Topic: newbie mic recommendations?

[rocknroll54]

Hey everyone, my name is Joe. I am in pretty much the same boat Chris (DMBprez) was in. I'm a young taper, very interested, know the basics, and I also like the same music as he does. I'm looking to start to get a rig together now. What affordable mics to do yous recomend? I was recomended the AKG C1000's earlier, and they sound pretty good to me. Any other suggestions? Thanks a lot everyone.

[Brian Skalinder]

What's your budget?
Open or stealth?
What other gear do you plan on using (if you know)?

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

If you are planning on taping open, a great starter set is the Studio Projects C4.  The ADK A51S is also a great starter mic.

Terry

[leshlush]

If you are planning on taping open, a great starter set is the Studio Projects C4. 

I also second the SP C4s... I've been running them for over a year and still love them... The upgrade bug is starting to bite a bit but that's more out of wanting to try out a few other/different mics than needing new mics... The C4s are still pulling their weight...

I started w/ some C4s through a batery box into some line-matching transformers and into the line-in on a JB3... It was agreat starter rig and I ended up w/ some decent pulls (SP C4s>batt box>Line-matching xformers>JB3)...

To upgrade, it was as simple as adding a UA5 into the chain... The UA5 replaced the Battery box and the line-matching transformers (SP C4 > UA5 > JB3)... The UA5 supplies phantom power so you don't need the batt box and line-matching transformers are just a quick fix to avoid needing a pre-amp off the start... The line-matching transformers add a fixed gain to your mics...

[rocknroll54]

Alright, budget wise, 650 tops. I'll be doing open taping. I've been getting a lot of recomendations for the SP C4'sm which may be a good choice. Do any of you know a good place to pick a pair of those up? Thanks for responding guys, I'm sure you guys will be a huge help getting the taping underway.

[stirinthesauce]

Alright, budget wise, 650 tops. I'll be doing open taping. I've been getting a lot of recomendations for the SP C4'sm which may be a good choice. Do any of you know a good place to pick a pair of those up? Thanks for responding guys, I'm sure you guys will be a huge help getting the taping underway.

For 650, go with a matched set of Peluso cemc6 ($589 BIN on ebay through Sound Pure).  Additional caps include the subcard, hypercard and omni.  All can be picked up for under 200 matched a set.  These are really nice mics, even better with the price and stand up or perform better than mics that cost twice as much. 

[Brian Skalinder]

Alright, budget wise, 650 tops. I'll be doing open taping.

Is the $650 budget for mics alone, or also preamp and ADC and recorder?

[rocknroll54]

I was talking about 650ish for the whole rig, not just the mics. In reality, I want to spend far below 650 for the whole rig.

[Brian Skalinder]

I was talking about 650ish for the whole rig, not just the mics. In reality, I want to spend far below 650 for the whole rig.

So, realistically, what's the budget for the whole set of gear?  Giving us a real, workable budget is the only way you'll get useful recommendations.

[rocknroll54]

Wow, I really am a noob, sorry for all of the confusion. Lets say 500, I'm willing to go above that, but thats a stable number, for now at least.

[stirinthesauce]

I was talking about 650ish for the whole rig, not just the mics. In reality, I want to spend far below 650 for the whole rig.

Oops, strike my last comment    I thought you were referring to mics only.

Studio Projects c4's ~$250
iRiver h120 ~150
art phantom II ~40 ebay
line transformers  ~50ish (not quite sure)

Comes to $490 with room to spare for an el cheapo stand on ebay.

Just one recommendation.  Of course throw in another 30 for some generic xlr's and that should about cover it.

[Brian Skalinder]

Wow, I really am a noob, sorry for all of the confusion. Lets say 500, I'm willing to go above that, but thats a stable number, for now at least.

Stick with $500.  You'll still need to spend money on things like mic cables, mic stand, battery, etc., beyond what people recommend here.

[rocknroll54]

You guys are amazing, thank you so much. I'll deffinetly start "shopping" around for these things. I need to do a little more listening/research first but I'll deffinetly get going with this. Thanks again guys and I'll let you know what I come up with.

[rocknroll54]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2pk-AKG-C-1000-S-Condenser-Microphone-mic-C1000S_W0QQitemZ330053086007QQihZ014QQcategoryZ41466QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What do you guys think of those? Will the internal battery last me an opening band and a long set?
-Joe

[rdflash]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2pk-AKG-C-1000-S-Condenser-Microphone-mic-C1000S_W0QQitemZ330053086007QQihZ014QQcategoryZ41466QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What do you guys think of those? Will the internal battery last me an opening band and a long set?
-Joe

you need to remember t-bar, stand adapters possibly, theres all kinds of little stuff.

go studio project c4's, 270 for AKG's is way too much, theres prolly somebody here with a pair for 200 if you really want 1000s.

i have had both, and the c4's come with shockmounts, omni caps, much smaller, better deal IMO

[Javier Cinakowski]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2pk-AKG-C-1000-S-Condenser-Microphone-mic-C1000S_W0QQitemZ330053086007QQihZ014QQcategoryZ41466QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What do you guys think of those? Will the internal battery last me an opening band and a long set?
-Joe

I personally do not like the C-1000.  The SP C4's, Oktava's or Rode NT5's would be my choice.

edit for spelling

[batchain]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2pk-AKG-C-1000-S-Condenser-Microphone-mic-C1000S_W0QQitemZ330053086007QQihZ014QQcategoryZ41466QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What do you guys think of those? Will the internal battery last me an opening band and a long set?
-Joe

I personally do not like the C-1000.  The SP C4's, Oktava's or Node NT5's would be my choice.

Based upon many other TS members comments I got a pair of C4's about 9 months ago and have never regretted it. Nice "total package" value, great sound and their slight size and weight makes them easy to set up and keep stable on mic stands.

[rocknroll54]

How much do the SP-C4's usualy run for, and where can you get them?

[rdflash]

How much do the SP-C4's usualy run for, and where can you get them?

got mine used for $230 on ebay.

[SparkE!]

Another very inexpensive, but good quality set of mics is the Superlux SMK-H8K, available as matched pairs of cardiods for about $110 plus $14 shipping from aaaudio on eBay.  That only gets you the cardiod pattern elements, but that's the most commonly used pattern anyway.  The C4's will get you the omni an hypercard patterns as well, so if you actually need those other patterns, the C4's are the better deal.  I run the SMK-H8K mics as a set of reference mics when I'm playing around with homebuilt mics so that I have something known to compare with.  Whatever the case, the SMK-H8K mics have performed well and I've never made a bad recording with them.  I think that Brian Skalinder started out with these mics too.

[(((KB)))]

I can hook you up w/ some inexpensive mics if you want,

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=71222.0

but they're not as nice as the c4's.

-Kevin

[rocknroll54]

Just looking around, and found these. What do you guys think?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-993-Condenser-Microphones-Stereo-Pair?sku=273171

[eclark]

im and noob and i got my C4s today. badass mics, really small too. you can find them on this board for ~$200. great deal imo. these things sound GREAT!

[rocknroll54]

Anyone know where to find some AFFORDABLE c4's?