Cheap(ish) quality microphone recommendations

[Woltz]

O.K. sound wizards, gurus etc. I have no recording gear at all so would like to get up and running as cheap as possible but with decent quality. I was looking at something like the Rode NT-USB.

I want to be able to do the following:

Record guitar out of an amp.
Record Violin and acoustic guitar.
Record brass instruments.
Record speech as I'm toying with the idea of doing a YouTube build series for one of my future builds if people would be interested.

Video at this stage I'll probably just use my Nikon D3100 (Full HD @ 24fps) or pick up a second hand Go-Pro.

Hit me with your suggestions.

[king casey]

Rode make decent quality gear.
I'd probably go with that if it's within your budget.

cheers, Mark.

[SamSquare]

Are you dead set on a usb mic?

If there’s any chance you might want to upgrade or expand your studio in the future, you might be better off with an interface and an XLR mic if your budget allows.

I have no experience with USB mics but I’m very happy with my Rode so I’m sure that’s a good option if you choose that path.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dave.king1]

Are you dead set on a usb mic?

If there’s any chance you might want to upgrade or expand your studio in the future, you might be better off with an interface and an XLR mic if your budget allows.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This, buy a decent Mic with XLR and one of the small Focusrite Scarlett series interfaces, can't go wrong.

The A/D converter in the interface will leave for dead whatever is in the Mic or computer, and also give you a better playback / recording monitor option

[SamSquare]

Those little 3rd gen scarletts are cracking value!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sonic Mountain]

I just bought one of these for my band and it punches waaay above its weight. Highly recommend. Also it was delivered in 2 days.

You'll need to by the lead separately, but its just a standard XLR jack.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Behringer-...d_i=4885415051

I also have a Blue Snowball USB that is very flexible for room or direct recording.

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/b...phone-blackout

XLR and an interface is probably more flexible though.

[Woltz]

I'll look into the Scarletts. Whatever setup I go for will need to tolerate pretty high SPLs (up to 135dB).

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[McCreed]

I know there are many more experienced here than I when I comes to home recording, but being a recent buyer of a Focusrite interface and Reaper DAW, I'll offer some input.

I got my Focusrite Scarlett Solo (Gen 3) for $229 a few weeks ago. It was pretty standard price but lower than some retailers.
Reaper DAW - $66US - worked out to $105AU - 60 day free trial before paying; lifetime licence, free upgrades.

Instrument mic for guitar amp & brass - hard to go past the Sennheiser e609 around $115 domestic. An industry stalwart dynamic mic (budget model of e906).
Mics for voice/vocals, strings, guitar and room - condenser mic(s) is/are the way to go.

If you're looking for a decent condenser mic on a budget, I can recommend iSK available from SWAMP in Fyshwick.
I have an iSK large diaphragm condenser mic as well as a iSK kick drum mic and a pair of their pencil condenser mics. They all definitely punch above their weight for the price.

As I said, I'm new to home recording, but I'm not new to studio recording. Primarily as a performer not an engineer, but I've picked up a few thing along the way.

[DrNomis_44]

I've got two of the Scarlett CM25 condenser mics that come included in the Scarlett 2i2 Studio pack/bundle that Focusrite sell, they are surprisingly good quality mics, and I've managed to get good results with them so far.

[blinddrew]

For brass and guitar amps I'd generally reach for a dynamic mic first (AKG D5 is a good budget option), for acoustic guitar and voice I'd probably reach for an LDC (unless your budget stretches to an Aston Stealth or Shure SM7B). The Audio Technica AT2020 is pretty hard to beat in the UK but I don't know how the prices stack up over there.
The Behringer UMC interfaces offer a lot of bang for buck, they've not been around long enough to really talk about durability or driver support though. I've got a focusrite on my desk that I reckon is over 10 years old and still going strong, it's also still getting driver support from Focusrite.