   Cheap microphones.
  I'm past the point of cheap plastic mic's and have a lovely Shure SM58, but a few friends of mine (amateur voice actors) are wondering: how do you find out which mic's are best? Obviously, they're amateur so they're not yet willing to spend excessive money on a major one.I once had a more traditional in appearance microphone (White, plastic, long) which was very bad quality, especially as I listen back. Then I got one that, even though it looked was as small as a finger, was much better for recording for a cheap mic. Is there a way I can recommend a good spec for a cheap mic to people instead of telling them to try them out?[edited by - SA-Magic on February 16, 2004 7:22:55 PM]
  Well, no microphone that you buy from Future Shop or Radio Shack is gonna be a good quality microphone.  Those tend to be "unbalanced" mics that pic up alot of extraneous noise.  The best thing you can do (and the cheapest) is to pic up an professional mic from your local guitar shop.  A Shure58 is a good starting reference, though you might want to ask them about some cheaper condenser mics (a ''58 is a dynamic mic).A 58 in canada will run you about $150.  A short XLR cable about $10 and various adapters to bring it down to 1/8" jack (the ones on the back of your cpu) about $20.So about $170 ish for a decent starter set up.  There are many other microphones that you can try out for much cheaper, but it''s been my experience that 58s are the working horses of microphones (used one for a hammer once, then nail came out on the losing side).  But again, don''t expect quality from a $20 computer mic.Another thing that might play a big part, is your soundcard.  A bad soundcard and not even a $2000 mic will sound good.  Try experimenting with different cards (contact a computer shop and see if they''ll let you demo a card for a day or two).G''Luck! ;  Recording magazines and home studio magazines often have reviews and sometimes "round-ups". Try finding some and look through them at your local library. (It''ll be nice, lonely and quiet in there, too :-)I also recommend using a better pre-amp than the one in your sound card.Typically, you''ll get a small desktop mixer (anything between a Phonic 1002a to a Mackie 1402-VLZ) to run your microphone into, to run into the sound card, and then back from the sound card, through mixer, into the speakers. (This assumes you have separate "monitor" from "mains" -- the Mackie does, I think the Phonic doesn''t). Even the cheapest desktop mixers are likely to have better Mic pre-amps than a sound card (except the $250-and-up semi-pro cards). And they can provide phantom power, too, should you need it.Anyway, microphones < $99 are a crap shoot, and most magazines don''t review them, so find one that works and tell people about it if you have to. Of course, when it''s cheap, the manufacturer may slap in whatever they have laying around the shop, so one batch may be good, and the next would be mediocre.I prefer to get my stuff from www.samash.com; they''ve always treated me right, their prices are good; and they''re not as high-pressure as Sweetwater. ;  Well, in the old USofA, I can get a Shure for $99, which is cheap - as far as I''m concerned - for a mic. But seriously, just tell them to pick a price and buy the mic that fits that price.   _GEo.RHS Band;quote:Original post by Avatar God  But seriously, just tell them to pick a price and buy the mic that fits that price.   I''ll agree that any proper mic is better than a computer mic, but if your budget is under $200, go with a dynamic mic.  A condenser for $100 is gonna be a crap mic so it''s better to go just with a straight shure.  And plus, you get better low end from the dynamics (proximity effect) than condensers.  Which is what I''d geuss a voice actor would want in lots of cases. ;  Ok, I do not agree with much of this.First of all, NEVER buy a small mixer to record some vocals.If you buy a $120 mixer, you''ll be buying $5 pre-amps together with a lot of other crappy components, when you could just as well have bought a $120 pre-amp, that would''ve sounded as good as a $750 mixer.Never ever make that mistake.I had a $400 Behringer Eurorack mixer, when I started recording. Then I found a "better" mixer, that sounded twice as good, and was about twice as expensive.It surely kicked the behringer''s ass.However, then I got the idea of buying pre-amps instead, so I compared the sound with a $150 M-Audio "Audio Buddy" pre-amp, and it sounded twice as good as the "better" mixer I tried.So, you''ll be spending a lot of money on crappy pre-amps, when the whole idea of a mixer is NOT to record digitally.A mixer is for live music mixing. If you want a mixer that sounds good in a studio - buy one for at least $1700.The best thing I''ve ever done was to buy a MindPrint "Di-Port".It costs about $500, but it kicks ass.(I''ve got a $10000 Yamaha 02R v2 Digital recording console, now.)Also, don''t use Shure SM58/SM57 when recording vocals in a studio, unless you''re looking for that specific sound.Buy conderser microphones.  - No, I do not agree that cheap condenser microphones suck. Ok, they do suck, but they still sound better than a SM58, in a studio.I recently tried a $100 "Genesis" conderser microphone. (Looks like a copy of the ADK A-51 microphone, which I can recommend for about $300.)It was surprisingly good, actually.Sure, you can use a Shure microphone (dynamic one), but then you really should pay the $300 (or whatever it is) and buy a Shure Beta57.The Shure SM58 and SM57 is a great microphone for guitars and drums. In fact, it''s the most common microphone in the world.But don''t use it with vocals./Justice LeprechauNLeprechauN@post.comP.S. I don''t mean to sounds like a know-it-all. Sorry if I do. I''ve been recording music for about 6 years, and I''ve got a $15000 studio, I''ve recorded tons of bands, and I''m working as a sound engineer, and I teach it. It''s up to you if you wanna listen to me. Thanks.   D.S.;  I always find discussions of mic''s to be long and differing, but no one''s flaming anyone over it (Hardly worth it:D) so that''s ok. :DPersonally, I''m happy enough with my SM58. Hear for yourself if you want. http://savage.samods.com/samples/magic-samps.zip (Recorded in goldwave, processed in Cool Edit 2K and Sound Forge) ;  I hate to admit it, but microphones are a matter of opinion completely.  You either like their sounds or you don''t.  (I do want to disagree with the annonymous poster above, the ShureSM58 is one of the most commonly used vocal mics in the industry.  I''ve been a live engineer for quite some time and have done gigs where the artist absolutely refused to perform without a 58.)Call a music shop and demo both some condenser and dynamic mics.  Having done alot of studio work as well, I find that quite often, the only way to get the vocal sound desired is to use a dynamic, usually a Beta58((For those of you not mic savvy, Shure has two 58 series microphones.  the SM58 and the Beta58.  As the name suggests, the Beta is a second generation microphone.  The only difference noticable, and I''ve asked quite a few other professionals, is a presence peak [a greater sensitivity in the 2500Hz - 5000Hz range].  The Beta is about twice as expensive as the SM.))Now on to Preamps:Get an analog preamp.  Digital pres suck.  They sound horrible and there is a very dry, digital sound to them.  (though I will give you they are REALLY hot.  Quite sensitive)There are two types of analog pres.  Outboard rackmounts, and built-into mixers.  The topic of a "What is a good mic pre" can cause just as much debate as the microphone debate.  Usually, the rackmount units are going to sound better.  This is common sense as they are specifically built to sound better than a standard mixer pre (which is why you would use one).Lets get back to the original post, these are amateur voice actors.  Not do-it-yourselfer musicians, they''re not out to make a platinum album here.  A small mixer (I reccomend the Mackies myself) will allow versatility for adding other outboard components later on as the studio is built up (aux sends, stereo returns, headphones sends, busses etc...).  The preamps don''t sound GREAT, but the do sound better than whats on the back of your soundcard.  Investing in a Drawmer preamp/compressor somewhere down the road would be a good idea, but it''s not neccesary to get you on your feet.RM   