Mics that don't break the bank?

[fitness1]

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned them yet, but I've been very happy with all the sE electronic mics I've owned. Value wise, this was my favorite LDC...

https://reverb.com/item/34560592-se-...isolation-pack

Another great value is the big brother - 2200...

https://reverb.com/item/7050089-se-electronics-se2200

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

There's also the new "Mini" version, FET, Cardiod only, for $299. I just reviewed it for Acoustic Guitar. Given that it's 1) AG, and 2) I don't sing, the review focuses on its use for guitar. Pretty impressive mic for the price:

https://acousticguitar.com/gear-revi...oustic-guitar/

No fair Doug! .....you make everything sound wonderful!!!!

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

There's also the new "Mini" version, FET, Cardiod only, for $299. I just reviewed it for Acoustic Guitar. Given that it's 1) AG, and 2) I don't sing, the review focuses on its use for guitar. Pretty impressive mic for the price:

https://acousticguitar.com/gear-revi...oustic-guitar/

The price, as stated correctly in your article, is only $230!

But, that polar pattern looks like they had the switch between omni and cardioid (if it had a switch, of course). I mean, there's no null at all? Still, looks like a good contender in that price range.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

The price, as stated correctly in your article, is only $230!

Yes, thanks for the correction. How fast the memory fades!

But, that polar pattern looks like they had the switch between omni and cardioid (if it had a switch, of course). I mean, there's no null at all? Still, looks like a good contender in that price range.

I'd call it a wide cardioid, which could be good for many things. However, I never know how seriously to take specs and graphs on gear in this price range.

[anton]

Great thread, I enjoyed reading it. Many folks in the web programming world (my day job) use the SM7b when recording online content, be it a youtube video or live streaming or whatever. I gotta admit it looks pretty cool on the desk mounted swivel arm alot of them have. I've thought about a similar setup for video calls and whatnot, though it is kind of overkill.

Those two mini MXL's sure sound nice, and they look cool, which is also important. Would be a handy pair to have around for general recording duties or to take out of the house, I guess whenever I get back to doing musical events outside my house. I was seriously thinking about getting the Revelation at one time but ended up with a 414 instead.

[rockabilly69]

I own a ton of high end mics and I'm amazed at how well this one performs...

https://www.zzounds.com/item--MXLREV...xoC2uAQAvD_BwE

[anton]

Thats a strong endorsement, based on what I remember about the mics you own. Hmmm, I currently don’t have a tube mic in my collection...

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by FlyFishn

All,



I am interested in getting a nice condenser mic. What I want is a warm, crisp, accurate, and versatile condenser mic. I am not sure going so far as to get a tube mic (like a Rode K2) is in the cards, however.



The mic would primarily be used for speaking (video/podcast/web calls, ham radio) but also recording of acoustic guitar from time to time. I'd rather have the performance tip towards that of recording acoustic guitar as that is more important to "get right". I'm sure I would be more than happy with the performance when used for speaking.



Mics I've looked at are:

Rode NT55

Rode NT5

Rode NT2-A

Rode NTK

Rode NT1000

Various Shure KSM's

Various Shure SM's



My thoughts from a while back are to stick to a small diaphragm mic. The NT55 seems more versatile than any of the others in that range.



As far as other factors to consider - the room dynamics and other stuff in the audio chain - at this point I do not have a proper "studio" so room acoustics are terrible. I have an older Behringer 10ch mixer with phantom power that I intend to use most. I also have a Scarlett 6i6 GenII USB recording interface. Both that and the mixer have phantom power, not sure what I will use primarily but I have had the Scarlett set up as my "sound card" for another purpose besides music/mic use.



What are your thoughts?

Neat WorkerBee....$89

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by alohachris

Rick Ruskin's recommendation of the ADK 3 Zigma line is right on!

I recently bought their TL barrel with the 67 capsule and am extremely pleased with it. At some point I'll pony up for then C12 cap for a slightly different flavor.

[FlyFishn]

Just a quick update. I got the Mini K47 and my Soundcraft Ui24r yesterday (ordered a bunch of stuff and all but 1 shipment hit the same day, couldn't have timed that better if I tried).

