Members Marko Posted March 29, 2007 Members Share Posted March 29, 2007 Craigv here. I'm editing this first post so we can set the expectations for this thread. Please post only about the "good values" you've specifically received. In order for this thread to be of value to others, let's try to keep it to new items, or used items that are readily available. Note that it's very rare for there to be used items readily available. IF A READER CAN'T GO OUT AND BUY THE SAME ITEMS AT THE SAME PRICE, PLEASE DON'T POST ABOUT IT HERE. Please keep questions and comments to a minimum here, to keep the thread readable and useful to as many people as possible. If you have a question regarding something here, by all means start a thread in the forum and either paste the post to it, or post a link to it for reference. The idea is not to squash discussion, but to put it in the appropriate place. You Pro-guys here are regularly asked about getting PA equipment on the CHEAP, like maybe putting together a rig for a band. Of course, we all know the saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 I think this thread is a great idea. It would certainly save some time to simply be able to direct someone looking for the cheapest thing possible that actually provides decent performance or excellent bang for the buck. The Behringer XM8500 - although I am not a fan of Behringer - is really a very good sounding mic that would be perfect for many applications. I bought one as a spare for my DJ service but have actually used it in my studio with excellent results. Someone using it on gigs should buy an extra one, since I'm sure they don't have the durability of a Shure, but if they're well taken care of, they may last.... The Shure mic I have is probably a little over 16 years old! I've had it since I first started DJing. It has never let me down and sounds great. Definitely a good investment. For 20$ however, I have no problem recommending the XM8500 although I don't like the company (I've removed the sticker). Great thread idea! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prog Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 A used SM58. Probably $40. And you can sell it for $40. No loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marko Posted March 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 Thanks for the comment Al. I think I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 What I like best about the XM8500 is the excellent feedback rejection. Better than the Shure I usually use and much, much, much better than the AKG I paid 150$ for. Worst investment ever! It is from the Tri power series and although I bought it approx. 7 years ago, I have used it maybe 5 times because it's a feedback magnet and does not sound all that great. I was originally going to buy an SM58 but the salesman told me the AKG was smoother and sounded better. Why I didn't immediately take it back, I'm not sure.... Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members congaron Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 Microphones: Samson c01 ..samson r21 s in the 3-pack...dirt cheap, and just a little eq. Keyboard amp/pa: Behringer k3000fx keyboard amp for coffee house sized gigs with three or four guys. utility mixer: Behringer ub1202fx 2X12 100 wat guitar amp: Behringer gmx212 v-tone guitar amp..50 watts per channel..actual stereo amp loaded with connectivity options. guitar on a budget: Squier standard (not affinity) Me: Singing, trumpet playing, guitar playing, percusionist... gigging (tonight in fact) musician in a Christian Rock band. Anytime anywhere musician..jamming breaks out, it does. Comments: The guitar amp and mics are several years old...while the mixer and keyboard amp are only about a year. Those two, however get virtually daily use for several hours at a time in my music room as I practice and record on my boss br1180 daw. These items have proven to be more than just disposable gear for me, and really get around with my church band and the Christian rock band I play in. Since my guitars are pawn shop items...My only new one is a squier jazz bass..excellent! One of my pawn shop ones is a squier strat...also very sweet. If it weren't for cheap gear, I'd have a pretty boring music life...as it is, I'm very busy and content. God bless! -Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 Samson S11 mic. Three for $75. I have replaced all the vocal 58's in my band with the Samson's.. They simply sound better. I bought them for rental mics and on a whim I A/B'd them with my Shure 58's, Sennheiser E835's, and even my Beta 58A and Beta 87.. The Samsons were equal or better than any of them. A bargain LD mic is the CAD GXL mics. The 2200, 2400 and 3000 for $70 each. Almost impossible to beat for the money. CraigV Edit: The Samson S11 mic is a discontinued item. I've seen it listed by a few online sellers, but have not verified that those links are still valid. The S11 is in Samson's "discontinued" list on their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 Mics: Behringer XM8500. Though the 3 I bought in january clip easier than those I bought last year. Samson CO2, great little