Each week we open our mic to readers and lurkers alike to come out of the woodwork and tell us your thoughts and opinion, your experiences and mistakes, what you love and what you hate. We want to hear from you, and here’s your chance.
We’re about to update our article on the best microphones to buy for a home studio, and we’d love your input. What are your recommendations, and why?
Tags: microphones
Enjoyed this Post?
Subscribe to our RSS Feed, Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!
By Adrian Try
Adrian is writer and editor for Audiotuts+ and Envato Notes. He has been playing keys and acoustic guitar for three decades, and has six kids. Follow him on Twitter at @envatoaudio.
Join our newsletter!
Freelance Jobs
Create a Tutorial, Get Paid!
Have something to teach the world? Want to earn money doing it? Tutorials, screencasts, and articles published here on Audiotuts+ are largely contributed by readers just like you! We'll pay you great money for good content. Find Out More
Best bang-for-buck all rounder condenser cardioid mic I’ve found is the Audio Technica 2020 (AT2020). Bit of a sleeper in my opinion.
A must have mic – sm57. Vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar amps, drums, brass etc. It has it’s place and isn’t right for everything but it will give you something to work with more often than not. Mix with a condenser to get some very useable sounds.
No discussion of mics is complete without a mic pre. Most versatile and great sounding mic pre for the money: Summit Audio 2BA-221. Not the cheapest pre but definitely will give you lots of options and great sounds.
Sm57′s are a definite must, but for me the AT 2050 is a much more useful mic, well worth the little extra money over the 2020.
The D112 is incredibly cheap for the quality too – very useful for bass and kicks etc.
Those three mics would take you a really long way. Maybe not quite to a complete drum kit but you’re only really short overheads.
Has anyone else tried out the new sE X1R yet? We’ve had one for review on our website over the last few days…
In my opinion, every home studio should have an SM7b and an SM57. Some other good budget mics are AKG C1000s, Blue Bluebird, and AKG 214.
Mics are important, but with a great preamp mid-grade mics will sound better than high-end mics without a great preamp.
My friends usually asked this first.
But when I recommend them a microphone, their reaction was like…
“OMG, it’s over my budget.”
So, I usually let new beginner to get Behringer C1 since it’s cheap and do the job for them to be used in “home studio”.
What about the T-Bone mics?
Sc 600,or the SC 1100 which seem to be affordable and good mics?
What do you think of them?
@LaurentB: I am using the T-Bone SCT700 for more than 5 years now. The mic`s working perfectly, no problems at all. Excellent quality for that price.
A large diaphragm dynamic mic like an SM7b or an RE20… surprisingly useful in so many situations, and hides a multitude of soundproofing sins! Pair one of these with a preamp with good gain, and you have a winner!
I’ve been using an M-Audio Nova and it does the job…
though a 58 is allways useful to have to hand, so long as you give em enough energy they do they job, i find that you need to feed it louder things for it to work well..
i think i read somewhere that Bjork does all her vocals on albums with a 57 or a 58, her reasoning being that it has has the ‘live’ sound she likes and blokes out the sounds of traffic and stuff when she is recording in an apartment or something
A Rode nt1a is my go to for vocals
I usually counsel new studios to start building the mic closet in this order:
1. must have 1 or 2 sm57s — good on guitar, drums, vox, lots of things, and affordable!
2. A LDC like Blue Bluebird or Rode NT2-A depending on preference, or in a pinch an NT1a is passable — great on vox and in conjunction with the SM57 for lots of sources
3. Cascade Fat Head — amazing on guitar amps, most acoustic instruments, as room mic, and quite affordable
4. a pair of SDCs like Shure SM-81 or Oktava MK-012 — Amazing as overheads, stereo mics, on treble sources like strings, and in conjunction with any of the mics above on most anything
Starting out a closet in this order gives the studio a) the most bang-for-buck, b) versatility on multiple sources, and c) exponential increase in # of sources / “colors” / combinations possible.
Of ccourse you want to keep building from there: get a good kick mic (like a beta 52), consider an sm7b, etc… but the above is what I would consider essential.
Adam Sweeney nailed my mic locker for my “home studio” on the head. Except the Audio Technica AT2020 an amazing mic for a hundred bucks.
The one you can afford.
The answer is, it depends. If you’re concentrating on hip-hop or any other sort of electronic and sample-based music, get one or two good large-diaphragm condensers for vocals. Michael Joly has a couple microphones for less than $400, and I am doubtful that there is a better value anywhere.
