One mic for everything

[Praxisaxis]

I don't know if a decision has already been made in this thread... but I'll chime in . These type of threads come up a lot on recording forums... I would suggest that instead of trying to find an all-purpose mic (which really doesn't exist), try and decide what sort of music you want to start out working on, and buy the best mic for that.

 

SM57s (and similar) are as close to a "general purpose" mic as you're likely to find, but there are things which they are decidedly not so good at, particularly if you don't have a great preamp. For example, if someone wanted to do a lot of lyrical vocals and acoustic guitar, I'd say go for something like a Rode NT3 (which is a condenser) over a 57 any day. It would pick up the intricate details much better than a 57, especially if the pre isn't that great. In Australia they're about the same price (ish).

 

My point is, get a mic to suit your intended purpose, rather than aiming at "general purpose."

[UstadKhanAli]

I'm not sure it's bad to think of a microphone that does numerous things well. For instance, a large diaphragm condenser is very good at vocals, bass cabinets, guitar cabinets, acoustic guitars, overheads, room mics, drums (particularly kick drums, but also snares in fig-8 patterns), percussion, and other things. I use my LDCs for stuff like this all the time. If there's one kind of mic that seems to be a generally strong all-around mic, I'd say it's a large diaphragm condenser.

 

Dynamics like the aforementiond Heil, 421s or SM 57s are good all-around mics...except when it comes to areas in which you want a little more detail, like some (not all) vocals, acoustic guitars, and other things, which is why I'd consider an LDC more flexible than a dynamic.

[nice keetee]

CAD M179 then