Microphones

Alright, so I'm sick of getting crap recordings from my crap mic. Any recommendations on what to get? I'm not looking to spend a ton, but better than my $12 Radio Shack special I've got now.

ya....they run about 100 bucks and are invaluable for mic'ing amps as well as brass/woodwinds.

Ok, I'll definitely take that into consideration. Any other recommendations? If not, thanks guys.

Sure SM57s are industry standard for live app. though they get used a lot in studios as they can really take a beating.

They are dynamic mics which means they are not very sensitive. This means they are prone to being noisy and have a very small sweet spot (i.e. you may spend a lot of time getting mic placement right to get the sound you want to tape / disk). The SM57 is also great for high volume (SPL) work. Price point about 100 USD new

A large diaphragm condenser on the other hand is a delicate bit of kit, requires phantom power (from either a mixer, channel strip or in line box) is very sensitive and has a much wider sweet spot (much easier to work with). However these mics are not so good for working at high volume. Price: 60 USD to about 10 000 ! Good if you already have a preamp or mixer.

A USB condenser is probably the answer you are looking for. These guys plug into your computer, have a built in preamp and suck power form the PC. In terms of quality, they are not top of the line however they will give decent results. BLUE make something called a "Snowball"

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Blue-Snowball-USB-Microphone?sku=279015

then these as well:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-.006-USB-Powered-Condenser-Microphone?sku=273175

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/R0DE-Podcaster-Broadcast-Quality-USB-Microphone?sku=270033

and at the other end of the scale....

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=27170&Category=Microphones

Doc, your information is very helpful. Thanks a ton. I am only able to do low volume recording so its a good thing I didn't jump on anything.

Also, please don't kill me, but whats a preamp? I'm pretty dumb when it comes to this stuff.

Originally Posted by: grizzlymintDoc, your information is very helpful. Thanks a ton. I am only able to do low volume recording so its a good thing I didn't jump on anything.

Also, please don't kill me, but whats a preamp? I'm pretty dumb when it comes to this stuff.

LOL dont feal bad grizzly I dont know what that means eather... Heard it but don't know what it is. Good question.

basically it's a device to take low level voltage and amplify it to line level.

Mics dont generate alot of voltage. So in order for it to "talk" to the recorder and be "heard" it needs a preamp to give you proper line level recording voltages.

Yep da_ardvak has hit the nail on the head.

Mics put out LoZ signal, guitars out out HiZ signal and they both need converting to line level before being shipped off to the next bit of kit like a audio to digital converter.