Hi guys- just to let you know, I watched the posting video (cute) and read a bunch of posts, but I think specific help from people is what I need- because I am kinda lost among a sea of equipment and things I don't understand. I'll try and make this brief-
I want to record from home and want a great sound, but what I have right now is very, well, blah. I own:
*M-audio mobile pre w/ phantom power
*Shure SM57
*MXL-990
*Adobe Audition
I use this for acoustic guitar and vocals (I'm a baritone with a little tenor when my voice is feeling good, if that helps)
I don't know much about recording, I am learning as I go... but the shure mic is very bland (i guess it is for drums and amps or something) and the MXL is better but still can be tinny and I just can't get a great sound out of it. The biggest thing here is I do nOT want to buy cheap mic after cheap mic and end up spending hundreds of dollars on 'ok' stuff when I could have just bought something good to begin with for the same price as a bunch of average sounding mics...
What I'd like to know- what is a good vocal mic, acoustic guitar mic, or a mic that does both applications well? The Shure SM81 looks like a great acoustic mic... I haven't run across anything that looks great for a vocal mic yet... the guys at guitar center really pushed the GT66 which looks great but m-audio makes it solely for them, so they have the motivation to tell me it is good- I don't trust them. but I trust YOU

So, overall, the most important question is what mics would you recommend for acoustic guitar and vocals for, let's say $500 or so new or used prices... feel free to suggest more expensive ones if they really kick ass for a good price
and if you have the time to expand on that- do I want a matched pair to record in stereo? Any other equipment you'd like to recommend?
Thanks a bunch, I'm looking forward to getting a better setup going. I'll start with the mics for now, and I can upgrade my mobile-pre later (any suggestions?

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