condenser.Mixers: Yamaha MG8/2fx. Got 3 monitor mixes plus mono mains. ask me how... Yamaha 01V, nuff said...Power: QSC RMX1450. it was cheap 7 years ago. still worxSpeakers: EV S15s. Great sound, light weight...Cables: anything EWIProcessing: DOD 4 channel gate. decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marko Posted March 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 PA Main-Speakers Peavey PR15 - $199.99 Me: Small-time S.R. (hobbyist, charity, school functions), DJ/Karaoke. (will have a band when I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 30, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 30, 2007 DOD dual 31-band EQ. $120, seems to work just as well as my dbx 231. Peavey SP-112M. BW-equipped, ~$325, sounds better than Yamaha Club. EWI/Audiopile....almost anything Mark sells looks like a solid value and within the price of any weekend warrior. I've never had the chance to buy one of the EWI cases, but the pictures show quality units priced well below the competition such as Road-Ready. QSC RMX amps. I'm certain you could power any size venue with these amps and not break the bank. Sennheiser e835. The e-Pack of 3/$210 is a bargain for a mic that's very similar to an SM-58, but with lower proximity effect. Samson db500a and db300a powered speakers. Surprisingly good sound for $550 and under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members congaron Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 Pretty much anything made by peavey nowadays...unbelievable, those folks. God bless! -Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 The S11s definitely have a flatter response than the 58s. However... most singers I've worked with LIKE the little frequency bump provided by the 58. It's in exactly the right spot for many singers' voices to be enhanced by it. Samson S11 mic. Three for $75. I have replaced all the vocal 58's in my band with the Samson's.. They simply sound better. Nonetheless I have a handful of the S11s... any singer wants to bring a mic of their own is welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigmike216 Posted March 30, 2007 Members Share Posted March 30, 2007 I really like my Apex 381 mics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted April 1, 2007 Members Share Posted April 1, 2007 Microphone, Instrument. Digital Reference DR-GX1 Dynamic. $49.99 and also available in a 3 pack for the same price. Me, I'm primarily a solo acoustic performer though at times play in a band setting. I run sound for a Southern Rock & Blues band and do some recording in my teeny low dollar computer based home studio. Comments, Odd that the reviews for the single mic are pretty good but only average for the pack. This is a decent replacement for the Shure SM57 made by Audio Technica. Seems to be well built with clean solder joints. Does a good job, for a dynamic mic, on acoustic guitar. Average output level for a dynamic mic, not overly hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 guitar on a budget: Squier standard (not affinity) I have the affinity strat, it's been my main and only guitar for the past 4 years. Mind you it's got a seymour duncan hotrails pickup in the bridge, but still, I've yet to play a guitar as comfy as that! Needs some fret work though... they're starting to buzz a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 One of my #1 picks is Andy's (Agedhorse) "Isoblox" in-line humm addressing doo-dads. They're not dirt cheap, but they do the job and they do it very, very well... at what I consider to be a very reasonable price. They're one of those things that I would consider to be cheap at double the price for the sense of security they bring. I will never be caught on any sound jobsite ever again without a handful of them. enough said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scodiddly Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 DI: The EWI LDB-101 active DI from Audiopile. $50, built like a tank and with a real transformer. Sounds good, entirely good enough for pro use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dravenzouk Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 Mic stands - 6 pack of On-Stage tripod/boom stands with a great case from Musician's Friend for $99. I've never had a problem with these stands. They are smooth and easy to setup/adjust. They hold up to stage abuse. The included bag/case is pretty nice. $16 apiece with a free case - great value. Do NOT confuse these with MF's own house branded stands (10pack for $99) - those are absolute garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Majoria Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 Vocal Mic: Samson S11, been using for around 10 years, no better bang for the buck.Speakers: Yamaha BR15, $249 - appologies in advance to Mark but I find these to be far superior to the PR15's, easily worth the extra $50.Effects: Lexicon MX200 - ok so it's not exactly a secret but still a great value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marko Posted April 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 I have the older model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 Anyone else