Cheap Mics - looking to get a variety of cheal mics for £500

[dubmunkey]

Originally Posted by machoboy

se electronics x1 is imo the best $200 mic

the at2035 is also a "must have" for any well rounded budget collection

i have an mxl v67g and it sounds good but man is the quality control on MXLs poor. The fancy gold grill looks particularly comedic as the entire assembly leans to one side. Looks like a real home made spraypaint job of a microphone.

Cool i need a few more ATs so will check it out. The MXL looked pretty bling to me but I haven't scrutinised it. The tBone is definitely pretty :D

[Johnny Paez]

Ksm 32 from shure!!

[sessionatstudiom]

I would look at building a stable of mics of tried and true standards. That way you have a real baseline to judge as you look other options.

IMO the standards under $1000 would be.

Shure SM57
Shure SM7
Shure SM81
Shure Beta 56
AKG 414
AKG D112 or D12
Akg C451
EV RE20
Sennheiser MD421
Beyer Dynamic M88
Beyer M260 Ribbon
Beyer M160 Ribbon
Neumann KM84 or 184
Neumann TLM 103
Audio Technica 4033
Audio Technica 4050
Audio Technica 4047
Audio Technica 4031 or 4041
Octava MC 012

These are mics you can find in many studios. With a variety of these you can do just about anything you want. From there you can expand to other ribbons, tube mics, and crazy weird mics.

There are more but these are a good start.

Mike

[NikHz]

I would suggest the following:
EV RE20 (great for everything and my go to mic)
Shure SM7 (haven't used it but is comparable to above)
Neumann KMS 105 (handheld condenser which is great for vocalists who like to hold the mic)
sE GM10 (guitar condenser that attaches onto your acoustic guitar)
sE 2200a (clean sounding condenser that's cheap)
Oktava MK-319 (surprisingly good condenser for vocals/instruments, especially given the price)
AKG D-112 (for kicks and bass cabs)

Nice thread!

[bee]

Originally Posted by xfreddex

Best budget mics ever IMO, the Line Audio CM3.
You should check out the threads about it...

I also like the CAD M179 and T.Bone ribbon mics.

Is there a Line Audio dealer in the USA?

[machoboy]

Originally Posted by dubmunkey

Cool i need a few more ATs so will check it out. The MXL looked pretty bling to me but I haven't scrutinised it. The tBone is definitely pretty :D

You can get the AT2035 for $100 w/ shockmount through amazon at the moment. That's the same price the (in my opinion, quite inferior) at2020 + shockmount would come to.

At that price I just got another to play around with dual micing vocals.

One thing about the ATs vs MXL and other budget mics is that they're made in Taiwan instead of China so the quality control/consistency mic to mic is far superior. As much as I do like those "blingy" Chinese mics, 1 in 10 is either a dud or has some sort of fit & finish defect.

[dubmunkey]

Originally Posted by marcreeves

surprised no one mentioned Sontronics! Incredible budget mics. The STC-10's are hands down some of the best SDC's I've ever used for acoustic guitar,and you can pick up a pair for around £150!

Is it me or does the stc-10 become unusably noisy with the hpf switch engaged? Bought mine from new so aren't sure if it is faulty or not.