Which one
I am looking at getting a microphone and after looking at the sure website there is a budget mic Shure C606W,8900w or the 100wd.
I realise the sm and other series are a lot better but for myself not being a professional and just mucking with some home recordings would this mic do or do i stay away and spend some more on the sm series.
Its specifications say for home recording but are they too cheap and nasty.
Or even the pg series,how would they go.
I would like to record both vocals and accoustic.
I don’t want to regret byeing one and having noise or any problems but also i don’t think i need top quality either.
I just have a budget(wife).
Nick
Get an SM57 if you’re on a budget. I personally don’t care much for Shures but I’ve always wanted to try their high-end vocal mic’s.
Hi Nick,
If you are looking for absolutely the lowest price on a SM57 or SM58 type microphone, you can check out these chinese microphone copies. I have heard that they are very similiar in tone quality.
Personally, I do not like to use a dynamic microphone for recording guitar (especially acoustic guitar). I believe you would be better served with a decent quality cardioid condenser microphone like this one. This is a cheap mic to be sure, but I think you will find that it does a better job on many recordings ( of various instruments) than the Shure will.
Just my $.02
Mike
| Quote (Mr Soul @ May 10 2005,23:59) |
| Get an SM57 if you’re on a budget. I personally don’t care much for Shures but I’ve always wanted to try their high-end vocal mic’s. |
I have quite a few of their microphones. The SM7 is a great dynamic mic for vocals but as with all microphones some voices will sound great with it and some sound like sh.t. By the way, if you want the sound of an SM7 (silky smooth) for your vocals, try a large diaphram kick drum dynamic microphone from any decent maker. The ATM25 works pretty nicely for about 1/4 the cost of the SM7.
I do use my (Shure) SM81 pair for recording live orchestras and choirs pretty often. Funny thing is that I have an old pair of ATM11s (audio technica) that sound better for live recording in many situations. Lately, I have been into using a pair of MXL 2001s for live group recordings. They have a wide frequency response but are not as harsh as the SM81s can be. Much warmer but too warm for say, an all wooden church.
Anyway, I have heard good (great) recordings done with SM57s and 58s, but I really don’t prefer to use them myself. They seem a bit too colored in tone and noisy.
Mike
Thansk for the replies guys.
They are not the answers i thought i would get as i thought shure’s were the duck’s nuts but hey,thats why i asked the question and i am glad i did and you guys are teaching me exactly what i wanted to know.
I will keep looking into it and hopeing i get a few more opinions.
Thanks
People have mixed feelings about some of the Shure mics, wars can be started about the sm57. Once you get up to the sm7 (not the 57) you are in the land of beauty. The pg stuff seems overpriced to me for what it is.
Bubba, have you tried the sm7 on drums?
The Fiend has a mic sale going on, the mxl 990 might be worth a look. Or the 990/993 package, that would really be a good budget solution.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7…1&pg=86
Oh yes, I certainly have used the SM7 on drums. It is a superb snare mic. Take the usual honk from an SM57 and smooth it out and you have the SM7. I use the derned SM7 on nearly everything any more. It works great on guitar cabs, absolutely glows on vocals (here is a quick example that shows male and female vocals I did on our Christmas record this past year), great on piano, etc. The mic is very easy to get a good sound out of. It was the first real big boy mic I ever bought and have been using it ever since. The only real caveat with any of these dynamics in the studio is that they really benefit from a decent preamp… even a DMP3 or VTB1 will work, just really cheapo pres kinda stink on them (and everything else I suppose.)
As for Shures being the duck’s nuts, it is just like Fender. There is nothing wrong with them, it just is the only name anyone really knows out in the general public. But you can’t use a strat on everything. Strats kinda suck for certain situations (death metal. 
) There are a zillion competing products that are as good if not better for different situations. Personally I am a big Audix fan. I really like their stuff. But remember in all of this, it matters very little what the name on the sticker says. What matters is how usable the thing is and what it sounds like.
For someone starting out, I would aim to get a well rounded mic locker. Look for a decent dynamic or two, a decent large diaphragm condensor and a decent small diaphragm condensor to start. These will get you pretty far and allow you options to mic up just about anything relatively well.
One note, this part of the forum is not for posting worth while topics. It is for people to poke each other in the eyes like stooges, for bad jokes, or discussing Life, the Universe, and Everything. Post worth while stuff like this in the main forum 
I agree Bubba, the SM7 is a great microphone. I have had the priviledge of borrowing a friends SM7 a few times. Smoooooooooooth. I really need to save up and buy one for those occasions where they really shine. Amazingly, many large diaphram, bass drum mics work very well for a smooth sounding vocal. But I still want an SM7.
Hmmmmmmm… "honey… is it ok for me to spend some money…?"
Mike
I am very tempted by the Audix D4 as a sort of quasi SM7/RE20. It is much less expensive and is a very similar mic in many ways. Gotta get my mits on one to compare…
How about this Shure microphone?
