the monitors is just as it sounds in the room. They are a bit fragile for road use though.

SM-57s are a great mic for beating around, and have been used a lot in many recording. But, after using them for years, and comparing the recoded sound to the actual sound, they are pretty crappy sounding. Lots of peaks and valleys. Major midrange peak.

SM-57s are certainly good live mic I guess (I won't use one too happily though without my hand on the eq of my channel of the FOH board) but, not such a great mic for recording considering the options and the technology that is cheaply available nowdays.

A VERY good setup would be an SM-57 set out of phase, and a CAD E-100 or other mic of that style (AKG-451 even), mixed together. Known for a huge guitar sound.

[Twisteramps]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

Sennheiser 609 silver is a good mic too, and the SM57 is such a studio staple it's hard to beat. Is the SM57 going to reproduce your guitar tone exactly? No... but they do sit in the mix well, and there's a reason why they are in nearly every studio in the world - they work great for guitar and other instruments.

Pete

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

I guess my problem with them, is that i like to hear what "I" sound like. By the time I alter my guitar tone to sound good on disc through the 57, it sounds crappy in the room. I can't quite post EQ them enough to be happy with either. Lotsa people use them live though, I guess I'm screwy. Or at least quite anal about my sound.

The reason they are in every studio in the world, is they are cheap, durable, and people are very used to using them as they are plentiful.

Sorta like why there are Ford escorts in every car rental place in the US. They are cheap.

They sit in the mix well as the guitar tone coming out of them is very middy. So, that is a given.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

I use an SM-57, good all around mic for the money. I haven't the luxury to try various super high end mics but I never, I mean never get exactly what I hear to tape or disk regardless of the mic I used. I can get real close with a SM57 and take care of the rest during the mix.

[charveljunkie]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

for the money sm57,i prefer the original Sennheiser e609 and lately you can get them on ebay for about $85.00 shipped used and in good shape

[diablomozart]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

i'm the odd man out here...i use a sm-58 for everything...lol...d.m.

[charveljunkie]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

d.m.
you are odd [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
just kidding [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[veemagic]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

SM-58. great bang to buck ratio!

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

Sennheiser makes this mic that is the same price as a SM58, but it totally kills it! I forget the model name, I'll check on it tomorrow.

[Matt Crooks]

Re: Good all around Mic for Recording?

For all around recording, you can't beat the SM-57 or SM-58. The main difference between the 57 and the 58 is that the 58 has a slight boost in the upper mids to give vocals more presence. Both mics will sound good on just about everything. They won't sound great on anything by itself. The magic to the SM-57 is the way that if focuses the sound of a snare drum or a guitar amp into a certain frequency range that makes it "sit" in a mix well. Soloed, the guitar sound may not be great, but once it's mixed with the drums and bass and vocals it will be great. Just my 2 cents.