My budget took a hit -- mic advice needed

[portishead]

From your post it looks like you are looking in the $100 range.

An SM58 is probably your best choice for that. Record your vox with it, remove the ball on the mic (it unscrews and comes right off) and record your acoustic guitar. Done and done.

[oldeanalogueguy]

Originally Posted by swartzfeger

Hi gang, I was getting ready to buy two mics to begin tracking vocals and acoustic. SM7B for vocals and a yet-to-be-determined dynamic for the acoustic. Vocs and guitar tracked separately, so no bleed issues or need for a fancy figure 8 setup. All of this going on in an untreated attic.

But now my budget just took a hit -- there's no way I can afford a SM7B, let alone two mics. I need to make do with one mic, preferably a dynamic that will be my go to vocal mic for some time but still do a serviceable job at capturing acoustic.

Vocals -- baritone, but I rarely 'belt' it, although I can. Acoustic -- fingerpicked, mostly arpeggios and riffs in a support role.

Mic will be going into an Apogee Duet 2, so plenty of gain.

I'm thinking SM58. Terrible choice? I haven't seen much in regards to the SM58 micing acoustics (maybe a bad sign).

What about something super cheap like the Prodipe TT1? The only hands on I've read have been mostly positive vocal reviews.

TIA!

gls57 and gls58 both for well under a hundred bux
reviews say sound better than the shure version
check out orange county speaker repair and amazon for the gls mikes

mxl990 $59-79 depending on sale for a good condensor

they are not neumanns but this is the low end stuff forum
and they are not the crapp that many will try to scare you with so you buy something expensive

[swartzfeger]

Originally Posted by portishead

From your post it looks like you are looking in the $100 range.

An SM58 is probably your best choice for that. Record your vox with it, remove the ball on the mic (it unscrews and comes right off) and record your acoustic guitar. Done and done.

Poifect.

I'm guessing the ball simply acts as a windscreen/pop filter?

[Ron Vogel]

I fully agree...with the SM58...if you can swing $200, a SM57 paired with a MXL V67G is a fairly versitile combo too. You can use both as-is by themselves to do either task, or together on acoustic (sm57 at the 12th fret, V67G over the shoulder). I found the MXL to do pretty well on most vocals, barring only belting out...but I get good results out of the 57 for that.

Another low-dollar mic that has worked well for me is the MCA SP1...at $50 it's a bargain; sounds like a hi-fi SM58. It's sensitive to phantom power though, and on some pre-amps will whine (that's why I sold mine). It's a little on the dark side, but takes eq well and has a smooth top-end.

[mcgruff]

ADK A6, if you can stretch to $250. Neutral, unhyped sound with good transient response so it's a great acoustic guitar mic and generally very versatile. Should do a good job on just about anything you put in front of it. It's a low-end price but more of a mid-range sound. I can never understand why it isn't talked about on GS just as much as the SM7.

PS: SM57/58 really aren't good on acoustic guitar. You'll lose all the transient sparkle.

[swartzfeger]

Originally Posted by mcgruff

ADK A6, if you can stretch to $250. Neutral, unhyped sound with good transient response so it's a great acoustic guitar mic and generally very versatile. Should do a good job on just about anything you put in front of it. It's a low-end price but more of a mid-range sound. I can never understand why it isn't talked about on GS just as much as the SM7.

Isn't that a condenser? I keep coming back to the whole notion of being in an old attic, thinking a dynamic isn't going to pick up the ambient creaks and moans and mice partying deep inside the walls. Or is my newbness overhyping a condenser's sensitivity?

[swartzfeger]

Originally Posted by mcgruff

ADK A6, if you can stretch to $250. Neutral, unhyped sound with good transient response so it's a great acoustic guitar mic and generally very versatile. Should do a good job on just about anything you put in front of it. It's a low-end price but more of a mid-range sound. I can never understand why it isn't talked about on GS just as much as the SM7.

PS: SM57/58 really aren't good on acoustic guitar. You'll lose all the transient sparkle.

After doing some searches, what about the AKG D5 instead of the D6? The D5 is dynamic, and it seems comparable to the SM58 with maybe a little more high end? Plus it's only $100.

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by portishead

From your post it looks like you are looking in the $100 range.

An SM58 is probably your best choice for that. Record your vox with it, remove the ball on the mic (it unscrews and comes right off) and record your acoustic guitar. Done and done.

+1 this

or a 57 with a proper circular separately mounted pop filter and/or a foam overthemic filter.

For your budget and dynamic requirements just use the industry standards. they're standards for good reasons. you have few options.

other dynamics that are good but may sound different are from

heil (they TEND to be brighter and more condensor-sounding than shures, as a really general guideline),

audix (the om2 is a great and affordable mic, it's got a presence peak that is imho stronger than that of the shure competitors which makes it great on some things, lousy on others, and there are other om models in their line up with different sounds and prices).

peavey (but hard to find now) like my old favorite pvm 520 dynamic. it's similar to an re 20 and can be found used for like $100ish if you're lucky enough to find one and the seller isn't trying to rip you off.

and of course there are various knock of dynamics that are also quite good :
behringer and

apex make surprisingly good sounding sm58 knock offs if you get the right model numbers and they're about half price of the real things. not quite the same but in the ballpark, sound wise.

[Silent Sound]

I'll suggest the Audix i5. I like it as a better studio mic on most sources than the sm57 or 58. Although for most things, they're pretty interchangeable.

That said, there's another thread that says Best Buy online is currently selling their SM57 and SM58's for $25 off. It's a good enough deal that I bought one.

[chessparov]

My vote is the Electro-Voice EV 635a for around $100 new.

They even recorded ENTIRE orchestras in the 60/70's with them!

Or you could just watch the 'ol Johnny Cash or Hee Haw TV show us'n them thangs. (that's my country side coming out)

So I think it'll be "ok" for the vocals/acoustic guitar.

Chris