Studio on a shoestring: mic advice please

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Marc Brevoort wrote:
> What shoestring-budget advice would you give for replacing a Rode
NT2,
> AKG D112, Shure SM57 and set of Sennheiser clip-on drum mics (if you
> wouldn't simply get them secondhand)?
>
> Best regards,
> Marc Brevoort

Hi, Marc:

The Shure SM57 is one of the best, most versatile microphones ever
made, but see if you can get a Sennheiser e609 Silver fairly cheaply.
That is a TREMENDOUS mic for recording guitar amps! It has almost
completely replaced my SM57 for guitar duties. It is also a very good
mic for drum toms.

The AKG D112 is a good mic, but I have heard from too many people that
it is a "one trick pony" without a lot of tonal variation. A good mic
for kick drums is the Shure Beta 52A, but it is expensive. If price
really is an issue, you could go with a Shure PG52, but it's not nearly
the mic that the Beta 52 is (or the D112, for that matter).

I have never used any R0DE mics, so I can't comment on them. My Shure
KSM27 is a good, cheap(ish) condenser that has served me well on vocals
and acoustic guitars.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Wow. I thought the SM57 was for a shoestring budget. If money is that
tight, I would suggest buying a couple of quality microphones, rather than
trying to put together a cabinet of cheap ones. If you need to record
drums, find a way to do it with three mics. In my opinion, a pile of
lousy, muffled-sounding mics isn't worth one clear-sounding, quality mic.
Buy two matching mics for stereo recording (NT2 if that's what you like,
but I'd suggest the MXL 603 which I think is the best mic for under $100)
and one for vocals (or an accent mic when recording drums). I don't have
any really good recommendations for a cheap vocal/utility mic, but I've
gotten good results with a CAD M179 ($175 new - hard to find). You could
also go with an SM57 or SM58, but that's a bit of a compromise.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Marc Brevoort wrote:

> Hi folks, ...

> Main issue right now are which microphones to get to replace what I
> used to have. Still have my old Shure BG4.1 condensers and AKG C1000.
> I found some reasonably sounding SM58 clones.
>
> What shoestring-budget advice would you give for replacing a Rode
NT2,
> AKG D112, Shure SM57 and set of Sennheiser clip-on drum mics (if you
> wouldn't simply get them secondhand)?
>
> Best regards,
> Marc Brevoort

I've bought a few mics from eBay sellers
and got some acceptable deals.
In your situation I would suggest that several
sm57's be indispensible. New or used. Also
don't rule out the Shure 57ish alternatives:
545 (xlr version) pe65, pe66, sm77. The sm77
and pe65 don't have the transformer in there
and seem to me to have a little better high end,
maybe also better bottom and be useful on kick.
The Senn e604's show up all the time on ebay
reasonable and do well on drums. I've used them
on live recordings for drums but they are not
as versatile on other instruments.
You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a
deal on a D112 or older D12.
Senn md431 (dynamic supercard) is good on
vocals and can be a sleeper deal used.
There's lots of newer stuff out now that could
be used to replace the NT2 (NT2A ?) and you
should shop around carefully for that.
Maybe the AT2020 ...
CAD mics are not too bad- cm400, the 177 and 179.
There also lots of small condensors out there to
choose from in the bargain bin: AKG c430, Senn e614,
Studio Project C4(stereo pair).

I agree that a few good mics always beats
a bushel of so-so ones.

rd

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"RD Jones" <annonn@juno.com> wrote

> I've bought a few mics from eBay sellers
> and got some acceptable deals.

I'll never buy a used mic again. You never know if it is up to full quality
untik too late and good luck returning it if you bought it on Ebay.

Julian