What Mic Combo should i get?

[Killuminati]

iv been doing my research on mics and preamps, and i have some questions
i have a budget of 300 bucks btw

iv read reviews and made previous threads about this mic and im wondering if its good for the best type of quality for its bucks

The Samson G-track ( the usb with phantom power)

or should i just get a preamp with another mic etc.
and which combo should i get for best quality

[Killuminati]

very helpful site

[dannygold]

That budget is pretty low for a mic AND pre. I'd just buy an SM58 and use whatever mic pre is in your interface for now. With a larger budget you'd have more options.

[Killuminati]

Originally Posted by dannygold

That budget is pretty low for a mic AND pre. I'd just buy an SM58 and use whatever mic pre is in your interface for now. With a larger budget you'd have more options.

im aware its not alot of money, but im lookng for the BEST possible combo with that amount of money

[Graal]

What type of audio interface do you have?
If it's an onboard soundcard, you definitely need a mic with a built in audio interface, like the G track.
If you already have an audio interface that provides phantom power +48V, with built in preamps just buy the best microphone + cable + mic stand + popfilter/windscreen you can within that price range.
Microphones that I would say are good as starters within the $300 range are: Rode NT-1A(here is a great deal if you live in the US - free shipping and no sales tax - Rode NT1A from zZounds.com ) , Audio Tehnica AT2020, Shure SM7B (a little over = $350), and there are others too (just don't get the mxl ones, from what I hear they are crappy).
Peace.

[statixx]

300 bucks huh? and you want something to get you in the game. k here we go.......

you can get:

a m audio fast track usb for 100 new of 50 bucks used (definitly get it used). that covers your 24 bit conversion.

for mics with a hundred bucks it prolly wont get better then a sm58 (id prefer a sm57 with pop filter). you can also look at studio projects b1s or audio technica2020 or the infamous chinese bright rode nt1a. those are all in the hundred dollar price range. what are we at now? like 150 to 200 dollars spent.

last but absolutely not least you need a preamp. for a hundred bucks IMO you only have two choices. thats a m audio dmp3 or a rane ms1b. id go with the dmp3 because you get two channels of good clean gain for the same price as a single channel rane. those are both 150 bucks new or around a 100 bucks used.

grand total? 300 dollars!!!!!

here ill do you a favor a pick a chain myself.

sm57 (with pop filter)> m audio dmp3> m audio fast track usb

i dont think it gets better then that for $300.

[illacov]

In all seriousness, here's what I'd suggest.

First off I sell and design mics at JJ Audio with Jim Jacobsen so please forgive the spam.

Buy the cheapest used MXL mic you can find. Go to the flea market, they sell the 990 like crazy for 20 bucks or try craigslist or ebay. Or look for the 57m or the 909. The 57m goes for 59 bucks brand new right now I believe.

We can typically do a Fet mod on that mic for a very very low price and it will sound good!

Buy a used DMP3 or a brand new one. Used they go for maybe 75 to 85 bucks in good working condition. I bought mine from LA on craiglist for 85 bucks. Stupid good preamp!

Buy a 5 dollar cable from Radioshack, 1/4" mono to 1/8" mono, use your computer's soundcard.

Alot of them are actually decent soundcards and while they aren't Prism converters, you can get some good results out of the newer onboard soundcards, from say 2004 and onward.

Save up for a good soundcard in the meantime, master your setup and then buy something really nice.

With only a 300 dollar budget you've kind of handcuffed yourself as far as which way your dollars are going to swing. Do you get a decent mic and a crappy preamp? And a crappy soundcard?

Or do you pick 2 good ones out of the 3 and save for a good third piece to the puzzle.


Regardless of what people save about the DMP3, I got proof its a good sounding preamp. I own one and I even got the head tech over at JJ Audio to get one. He likes it so much that thats the typical chain for his mic demos now. Its really a great purchase for a small fee.

As far as the mic, you could always just get a mic and work with what you have. If you bought something like the MXL 990 for $50 brand new, plus a new DMP3, you'd be at 209 bucks plus shipping, which would leave you under 100 for a sound card.

Not too many options are around, but you could get your hands on an EMU 0404 for that kind of money. Its a good soundcard in my opinion. I have one installed at my partner's demo studio, the Clambake. Its a clean soundcard, not the greatest interface, but its how we tracked our first album. We still use it for guitar tracking every now and then. We've since graduated to RME 9652 and 3 X ADA8000 clocked to the RME. Soundquality to my ears is about 10% better but also you get 24 channels versus 4.

All the vocals and guitars on my myspace link were cut with the EMU 0404. We were using a Rane MS1B preamp (very similar to the DMP3 sound wise), dbx 163x to record.

Food for thought!

Peace
Illumination