What mics do I need?

[sam-v]

I'm going to start recording pretty soon for the first time and I'm kind of confused about what I need. The only things I'm going to be recording through a microphone are vocals and acoustic guitar, plugged into an M-Audio Fast Track Pro interface connected to my Macbook Air. The rest will just be instrumental tracks from a MIDI controller also plugged into my M-Audio interface.

Can I get away with buying just one mic? Do I have to record vocals and acoustic guitar separately, or do most people use one mic to record both at one time?

I want to spend no more than $200 on a microphone and right now I'm considering an SE Electronics X1 condenser mic (if I only need one mic), OR there is an MXL 550/551 bundle I can get for a low price which comes with a condenser and a dynamic mic. I don't know which is the best option here, I know pretty much nothing about recording.

[fitness1]

Everyone is different - you can record vocals and guitar simultaneously and for best results you'll want to use separate mics. Or you can record them one at a time with one....although the best mic for vocals may not work as well for acoustic guitar.

I'd tell you to keep your eye on GC's used site for brand name mics used.....I see the AKG C3000B/C1000S package on there quite often for under your budget. That's just one example.

I've come to love the very inexpensive Behringer C2 condenser pair for guitars at 60.00 brand new - REALLY hard to beat! I normally only use one and it's more than sufficient if it's aimed properly.

I'm also currently using a Blue Encore 200 for vocals and that's a really nice sounding entry level vocal condenser.

[MikeBmusic]

There's no set answer to your questions, so you are likely to see a lot of different suggestions. Different voices sound better with different mics, as well.
I'd recommend recording vocals and guitar separately, as it gives you more flexibility to add FX (reverb, EQ, etc) during mixing. It also makes it easier to comp multiple takes together, if needed.

If your recording room does not have any acoustic treatment, a dynamic mic might work better for you as it will pick up less of the 'room' sound. This is especially true if you are using 1 mic to record both vocals and acoustic guitar at the same time as you will nto be as close to the mic.
I have used an AKG Perception 220 LDC for both acoustic and vocal recording and I'm generally pleased with the sound in my treated room. I was less happy using it in on voice in an untreated room.

[Andy Howell]

Don't get too obsessed with MICS at the beginning!

[sam-v]

Originally Posted by Andy Howell

Don't get too obsessed with MICS at the beginning!

Does it not really matter which mic I choose then? Do they all kinda work/sound the same in that price range? All I want is something good for acoustic guitar and vocals, that won't have any background noise. I had a USB mic that was altogether pretty awful, but that's because it wasn't plugged into an interface obviously, just into the computer so I think that's why I hated how it sounded...

[rick-slo]

Peruse the prior threads on this topic - there is tons of info.

[Andy Howell]

Originally Posted by sam-v

Does it not really matter which mic I choose then? Do they all kinda work/sound the same in that price range? All I want is something good for acoustic guitar and vocals, that won't have any background noise. I had a USB mic that was altogether pretty awful, but that's because it wasn't plugged into an interface obviously, just into the computer so I think that's why I hated how it sounded...

Your budget is the key thing - don't break the bank yet!

I'd say a Sure 58 is fine for vocals. If you want to explore something for the guitar there are some good, reasonably priced matched pairs now from companies like Rode (M3?). On EBay have a look for AKG C1000 mics - workhorses!

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by sam-v

Does it not really matter which mic I choose then? Do they all kinda work/sound the same in that price range? All I want is something good for acoustic guitar and vocals, that won't have any background noise. I had a USB mic that was altogether pretty awful, but that's because it wasn't plugged into an interface obviously, just into the computer so I think that's why I hated how it sounded...

Sam, its kind of complicated. There may or may not be differences between mics in any given price range. There are different kinds of mics, dynamic vs condenser, for example. And different patterns, omni, cardio, etc. There's no real reason a usb mic should sound bad, per se. Noise is also a complex topic. Some mics have self noise, but 99% of the time when people complain about noise, its not a problem with the mic, but of your room. If your recording space isnt *really* quiet, the mic will do its job and record whats there, which includes the noise.