have any opinions on effects units at this price level? There are some great deals to be had used on older Alesis products. the midiverb and microverb lines are very good for the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted April 20, 2007 Members Share Posted April 20, 2007 I like the idea of this thread so I'll try to post every now and then. Condenser microphone multiuse I've been an operating engineer for many years (somewhere around 25 - 30 years). Most of my background is in live production although I've been an engineer/producer of several indi released CDs and even a couple of albums. I owned and operated a small SR company in the 80s - 90s for 7 years. I've been FOH, Monitor & system tech for numerous national acts mostly working as a house engineer (although I have been on the road with a couple of them). Over the years I've come across many products which I think are of better value than most. Probably my favorite deal is: Octava MC012 Small dia condenser mic (also Sold as the MK012 - The same mic). They can be purchased for a street price of around $200.00 (for a mic body and a cardioid capsule). In my estimation they are sonicly better than many much more pricey mics (I've compared them directly to the AKG C451 and the Shure SM81 mics and although they don't sound the same the comparison is favorable). There have been some counterfits released on the market so you should buy from a known dealer. In some of the earlier versions there was some variance in the QC but the factory has been putting out a quite consistent product for the last 2-3 years. The built quality is OK (they're not a shure but they won't die on you as long as you take reasonable care of them). One of the beauties of this mic is it's versatility ((There are many different capsules which can be used with the same Pre/body inc Small, medium & large diaphram Omni, cardioid, super cardioid figure 8 (of which I've tried many and have so far liked them all)). I've used them on Horn sections, Grand Piano, Acoustic Guitar (both nylon & steel string), Perc & drum overhead & strings (Violin, viola & cello). If you want an extremly versitile multi use condenser mic which works well both on stage and in the studio. Bang for the buck you can't go wrong with the Octava 012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted April 22, 2007 Members Share Posted April 22, 2007 well, this isn't a "brand" name item, but locally there is a second hand store. the store is run through a church group to help raise money for the local "soup kitchen". i stop there once a month or so just to see what's been donated ( all of their goods are donated, much like goodwill) . the point is, i have found many older hard plastic suitcases there for 50 cents, one dollar, 2 dollars....etc. they make good cases for mics, cables, snakes, small mixers, and any other misc items you need to carry around. a foam mattress pad can be bought at the wal-mart or fabric store and cut to fit the size needed. works good and saves a lot of money vs. name brand cases. also, for the most part, they are resistant to rain when closed. And here I thought I was the only guy who scrounged thrift stores for cases. I've had great luck finding video cam-corder cases and the like and don't think I've paid more than a couple of bucks for any one of them. Older golf club bags, without the individual club partitions, can be picked up very cheap and used for carrying mic stands, particularly the tripods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GZsound Posted April 22, 2007 Members Share Posted April 22, 2007 The S11s definitely have a flatter response than the 58s. However... most singers I've worked with LIKE the little frequency bump provided by the 58. It's in exactly the right spot for many singers' voices to be enhanced by it.Nonetheless I have a handful of the S11s... any singer wants to bring a mic of their own is welcome. I discovered them by accident. A couple years ago I needed some cheap mics for my rental PA systems that I could afford to replace if they got lost or destroyed. After my first three came in I A/B's them with a bunch of my other dynamics. Shure 57/58, AKG D8000, Sennheiser E835, Audix OM2, AT Pro 4, Global Audio 58, and a Shure Beta 87A just for giggles. The Samson mics sounded as good or better than any of them. I now own 12 of them and they get constant use in my band and my live sound gigs. For $22 each..an unbelievable deal. I have a local source for speakers that is pretty hard to beat. I recently got two twelve inch cabinets that would double as stage monitors or mains. With a 250 watt speaker and a horn they cost me $130 each. I have four ten inch monitor cabs that cost me $80 each and have been in constant use for several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderpaw Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 ...And here I thought I was the only guy who scrounged thrift stores for cases.. . Oh, no you aren't! But, at $3.99 for Samsonite hard attache's and cases...I now feel like I'm getting 'ripped off', lol! Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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