Hi all,

as in the title, i'm looking to spend about 200 pounds on a budget condenser and stand. i think i can get my hands on a pop shield - but that may also have to come out of the budget.

looking through a catalogue and seeing what comes in under budget can only get you so far - i don't really know what each of these mics is going to give me.

basically i want it for all round use. it'll be my first mic (well, i have a nice sony stereo, but that doesn't really count) so i want to be able to use it for vocals, a bit of guitar, some wind instruments and maybe even some percussion.

perhaps i'm asking a bit too much of 200 pounds, so again - all advice would be appreciated.

at the moment i'm running a G5 powerPC with logic 7 and an Mbox 2.

thanks!

-hazza.

I'd look for either a front adress vocal mic (like for stage performances) or a small diaphragm mic.

Nuetral sound is good if you only have one mic. The AT pro-37 is reportedly pretty good. The EV RE510 may be just inside you price range too.



-tINY

Check out the studio projects stuff, they make very good condensers for a superb price (poor man neumanns )

If you would like a small diaphragm you could check out the C4 - a matched pair is about 280 EUR, they come with 2 interchangable capsules (omni, cardiod)

or go for a large diaphgram like C3 - dual membrane, 3 patterns, high pass, pad .... sells for about 270 EUR in the EU.

I have two B1s and a T3 tube mic from them and they rock for that price

I'd get an SM7b and save a little more for a nice pre.

That'll get you a whole lot further than a cheap condenser. Do a search on gearlutz for that mic and you'll see that a lot of people really rate them!

Rez

Forget the chinese crap, go Rode.

For £185 you can buy the new Rode NT2A (new HF1 capsule), Multipattern with Pads.

The sound is smooth and flattering for vocals, and great on acoustic guitars.

Its also a super quiet mic with only 7dba noise.

IMO 'one' of the best mic for under £500/600

Heres a SOS review:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar0...s/rodent2a.htm

thanks for the responses guys!

kingofswing - it sounds nice, but where can i pick it up for 185? everywhere i've looked seems to want more. the only downside to this is i'll need to buy stand shockmount and popshield bringing the price up a few notches.

reza, i'm looking into your suggestion, thanks!

-hazza.

Hi

you can find the NT2A for that price if you shop around.
http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail...ckCode=ST00388 with a pop

Plus a stand will cost you around £10-15. The shockmount is around £50, but you may not need one if you are on solid ground though.

By going with the NT2A you will be heading the quality route, and you can always add the shockmout later if you think you need it.

thanks a lot, it sounds good. that price is pretty good too!

any other suggestions?

cheers,
-hazza.

hazza,
You might want to consider the ADK Vienna. If you really want to go cheap try a Studio Projects B1.

You can hear clips of these mics and many others here. Bear in mind that every voice will interact differently with the same mic, so what might sound good for a voice on a clip may not work for you. Also bear in mind that unless you have the same pre amp as was used to record the clips then the mics might not sound the same when you use them. What I'm saying is that the clips are just a very general guide and useful for comparison especially if you know the sound of some of the mics already.

Pete.