What Budget Microphone have you been impressed with?
 

My microphone locker.... $100 or less Microphones

Condensers:
Neat worker Bee (Nice Mic but sometimes it picks up to much and Mic placement s very critical)

Behringer SB78A $45 Handheld small condenser (My latest favorite)

Dynamic:
Lewitt 250 MTP (Nice bass and top end)..(My Second favorite)
Se V7 (Warmer, big proximity effect)
Se V3 (Brighter)
Beyerdynamic TGV30d (Brighter, nice tone)
Shure 57 (Its a 57:)

My favorite dynamic (under $130) has to be the EV ND767A and/or ND76.

Under $100, Blue Encore 100.

For condenser mic, I have an MXL 990/991 combo that gets the job done.

Not sure of the price since they are discontinued in the US, but for a handheld condenser I am lucky to own [and I love them] two Samson CL5, which is a clone of the Neumann KMS105. I own an KMS105 and 104 and grab the Samson first, usually.

The ADK line of mics have a huge range of price, but they all seem to be of high value (performance to price ratio) compared to competition. I’m a fan of their 3-Zigma CHI with sdc capsules. These are in the range of $400.

The only sub-$100 mics I own (other than a SM57) is the Behringer C-2 SDCs that sell for less than $50 for a pair.

Great Sound Rudy4! Amazing quality you got out of those little mics. If I am not mistaken, I believe you also built that guitar as well?

Thanks much.

Yes, the guitar is a home brew. I posted the construction plan in case anyone wanted to build one for themselves or have a similar guitar built by a small shop maker. I'm deeply in love with it and I think others would really enjoy playing a version of it. The topic post with the plan and details is HERE.

I got the Behringer C-2 mic pair to see how bad they could be. I was pleasantly surprised by the solid build and the sound that they capture considering the price.

Part of what influenced my decision to try them out was purchasing a couple of Behringer XM8500 dynamics for a project I was working on. I was looking for some REALLY cheap dynamics to disassemble to rob the elements out of. It turns out the XM8500 mics are really nicely constructed and so close in sound to a real SM-58 that I don't think anyone could tell in a blind test. I think the Behringer XM8500 mic is the absolute best dynamic mic value out there at around $20 each. Check out the user reviews if it sounds like I'm blowing smoke...;)

I forgot in the original post that I had bought the XM8500 mics.

I have a pair that I bought used for $10 each and I keep them as backup mics. They are incredibly good for the money. In fact, Julian Krause shows you how to use EQ to make it sound like an SM7B, or at least very close:

That's pretty amazing. I like Julian's stuff, so this is just more proof that the XM8500 is a serious bargain.

Rudy, this is inspiring me to try a spaced pair next time, instead of XY, to lessen soundhole boom.

For what it's (literally) worth, when you upgrade to a really good preamp you'll discover that some (not all) of your cheap mics sound a whole lot better. Point being that it's gonna cost you one way or the other. Or both ways.

Mxl sells their 990/991 combo. I have them and they did fine.

Now I use an WA 14 and a WA 47jr and I'll still breathe too loud at times and move and rustle some clothing when I'm not supposed to. There's more to recording than just buying better equipment.

If allergies are kicking my butt (and that might be more days than not), the only way I can avoid breathing noises is to record with my mouth wide open. I don't know what generates noise on everyone else, but for me it's my nose. If I take my nose out of the equation, I'm good.

Or neither!

I'm OK with cheap mics into the "cheap" pres built into my recorder. :)

Listening to the Doug Fearn podcast titled "Your hearing is amazing!" made me realize that at my age I'd be "straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel" to spend money on stuff I can't hear. ;)

Yes, I know, I learned about breathing through the mouth from your posts, but I still forget sometimes :(

Am I allowed to say "none"?

Cheap mics sound cheap. They have that "cheap mic high end" that gives them away immediately. Especially on stringed instruments.

I will say that the Roswell Audio mini K series is pretty nice for the price, but they cost over $100. But, I have a different take. I work on projects & with artists that get Grammy nominations...so my standards are different than a hobbyist. It's my livelihood. I can't afford to skimp...not when I'm playing in that neighborhood ;)