Need cheap mic for both vocals and room mic?

[Gmork]

Hey, any suggestions on a cheap mic ($50-$100 ish) that would be not terrible for both recording vocals and room mic (at separate times of course)

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Probably the most obvious answer, but SM57, 77 if you can find one just for something a little different.

I use one pointed at the corner, or whatever seems acoustically interesting in the room.

 

[Gmork]

Probably the most obvious answer, but SM57, 77 if you can find one just for something a little different.

I use one pointed at the corner, or whatever seems acoustically interesting in the room.

Would a condenser be more appropriate?? Im not super on the ball when it comes to mics other than the whole sm57/58 for everything lol

 

[DudeManBrother]

Rode NT1A will do the job nicely

 

[TedEH]

A condenser might be more appropriate, but it might not be. A decent one might also be more expensive. A 57 is a good recommendation because it's a handy mic to have in general and a known-good-value. Can it do vocals? Sure it can. Can it do guitar cabs? Sure. Snares? Sure. Room mics? Anything can be a room mic. Whether or not another mic will do a better job at a particular task is going to depend on all kinds of things, including personal taste.

 

[bostjan]

+1 for Shure SM57. Or, if you want to play a little gamble, you can try a cheap knockoff SM57.

I'd recommend against any condenser that costs less than $100. Every cheap condenser I've ever owned has broken at the least opportune time. If you don't care whether or not it breaks at the most inconvenient time possible, then you don't need one anyway. On the other hand, I've never had a 57/57-clone break unless it was a live setting and someone did something absolutely idiotic, like bash it into the floor diaphragm-first or similar.

 

[c7spheres]

For that money I don't know, but now that I've been searching I'm curious how these hold up. For the price if these are even half decent they're totally worth it. They're like $40-$60.

Mackie Em-91c
Marantz Pro Mpm-1000
Tascam TM-80
CAD Audio GXL ???

 

[Gmork]

Well i have an sm58, an electovoice mg150 or something, and some other cheaper dynamics

 

[Drew]

If you already have a 58, I'd maybe not rush to get a 57, for your use case.

Condensers need to be handled with some care, and if you don't have an interface with phantom power already, then they're not an option. Likewise, for voal duty, I'd want to budget for (or make) a pop filter of some sort as well.

But, for dirt-cheap condensers, years ago I bought my dad a MXL V63M just so he wouldn't have to use a SM57 on acoustic guitars, and after a weekend screwing around with it on his acoustic I ended up buying myself one, too. That was probably more than a decade ago and while it's not my first-reach condenser for anything, it really wasn't bad at all, for a mic that retails for, um, $89.99. It still gets occasional use.

 

[buriedoutback]

use the sm58
I'm having windows 10/usb issues with my preferred usb vocal mic, so I used an sm58 for my last vocal session.
its actually awesome! and ya anything can be a room mic.

 

[Gmork]

Ok so the thing is i want to use the sm58 i already own for micing a cab but something else for room (that can double now and again as a vocal mic) figure something different than the shure might be nice

 

[TedEH]

Sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself that you want/need a condenser. I grabbed a CAD m179 a while ago, which is pretty cheap as far as they go, and I find uses for it pretty often. More tools is more better.

 

[Crungy]

Another vote for a 57 or NT1A. The Rode is a nice mic for not a lot of money, needs phantom power if that maked a difference for you.