Condenser mic single diaphram / dual diaphram

[Shroomz~>]

The XM8500 is the cheapest of the cheap, but for the money it's a brilliant throw-around mic. At least if some wannabe rock star kid spits in it or drops it in a pint, you can just chuck it in the bin.

There's loads of info around on the Joemeek preamps. They're renowned for having low noise, their own character & being very musical sounding. You can get an original VC1 for anywhere between £80 & £130.

The SM58 was designed specifically for vocals, while the 57 was designed with 'general purpose acoustic mic' in mind. The 57 gets used all over the world for anything from micing toms or acoustic guitar or other acoustic instruments to vocal recording. If you go to Shure's website, there's more specific information on them.

[Shroomz~>]

What is the difference from Shure SM57 to SM58? - Just had a look....uni directional dynamic - SM58 omni directional meaning it may be better at recording in a bad acoustic space because it will pick up less reflections etc..... ....is this correct?

The SM57 & 58 are both unidirectional cardioid dynamic mics which are a good choice for a space with bad acoustics. That type of mic also reduces background noise in your recordings as it isolates the sound source, so you won't be picking up stuff like noise from traffic outside or someone talking loudly in another room etc.

[fraz]

Hi there,

Lots of info has been passed around and there are loads of options. I could buy within reason any mic / pre but at this stage it may be best to just get a Behringer B2 Pro £110 to add to the Shure SM58 - Then there would be one dynamic mic and one condenser. The B2 Pro has selectable omni/cardioid/fig8 - Which may be useful as I progress though I'm not 100% sure how I would use these features but am sure that at some stage I would want to use them so having that covered maybe the best thing to do. Like mentioned above I have the Behringer ADA8000 so I wouldn't want to replace that yet until I know exactly what I can do with it and work out the limitations etc....

Looking online at music stores I can get some cheapish acoustic treatments like the SE Electrionics reflections filter and a Auralex Max Wall then organise it and report back with progress / problems etc......but I can see I would be happy with any of the following mics:

Rode
AKG
Studio Elect
Audio Technica

Studio Electronics do a higher range mic than the (SE2200A £200) the Z3300a which is £400 but looks like the SE2200a but has switchable polar patterns - Which has tempted me....

[nightscope]

http://www.soundonsound.com/search?url= ... h+Articles

ns

[fraz]

Thanks for the link nightscope. I'll proably end up with a few mics ranging in quality....some of the not so good mics would still get use for certain things......Thanks for all your help on this one..... .....just wait for the next debate.....

[dehuszar]

My fav mics of all time are my Rode NTK, and a Baby Bottle. They are both super versatile and sound great. The NTK is a little more saturated and rich sounding, where the baby bottle is more precise. But they are both mid-range mics and can be used on anything from vocals, acoustics, as room mics, strings, kicks, etc. Either go for ~$500-$600.

[fraz]

The FMR stuff looks good and I can see the folks here know the good stuff..... .... Garyb has mentioned the merit of these......Is there a headphone amp that any one would recommend? -

[valis]

For budget parts I'd opt for any of these units over that behringer you've been looking at.

Also, I don't have the FMR audio RNP (really nice preamp) but I *DO* have 2 FMR Audio RNC-1173's here and am quite fond of them. They're relatively devoid of character but due to the analog signal path & dsp-based control circuit they're quite fast & accurate, and much more transparent for the price than anything else. They ARE stereo units however.

If you opt to try out any of the Joe Meek stuff, try to find the Green colored models if you go used. They're under different ownership these days and there was a change in the production line (as often happens when beancounters get more involved.) The new models are red (iirc) and though I've not heard anything negative about them, the green models are the ones that gave Joe Meek the reputation people know.

[kylie]

My fav mics of all time are my Rode NTK...

afaik the K2 is more or less a NTK with switchable polar pattern (from the power unit), so if more than one pattern is desired, this might be a candidate.
I still think about buying one...

-greetings, markus-

[greenbluegold]

With where you're at in recording, I'd suggest investing in quality dynamic mics, rather than mid low/ mid priced condensers. Shure SM7, EV RE-20, Sennheiser 421. If you want something with a bit more condenser like sheen, a Sennheiser MD441. These will always be useful. The only exception, would maybe be for drum overheads, but until you've got a nice room, a pair of beyerdynamic ribbons would work better so long as you've got a preamp with enough gain.

[Shroomz~>]

If you opt to try out any of the Joe Meek stuff, try to find the Green colored models if you go used. They're under different ownership these days and there was a change in the production line (as often happens when beancounters get more involved.) The new models are red (iirc) and though I've not heard anything negative about them, the green models are the ones that gave Joe Meek the reputation people know.

Some of the newer (non - Ted Fletcher) Joemeek stuff is still green in colour Valis, so you can't go by that green colour thing. Basically, the desirable Joemeek gear is the older models made by Ted Fletcher, although I've also read some good things about the newer Joemeek gear as well (despite it apparently being VERY different to the older stuff - completely different sounding preamps without the original sound/character etc)

[nightscope]

http://www.tfpro.com/index.php/page/About

ns

[valis]

Some of the newer (non - Ted Fletcher) Joemeek stuff is still green in colour Valis, so you can't go by that green colour thing. Basically, the desirable Joemeek gear is the older models made by Ted Fletcher, although I've also read some good things about the newer Joemeek gear as well (despite it apparently being VERY different to the older stuff - completely different sounding preamps without the original sound/character etc)

Well there you go then, thanks for correcting my mistake

[Shroomz~>]

Well there you go then, thanks for correcting my mistake

I'm no expert on it mate, but I've read quite a bit & even if you go to Thomann, you'll see that some of the newer models have green faceplates just like the original gear.

The original VC1 by Joemeek is a NICE sounding piece of equipment btw... (& I'd assume the some of the other earlier stuff is as well - at least that's what I've heard, MQ3 etc)

[valis]

I knew of the change to the red models a few years back due to keeping up with harmonycentral & gearjunkies, something I admit I do much more rarely these days. In the US I use online shops like audiomidi.com, jrrshop.com & .mercenary.com (when I can afford it), and must admit I tend to head right for what I'm looking for when I'm there. But I don't doubt you that the info is there, cheers!