Id do some research, read the tons of stuff about mics, but also about recording in general, and also post some examples of what youve recorded here. You'll get more specific advice, instead of everyone just telling you what their favorite mic is.

[Halcyon/Tinker]

If I had to pick only one mic for the two tasks, I'd try to find a large diaphragm condenser.

Plus one on room sound control. It's amazing how a mic will articulate artifacts like computer fan noise, street sounds, flutter echo etc.

[Mr Fixit eh]

Originally Posted by sam-v

Can I get away with buying just one mic? Do I have to record vocals and acoustic guitar separately, or do most people use one mic to record both at one time?

Lot's of folks record both vocals and guitar together with one mic. That works well only if your voice has enough volume to match the guitar. I enjoy playing dreds and my vocal volume isn't usually strong enough to make for a good mix - I get drowned out by the guitar.

I would recommend that you try doing a very simple recording with your laptop. With a pc, I'd use the built-in mic with Audacity (free program), but I'm not familiar with Macs. You could also do a recording with a smart phone. Set it up so that the mic is about level with your mouth and maybe 18 - 24 inches away. When you play back, you'll quickly get an idea of the relative volumes of your vocals compared to the guitar.

I use an MXL 770 condensor mic for the guitar ($106 CAD$/$79USD) and an AKG D-5 dynamic mic for my vocals($63USD/$129 CAD). These are great little mics, available locally to me and highly recommended by my local recording guru. You may find other brands available and recommended in your area.

I send these signals through a Yamaha Audiogram6 interface/mixer ($130 USD/240 CAD$). All prices Amazon. The key here is that I can mix the vocal and instrument tracks to get a nicely balanced soundtrack. The M-Audio M-track Plus will mix two tracks. The advantage of something like the Audiogram6 or M-track quad is that it allows you the flexibility of adding a MIDI I/O or an additional mic or two down-the-road, if you decide you want to start using multiple mics for recording your guitar.

[sam-v]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Sam, its knd of complicated. There may or may not be differences between mics in any given price range. There sre different kinds of mics, dynamic vs condenser, for example. And different patterns, omni, cardio, etc. There's no real reason a usb mic should sound bad, per se. Noise is also a complex topic. Some mics have self noise, but 99% of the time when people complain about noise, its not a problem with the mic, but of your room. If your recording space isnt *really* quiet, the mic will do its job and record whats there, which includes the noise.

Id do some research, read the tons of stuff about mics, but also about recording in general, and also post some examples of what youve recorded here. You'll get more specific advice, instead of everyone just telling you what their favorite mic is.

I was advised by a guy who works at Guitar Center to go for a condenser microphone, he says dynamic mics are more suitable for live recording or something like that. He specifically suggested the Blue Spark microphone for what I want to do, which I've been doing some research on and it seems like a pretty good microphone with very low self-noise so now I'm leaning towards that... I'm on a pretty tight budget as well so the microphone needs to be around the $200 price range, I'm also getting a midi controller and that will be kind of the last piece of the puzzle for me before I can start working on recording. But as you suggested, I definitely will do lots of research, there is so much to learn but it's something I'm really interested in so the amount of work and research will hopefully pay off!

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by sam-v

I'm going to start recording pretty soon for the first time and I'm kind of confused about what I need. The only things I'm going to be recording through a microphone are vocals and acoustic guitar, plugged into an M-Audio Fast Track Pro interface connected to my Macbook Air. The rest will just be instrumental tracks from a MIDI controller also plugged into my M-Audio interface.

Can I get away with buying just one mic? Do I have to record vocals and acoustic guitar separately, or do most people use one mic to record both at one time?

I want to spend no more than $200 on a microphone and right now I'm considering an SE Electronics X1 condenser mic (if I only need one mic), OR there is an MXL 550/551 bundle I can get for a low price which comes with a condenser and a dynamic mic. I don't know which is the best option here, I know pretty much nothing about recording.

