Originally posted by Silhouette:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by GrantB:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Silhouette:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by GrantB:
What is he recording? Hiphop,lounge(I'm not understandimg that term!) and soul. </font>[/QUOTE]I mean what instruments. Vocals, percussion, instrument amplifiers, violins, drums? Also what mics does he already have? </font>[/QUOTE]He said: Vocals, percussion toys, woodwind, brass maybe, guitar/bass amps. </font>[/QUOTE]Ok that is a wide range that ideally you would want different types of mics for. I will assume he doesn't have any other mics.
Conventional recording wisdom says that large diaphragm condensers are the holy grail of mics. Of course conventional (professional) studios have Neumanns! I am not a big fan of all these cheapo condensers that are out these days, and even a good one is not going to be best suited for all of these instruments. A large diaphragm condenser is also not a good choice for a first mic for a whole list of practical reasons.
Your friend would be better off with a clean and flat contemporary dynamic mic to start out with, and save his money for a good condenser (like the C414) later. Get one with a neodimium magnet (lower noise, higher output, and better transient response). My favorite is the Shure Beta 57 (the blue one, $140). I like the Beta 57 better than the Beta 57A for some reason (I wish I had picked up a couple back then), but that will be harder to find. Don't even mess with the other Betas IMO.
The regular grey Shure SM57 and SM58 are classics and have a special sound, but I think he needs something more generally useful. Of course at $99 he could get these in the budget also. I have been recording percussion, Rhodes, and male vocals in a friends studio lately and all he has is SM57s. Works great for this project. The SM57 is a favorite (overused!) for guitar amps and either one can be the best mic for rap depending on the rapper. They are also nearly indestructible and hold their value forever. The Beta 57 will sound more realistic than the grey ones on the woodwinds and percussion especially.
Another possibility is the EV RE-20 or 27 ( under $400 used?). This is a superb classic large diaphragm dynamic mic that sounds great on just about everything, but especially on bass amps and male voices. Considering the styles of music you mentioned, this might be the hit. Huge for rap also.
If woodwinds (esp. sax) and brass become a big priority, think of adding the AKG C419 clip on condenser (about $240). It's hard to mess up with this one and it's great for live too. It's not good for much else though besides drums.
Ok, I could go on and on but I will leave you with this. If I still haven't sold your friend on some cheaper alternatives and he must have a large diaphragm condenser, there is one almost in his range I would recommend: the Audio Technica 4050 ($575). This one has a clean sound and switchable patterns for all kinds of experimentation. It will probably sound much better than the Beta 57 for most applications... just don't get moisture on it, blow it up with your guitar amp, or unplug it with the power on. Also the Shure KSM series are under the budget and said to be good by people I trust, but I haven't tried them so take a listen with many different sources. I can't second Shannons recommendation of the AKG C1000 (or 3000)... they are inexpensive but I just don't like the sound. (Shannon, have you tried a small diaphragm omni condenser for your acoustic?) Whatever you do, don't go for one of these cheap vintage character vocal condensers for all around recording. You might have an OK sound in solo, but the mix will be a mess. Also they do not hold their value and many are poorly made.
Next thread: good cheap mic preamps.