Best microphone for around $200ish? *please read*

[CoreyJayzMusic]

what would be the best option available for around $200? and what "app" would be good for recording vocals.. let me explain

im working with this girl online, shes a singer and we want todo some recording (nothing to serious as of now, shes a good singer and seems like it could be fun and help me learn as well), shes probably going to buy a mic in a week or so, i know theres a couple different types of mics for different applications

she doesn't need anything as serious as ableton, just something to record vocals on and send it to me then ill work on it from there...

Tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

[Garry Knight]

Mics I don't know, but she could check out the free version of Studio One. It can't use VSTs and has a cut-down set of effects but it should be perfect for recording vocals.

[Tarekith]

I think Rode mics are great for the money, especially the NT series. If she's on a Mac, GarageBand is free and works fine for recording.

[GUY SMILEY]

the pre-amp is more important than the mic choose arguably

[dsu]

To make a good recommendation, more information is needed, so here are some things to consider.

What type of computer is going to be use, Mac or Windows? If Mac then Garageband is an excellent DAW for the intended application.

How are you going to get the microphone into the computer?

A typical recording microphone is not going to plug into the mic input on the computer so you will need to have some sort of sound card that can accept a microphone with and XLR connector.

An example of a low cost sound card with built in mic preamp is found here

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

But this leaves you only $100 to buy a microphone.


Another approach is to get a USB microphone which don't need a separate sound card.
http://www.sweetwater.com/c981--USB_Microphones

One thing to add to the budget is closed ear headphones. These are necessary so that your track doesn't lead onto her vocal track while recording. One advantage of the USB mic is that they tend to be optimized for vocal recording. A down side is that your not going to plug these mics into the mixer at your local club.

BTW I don't work for Sweetwater and have never bought anything from them. But they are a handy catalog to reference online.

Good luck.

[lapieuvre]

I would really check out Gauge ECM-87 microphone

[mrobare]

hi

audacity is a free audio editor that can be used as a audio recorder among other things

i bought a shure pg42 usb mic for $250
that way she would not need to buy a audio interface

she is probable going to need a set of head phones to here herself

have good day

[smoulder]

I bought a Rode NTA1 and I can honestly say its a great all rounder for vocals and instrument recording. I got the pack with the cradle, XLR cable and pop shield for, £125.00. To say I'm really pleased would be an understatement, it's a joy to use, and available a at an affordable price.

[Angstrom]

Although a lot of people might start looking at the cheaper condensers it's not the only approach. A condenser needs phantom power, a preamp, and some room treatment (because it picks up sound from a wide area). While condensers can sound nice, crisp and detailed, its rare in the hands of a novice with minimal equipment.

Why not go for a trusty dynamic mic like the SM58 (or similar), the proximity effect means room treatment is less of an issue, the mics are cheaper, they don't need powering and preamping is less of an issue.

[jlgrimes]

what would be the best option available for around $200? and what "app" would be good for recording vocals.. let me explain

im working with this girl online, shes a singer and we want todo some recording (nothing to serious as of now, shes a good singer and seems like it could be fun and help me learn as well), shes probably going to buy a mic in a week or so, i know theres a couple different types of mics for different applications

she doesn't need anything as serious as ableton, just something to record vocals on and send it to me then ill work on it from there...

Tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

AT2020 is a good Mic and its only $100

Studio Projects also have a Mic (B1) I think in this price range. Both Mics emphasize the high freqs pretty good and are good for the Money

[fishmonkey]

Why not go for a trusty dynamic mic like the SM58 (or similar), the proximity effect means room treatment is less of an issue, the mics are cheaper, they don't need powering and preamping is less of an issue.

fair points except for the preamp part. why is preamping less of an issue?

[Angstrom]

Obviously, a better preamp is better in all cases, but the preamp quality is revealed more by a condensor because of its relative strengths.and hidden by the SM58 more because of its strengths.

This is point of view obviously but an SM58 type mic is usually chosen for rock shouters, blues belters, etc. the proximity effect and other features are colouring the whole input in a certain way. That's fine, but It isn't chosen for clarity, "elegance" and "refinement" . So as long as an input channel is of the right impedence and has a handful of cheap Chinese SMT chips doing gain it can tend to work passably. Like a fuzz guitar, it can stand a bit of dirt on it.

However, a condenser choice is more about capturing detail, if you are looking for that detail and then you might as well get a decent preamp or its like putting a classical guitar performance through a fuzz pedal. Its a bit pointless to use a cheap preamp in this case as its flaws will be more evident than in the sm58 case.

[fishmonkey]

ah, gotcha. dynamics often need more preamp gain though as they are less sensitive.