The mic is spectacular. I did get the high output upgrade as the only 2 purposes for it are acoustic guitar recording and speaking. I have it hooked up to my ham radio at the moment (what it will likely be used for 90% of the time) and the clarity and detail this thing picks up is amazing. It surpasses what I had imagined. I have never heard the level of detail on any other mic set up I've personally used here as what the Mini K47 picks up.

I know its not related to the mic specifically, but I have the gate enabled on the Ui24r on the mic channel and that works beautifully keeping the line + ambient noise (what noise there is) down. That is also a weird sensation - total silence between speaking, in my case at the moment. If you have ever sat in a soundproof room (true soundproof room) where you loose ambient noise it is disorienting. That is close to the affect of the gate in the circuit in what I have here - the quality of the mixer overall is disorientingly quiet.

That audio quality from the mixer with the mic clarity is spectacular, no other words to describe it.

[FlyFishn]

Sample recording below. Nothing fancy, just strumming some chords, flatpicking, and harmonics to give a fairly wide overview of mic response characteristics in each.

For reference - the recording was direct to USB on the Ui24r, it was not routed to a DAW initially. I took the file off the USB and amplified it in a DAW (Audacity). I will have to play with the levels some more. My main concern was not clipping so I tuned the gain so I wasnt driving the channel in to the red then had adjusted the output to a comfortable listening level in headphones as I played. That might be where the low recording gain came from - post mix. I'll play with it more and see...

I am not sure if the link is coming across correctly. I have tried to use the youtube video option in the edit window but on my end it doesn't come through (might be a browser issue). So I have the direct URL also. Either way, they are the same destination.

https://youtu.be/qepqjDZ2ofY

[sam.spoons]

Originally Posted by FlyFishn

All,

I am interested in getting a nice condenser mic. What I want is a warm, crisp, accurate, and versatile condenser mic. I am not sure going so far as to get a tube mic (like a Rode K2) is in the cards, however.

The mic would primarily be used for speaking (video/podcast/web calls, ham radio) but also recording of acoustic guitar from time to time. I'd rather have the performance tip towards that of recording acoustic guitar as that is more important to "get right". I'm sure I would be more than happy with the performance when used for speaking.

Mics I've looked at are:
Rode NT55
Rode NT5
Rode NT2-A
Rode NTK
Rode NT1000
Various Shure KSM's
Various Shure SM's

My thoughts from a while back are to stick to a small diaphragm mic. The NT55 seems more versatile than any of the others in that range.

As far as other factors to consider - the room dynamics and other stuff in the audio chain - at this point I do not have a proper "studio" so room acoustics are terrible. I have an older Behringer 10ch mixer with phantom power that I intend to use most. I also have a Scarlett 6i6 GenII USB recording interface. Both that and the mixer have phantom power, not sure what I will use primarily but I have had the Scarlett set up as my "sound card" for another purpose besides music/mic use.

What are your thoughts?

That as long as you say "I do not have a proper "studio" so room acoustics are terrible." buying a new mic is not where you should be spending your cash. Spend the money on acoustic treatment, it will make far more difference to your recordings than an expensive mic.

Then, if you don't have a reasonable mike at all the consider a Neat Worker Bee [URL="Neat Worker Bee"]https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/neat-king-bee-worker-bee[/URL

[FlyFishn]

Originally Posted by sam.spoons

That as long as you say "I do not have a proper "studio" so room acoustics are terrible." buying a new mic is not where you should be spending your cash. Spend the money on acoustic treatment, it will make far more difference to your recordings than an expensive mic.

Then, if you don't have a reasonable mike at all the consider a Neat Worker Bee [URL="Neat Worker Bee"]https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/neat-king-bee-worker-bee[/URL

Already got a mic. See the two posts (40, 41) directly before yours for info and a sample.

I don't disagree on the acoustic treatment, but that will have to be way down the road when I can set up a proper studio - if I ever do. That is really far beyond the scope of what I am after for the time being.