If you’re doing more “organic” music (stringed-instruments, amps, horns,and drums, etc…), I’d start with an SM-57 (or two), and a set of Cascade Fat Heads, as Adam mentioned (these are fantastic microphones at any price). If you shop used, you can get all four of these for $400 or less. You’re still going to need a pair of LDCs, bare minimum, for tracking drums (learn how to finesse the “recorderman” technique). I like the Oktavamod stuff – no, I don’t work for them, but I own a few and they have become indispensable to me (and put money in my pocket by allowing me to sell off a couple more expensive German mics that started to get used less and less). Another great inexpensive LDC is the Kel Audio Song Sparrow, I use it all the time for female vocalists and acoustic guitars. Blue makes a stage mic called the enCore 200 that uses an active capsule – I’ve gotten great results in the studio with this thing, and it is a great compromise between the presence and color of an LDC and the off-axis rejection of a dynamic – if you live in an apartment and are going to be recording there, I would seriously investigate this microphone. I picked mine up used for $85.00 about a year ago, and have since bought another to keep at home. It is, however, sensitive to RI – something to keep in mind.
As Dave mentioned, a good preamp is a must. Black Lion make affordable stuff that sounds terrific. The Focusrite ONE is pretty sharp, as well.
The comment about a dynamic being more suitable in some home studio environments is right on the money. Unless you have a very quiet, treated room a condenser is more likely to pick up the imperfections of the performance and room. A $2500 LDC with valve pre will give you a whole bunch of problems in an inner city recording home studio.
Myself and a huge percentage of the UK swear by sE Electronics, phenomenal value for money.
I have a number of them, the SE2200 is great for an LDC at the entry level and the Z5600 mkII is great if you have the money and environment.
Prior to them coming on the scene I used a bunch of Rode, AT and AKG mics, and occasionally Neumann.
For dynamics everyone is right on with the SM57, but I also like to have an EV Nd767, gives you a great in your face sound when compared to the Shures, beatboxers and rappers usually sound great on one of them.
There’s bound to be mentions of the SM57/58 … however, there is a contender here from Rode’s M1 … long term users of the 58 have warmed to this contender
Where would a mic preamp sit in the signal chain? Do you just feed the out into your digital audio interface?
I’m almost at the stage where I’m happy with my home studio mic locker, but there’s always room for one more ;)
It’s all so dependant on the setup. But I would personally recommend starting out with a half decent LDC and dynamic. Then look at SDCs for stereo recording and a ribbon mic. Then start branching out to other sonic flavours when you want more options.
There’s no mention on budget, but I’ll say my first two mics (on a tight budget) were the Sm57 and Rode NT1a.
Can’t speak highly enough about the SE 2200A as a great all rounder. Lovely vocals and acoustic guitar tones. Also recently got an SE GM10 which clamps onto the body of the guitar so once you have your recording sweet spot, the mic stays there even if you artist moves around a lot. Great balance between body resonance and bright string sounds.
In terms of pre-amps and sound cards I saved up and went for the Focusrite Saffire pro 40. More money than some but I needed the 8 audio inputs. Sound quality is amazing though.
For live singing I went for the Blue Encore 100 dynamic. A load of you-tube reviews rated it against the old fave SM-58 and I am really happy with the natural warm yet expressive vocals through it. Costs less than the Shure as well.
SM58 and SM57 are still living on the reputation. Unfortunately they are not what they used to be, since production was moved to Mexico.
Although I would recommend the AKG D5 and the P4.
Other than that I have had the pleasure of being able to try a lot of different microphones throughout my life and some really expensive ones too. However, since I came across sE Electronics, you do realise that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good mic. I have a very comprehensive sE mic collection and serves all of my purposes….from the the X1, that I have used in acoustic instruments and drums (toms and overheads), RT1 – a beautiful sounding ribbon tube mic, although not to everyone’s taste as ribbon’s can be tricky, to a 4400A. Now this is the Land Rover Defender of microphones. Whatever you throw at it, it will handle it.
Great on acoustic instruments, bass drum – yeah you heard it right…with the -20db pad will withstand the SPL no bother, snare, guitar and bass amps and cabs, and vocals….an absolute all rounder but with superb sonic results. If I would have to name a mic that is a MUST HAVE in a studio – sE Electronics 4400A.
by far the best all round Microphone for home & pro studio use is the sE200a, this mic covers is all..
..as a bass drum mic it is superb..
on vox it sounds very sweet and covers a full range..
pull it a few feet away from a bass cab and get a full fat tone…
and for the price..
well it will earn it’s money back within the first session, for sure.
you really don’t need any other mics. Honest.
Marc J Beard
http://www.seelectronics.com/se2200a-mic
@Lanny –
Exactly. Some preamps use XLR outs, some use TRS, but in either case, feed it straight to your interface.
Been using U87 for years. (with reflexion filter in most cases) and love it.
I wonder if there are other good all-rounders
I use AKG C3000B! (Focusrite Saffire preamp)
Great mic for voice!
I use an AKG Tube & Rode NT1 with Shure 58 beta ( 16k plus) acoustic guitars and vox.
Neuman u 87 or AKG 414 if your budget allows. Rhode NT1A also,