Need mic suggestions.

[Atalkingsausage]

So, I'm beginning to build my first real home studio. Looking to record primarily acoustic guitar, and Female vocals. Are there any condenser mics, or otherwise that can capture warm true recordings? I'd love to get 2 mics for around 100 dollars each or less if possible. What do you guys use for such applications? Thanks in advance!

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Atalkingsausage

So, I'm beginning to build my first real home studio. Looking to record primarily acoustic guitar, and Female vocals. Are there any condenser mics, or otherwise that can capture warm true recordings? I'd love to get 2 mics for around 100 dollars each or less if possible. What do you guys use for such applications? Thanks in advance!

Almost any inexpensive condenser mic will capture a fairly accurate version of what's in front of it. The "warm and true" part is up to you as a recordist. (...and therein lies the entire wrinkle to great sounding small project studio recording.)

There's a million possibilities in your price range. You might consider a pair of AKG 120s (mid-size diaphragm) or a 120 in combination with a 220 (LDC) which will still be under your $200 budget.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P120/

Don't forget if you're going to do vocals to budget for a pop shield, and unless you're REALLY careful you'll need shock mounts for your mics. (Preferably spider type mounts with elastic band suspension).

The bigger issue is what you're feeding with the mics. You'll need at minimum a usb interface with phantom power for the mics.

...and you need a GOOD set of headphones (or) near field monitors to mix with.

The home recording thing isn't nearly as expensive or complex as it used to be, but there's still a learning curve.

My preferred recording method is to capture on a recorder with solid state media and do all the grunt work on a computer. If you're new to all this you might consider a Zoom R8. You can track virtually anywhere (don't overlook the importance of WHERE you record), do overdubs, etc. and transfer the tracks to a DAW for editing.

I have a bunch of basic info for how to do simple projects on my "Simple Homestyle Recording" web page:

http://www.bluestemstrings.com/pageRecording1.html

[clintj]

My pair of AKG P420 mics are my go-tos. Large diameter condensers with selectable patterns and pad, and a shock mount is included. I've used them on guitar amps, drums, acoustic guitars, male voices, and a few other things. Haven't tried them on a female voice yet, though. Not too bad sounding, really. Pro vocal mic? Um, no. Nice home studio workhorse? Yes.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by clintj

My pair of AKG P420 mics are my go-tos. Large diameter condensers with selectable patterns and pad, and a shock mount is included. I've used them on guitar amps, drums, acoustic guitars, male voices, and a few other things. Haven't tried them on a female voice yet, though. Not too bad sounding, really. Pro vocal mic? Um, no. Nice home studio workhorse? Yes.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

That would be my recommendation for ultimate versatility, but outside the $200 maximum budget.

Maybe as used, but LDCs or ribbons aren't something I'd suggest purchasing used. A LOT of the lower end LDCs and ribbons end up getting some mild abuse by folks that purchase them without giving a thought to what's behind the screen.

[MikeBmusic]

To build on what Rudy said:

Do you have a separate budget for an audio interface? What about monitors (speakers)? Acoustic treatment in the room?
Home recording can be an endless drain on your wallet, once you get into it!

[dmoss74]

if i were you, and what you have works for now, then i'd save up a few more bucks. if you can double your budget, you could find (with some due diligence) a mint used mic that someone is just getting rid of. that's how i found my akg c-414. i paid practically nothing for it (in relative terms), compared to what it goes for new.

the cheap mics will get the job done, but if you ever decide to start tracking some really nice sounding stuff, there's no substitute for a GREAT mic.

than you can start saving up for a great mic pre, as well.

at the 200 bucks level, you could probably find a mint/used large diaphragm condenser mic from studio projects, or someone like that.

the audio technica mics get good reviews. i had a at4040 for a while (which i got for less than your budget), but never bonded with it. i went to the akg after that one.

or look for a used akg c214. same capsule as the 414, but no polar pattern options. cardioid only. i have one and use it a lot, too. they have a newer model (314) that is the 214, but with additional polar pattern options. but i doubt you'd find one in the 200 dollar range.

edit:

i just saw this locally...and he'd take offers, too.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/msg/5509438313.html

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

To build on what Rudy said:

Do you have a separate budget for an audio interface? What about monitors (speakers)? Acoustic treatment in the room?
Home recording can be an endless drain on your wallet, once you get into it!

Oh yeah!!!

[DesolationAngel]

I would suggest that you get into some of the ins and outs of what happens around the mics before you truly dive in. Some generalizations to consider include:

Polar patterns. If you have a great sounding room then you might want to consider a mic that can do omni. If you have a poor sounding room then you'll probably want to 'close mic' the guitar with a cardioid mic. If you're trying to record more than one thing at a time, then you might want to consider a figure 8 (the dead sides–"nulls"–of which can be handy for not picking up something else).

Capsule size. Small diaphragm condensers tend to react faster and therefore catch transients (the initial attack of something), large condensers have more area and tend capture the 'fullness', for want of a better word. So, SDCs are often favoured for acoustic guitars, LDCs for vocals.... but sometimes you can mix 'n' match, put the two mics in front of you, point the SDC at the 12th fret and the LDC down on the lower bout pointing at the bridge and then blend them in your recording software (the SDC will give you the snap and tingle of acoustic and you can dial in some of the round, full, lower end from the LDC). Of course you'll need at least a two in audio interface to drive the two at the same time.

At your price point I'd say that these are probably not going to be the mics you stick with but may well be the mics you learn with. That being said, for $170 bucks you can get the Audio Technica AT2041SP "Studio Pack" which includes the AT2020 LDC (cardioid) and the AT2021 SDC (also cardioid). That will get you two reasonable options that you can use to mix 'n' match. (FWIW the 2020 is noted as being a surprisingly good mic for the money).

One last thing to consider; if you're going to get into stereo recording–and the debate about stereo for acoustic guitar is a heated one–then consider that, in general, you either need two of the exact same, matched mic (for A/B, X/Y, ORTF or Blumlein stereo) OR you need one cardioid and one figure 8 (for Mid/Side) stereo recordings.

Best of luck... be warned, the pursuit of recorded goodness can be very addictive and it pays to do your homework; there are a LOT of companies making a lot of very good microphones these days. And bear in mind, people that go deep on this stuff usually end up paying a lot of money for room treatment, microphones and mic preamps.