I can't help with vocal recording, and I'm not familiar with the mics you are considering. But based on personal experience with recording acoustic guitar at home I'd suggest looking into an Oktava MK-012 (small condenser mic) or an ADK A6 (medium condenser mic). I've seen the A6 for $169 (additional if you want the shock mount), and you can get a used Oktava for around $150. Lots of info on the AGF regarding these mics.

[RedJoker]

As a fellow recording beginner, I'll share what I learned. I now own 6 mics, dynamics and condensors. I only bought a couple and the rest were given to me so they are not high end. I started with a single USB mic but now have a two mic audio interface and use Audacity. I record using two mics, one for the guitar, one for my singing. My goal is not to make great recordings, per se, it's to get better at singing and playing. The two tracks lets me hear how they go together but also analyze one at a time.

The biggest thing I learned was that my recording space (living room) is acoustically terrible. It didn't matter which mic I used, it picked up all the echo, noises, the dog, etc. I hope to someday have an acoustically treated room but in the meantime, I'm "close micing" everything. That means I have one mic (a behringer C2 mentioned above) that is 6-8 inches from the guitar pointing at the 12th fret. I then sing into a behringer C1 at about 6-8 inches. By being so close to the mics, I can drop the gain so they don't pick up near as much background noise and echo.

The second thing that I learned is that the mics do sound differently but only if I can A-B the recordings. What I noticed FAR more is changes in mic position and my low skill level. I have some recordings below and even though they are all the same person and same guitar, you'll hear that they all have different quality levels that have nothing to do with the mics.

So, as stated above, start with something, even if cheap and play around with it for a few months trying different things. You'll find most issues are not the mics.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by RedJoker

As a fellow recording beginner, I'll share what I learned. I now own 6 mics, dynamics and condensors. I only bought a couple and the rest were given to me so they are not high end. I started with a single USB mic but now have a two mic audio interface and use Audacity. I record using two mics, one for the guitar, one for my singing. My goal is not to make great recordings, per se, it's to get better at singing and playing. The two tracks lets me hear how they go together but also analyze one at a time.

The biggest thing I learned was that my recording space (living room) is acoustically terrible. It didn't matter which mic I used, it picked up all the echo, noises, the dog, etc. I hope to someday have an acoustically treated room but in the meantime, I'm "close micing" everything. That means I have one mic (a behringer C2 mentioned above) that is 6-8 inches from the guitar pointing at the 12th fret. I then sing into a behringer C1 at about 6-8 inches. By being so close to the mics, I can drop the gain so they don't pick up near as much background noise and echo.

The second thing that I learned is that the mics do sound differently but only if I can A-B the recordings. What I noticed FAR more is changes in mic position and my low skill level. I have some recordings below and even though they are all the same person and same guitar, you'll hear that they all have different quality levels that have nothing to do with the mics.

So, as stated above, start with something, even if cheap and play around with it for a few months trying different things. You'll find most issues are not the mics.

Good points, Redjoker - the position/distance of the mic definitely affects the sound (most dynamics get boomy due to proximity effect, and its important to 'keep still' when recording - playing guitar or singing - in relation to the mic.
It's also very hard to take the room sound out of the recording when using an LDC because of its sensitivity.
I always suggest to newbie homerecordists - build a few bass traps (4" thk x 2'x4' with OX703, 705 or Roxul) and you can use them as gobos to help reduce unwnated reflections when reocrding as well as for acoustical room control in your mixing area. It took me a few years of recording before I built my traps, wish I had done it sooner! I spent more time trying to find a half-decent place to record in various rooms, moving blankets behind me, etc when all I needed to do was tame the 'mud' in my primary room.

[Shorbit]

You already started a thread a few weeks ago asking the same question. Recommendations were condenser mics like oktava mk012, adk A6 or AT mics like AT4041. Do some research by googling acoustic guitar recording and the same mics will be mentioned time and again. I'd rather a beyer or Heil dynamic than a cheap condenser.
I'll agree with the above points. My recordings improved much more with mic placement and room treatment, but you do get what you pay for with mics.