<!–QuoteBegin>
| Quote |
| Carson’s Shure Mic Up On The Auction Block Personalized SM33 sells for $50,787.50 Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers (www.heritagegalleries.com) of Dallas, Texas, which gained possession of the “Tonight Show” desk microphone used by Johnny Carson in the 1970’s through a former crew member of the late night program, sold it last Friday during a live floor auction for $50,787.50. The Shure SM33 Ribbon Microphone was presented to Carson from Shure in the 70’s with the inscription, “Johnny’s Mic… Not Ed’s… Not Fred’s.” Shure Incorporated was and still is a fixture on the “Tonight Show” to this day. With the company’s 80th Anniversary being celebrated this year, Shure is proud to be a part of television and entertainment history. “I was always amused by the engraving on the mic. It read ‘Johnny’s mic… not Ed’s… not Fred’s,’” recalls Michael Pettersen, Director of Applications Engineering for Shure, who visited the “Tonight Show” set on several occasions in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. "This inscription meant that Shure gave the mic specifically to Johnny Carson, to be used by Carson on his desk. And the mic was not meant for announcer Ed McMahon, nor for producer Fred DeCordova. Shure was proud to give this mic to Carson, and to have a longstanding association with the King of Late Night Comedy." The Shure SM33, no longer in production, was rescued by Stanley Sweeney in the mid-80’s, when he and the rest of the crew of the Tonight Show were instructed to perform a complete technical upgrade to the studio. As equipment was being discarded from the set, Sweeney realized the microphone should be saved and has been in his possession ever since. “Of the two SM33’s I know of that were used on the show, a nondescript one was stored and the other one with the distinctive etching was used on a daily basis,” declares Stanley Sweeney, former Tonight Show crew member. "It was and still is a working, useable microphone. It was never considered a prop!" Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers began taking online and phone bids almost three weeks ago. The Carson mic skyrocketed in price immediately, once the public caught wind of the auction. Proving itself to still be a robust workhorse to this day, the mic was used to call the actual auction up to the point of its sale. Shure Incorporated has no affiliation with the auction or the auctioneer. |
TG – I miss Johnny…
<!–QuoteBegin>
| Quote |
| As for Shures being the duck’s nuts, it is just like Fender. There is nothing wrong with them, it just is the only name anyone really knows out in the general public. But you can’t use a strat on everything. Strats kinda suck for certain situations (death metal. ) |
I can’t let my lady be insulted like that!
So, just recorded this a few minutes ago:
My Strat
Technical details, (if anyone is interested in that sort of stuff).
'88 Strat Plus (bridge P/U), plugged directly into my Boss SE50 (switched to clean, only using it as a pre-amp), and then via mixer insert into the sound card.
NI Guitar Rig as a channel insert, (one of the default settings), a wee touch of hall type reverb, and no other FX, EQ, etc., (no metronome while I recorded either, you’ll notice.
)
Ali
Yup, a thin, whimpy death metal sound from a strat…
Yeah - I hate that sound too 
Just realised that the file is a combination of FX’ed sound and clean, hence finger squeaks. (I’ve always suffered from squeaky fingers. )
Ach well, it adds “humanity”.
Ali
Thanks all…
I have a bit more time today for replies…
Ali_T
Nice sound i like it…
DrGuitar
I checked out the chineese imitations and they sound good and at a good price but they don’t ship out of the U.S so i will look around for another supplier.
gtr4him
Just a touch over my budget
Bubbagump
I wasn’t sure where to post this as it is not an n-track problem but i’ll post there next time,thanks for your input.
TomS
I didn’t think the pg series was too bad in price and it was more of an availabily of purchasing at a local music shop but it looks a lot cheaper online ,thanks.
Nick
I had a look at the Shure SM7B. Yowza! That’s a durn expensive mic! How is the SM7 sonically compared to the RE20 Bubba? I think the ol’ man has an old RE20 lying around someplace…
TG
<!–QuoteBegin>
| Quote |
| If you are looking for absolutely the lowest price on a SM57 or SM58 type microphone, you can check out these chinese microphone copies. I have heard that they are very similiar in tone quality. |
O.K this was a while ago but i just wanted to say thanks Dr Guitar and that i have ordered a 57 and 58 from this site at and if anyone is interested i will let you know what they are like.
Thanks
| Quote (gtr4him @ May 12 2005,23:08) |
| I had a look at the Shure SM7B. Yowza! That’s a durn expensive mic! How is the SM7 sonically compared to the RE20 Bubba? I think the ol’ man has an old RE20 lying around someplace… TG |
They are very similar. It is an expensive mic (sort of, compared to some high end AT, Shre, and Neumann, its a deal) but it is useful on dern near everything. It is hard to get a crappy sound out of it. If you have an RE20, try it out. They are basically aiming at the same market. Civic versus Corolla kinda deal.
The only real stinker with any of these nicer dynamics is that they really benefit from a decent pre. Not a Great River mind you, but something better than a Berry mixer. Heck, those DMP3s or a VTB1 should be swell for them.
EDIT: Just looked… no SM7s on eBay… that stinks. Well, street on them is about $349