Reasonable quality micropphone for vocals?..

[Jimmyprice]

Im looking for a cheap (cheap being the key word) microphone just to record vocals, mainly just mid range talking vocals and random percussion. Doesnt have to be great quality just audible, what would be the easiest and cheapist way to do this? Could i just get a cheap Usb mic or should i get one to plug into my soundcard and if so what type of microphone?

any input would be great

Cheers!

[Cezband]

Well, how cheap is cheap?

A lot of people use the shure SM58, it's an industry standard (especially for live use). Rock solid, reliable, decent sound, comparatively cheap (roughly £80).

If your soundcard has phantom power then the ideal thing to get would be a decent condenser mic, but that's going to cost more.

And of course, the more you sacrifice in regards to budget, the more you're going to sacrifice in terms of sound quality. You don't need to spend hundreds, but if you're going much further down the scale from the SM58 be prepared for recording quality to suffer.

[Jimmyprice]

Well, how cheap is cheap?

A lot of people use the shure SM58, it's an industry standard (especially for live use). Rock solid, reliable, decent sound, comparatively cheap (roughly £80).

If your soundcard has phantom power then the ideal thing to get would be a decent condenser mic, but that's going to cost more.

And of course, the more you sacrifice in regards to budget, the more you're going to sacrifice in terms of sound quality. You don't need to spend hundreds, but if you're going much further down the scale from the SM58 be prepared for recording quality to suffer.

Cheers matey!

[eddiex]

i have the audio technica AT2020....its a pretty cheap condenser mic. $100 u.s. and it sounds pretty decent for the price, pretty solid..you have to have phantom power on your soundcard/interface....they make a usb version of the AT2020,but its a little more expensive......the sm58 would be MY second choice for a vocal mic. under $100.....don't go too much cheaper than $100.....you are probably going to regret wasting your money.....i got a no name brand dynamic mic....basically a $30 sm58 knock off....it distorted and just sounded god awful like as if i plugged a mic. cable into a piece of dookie and sang into it. i mean if that is what you are into...it could be cool? but....
so yeah save up at least a hundred bucks to spend on a mic.
the AT2020 gets my vote for best vocal mic under $100...sm58 second vote

[nuxnamon]

Shure sm7b

[nathannn]

the last mic i bought was an audix om2.
it think it cost $100.. anyways i like it over the sm58 a bit, everything sounds a lot more clear.
buy a dynamic instead of a condenser if you are looking for something inexpensive. cheap condensers end up sounding ..cheap..
usually when i record vocals with a cheapo condenser i can never make out the lyrics they just turn everything im saying into a slur.

[nathannn]

also if you are recording vocals and you dont have a dead room, a condenser will pick up everything!
usually you need to add compression to vocals and if you are not in a dead room all the noise from the live room makes the whole vocal take shit.