Help me buy a mic!

Hello all!

I got $120 for a mic. I don't really want to spend it all on the mic (I still need to buy a stand... and maybe a windscreen I guess), but I want the best I can get for my money.

I will be primarily using it for recording vocals. I doubt I'll be using it live. I'm wondering whether it's better to record my guitar direct (I have a recording interface) or to also get a mic that records guitar amps well. So depending on what you guys think would be better, I'll know whether or not I want something that also does instruments well.

I'm looking at SM57s and SM58s. I'm not to comfortable buying used (locally), because locally, nobody has anything with a box and I don't think I can spot a fake SM58 all that easily. Plus there's nothing for a reasonable price that doesn't look sketch.

Anyways, suggestions, recommendations, general advice, anything please!

And even better if you have anything you want to sell me...

Thanks so very much!

Whoops, someone move this to the Recording Gear section for me please? I guess that's a better place than here.

Sorry! Not to familiar with these boards yet.

hmm.. try building a DIY mic stand. lol (stands are like.. what? $30-50)

A SM57 or SM58 will end up being up to $120 retail after taxes. And since that's your entire budget.

If you're recording guitar amps then you can probably just do something fugal like.. use a footstool or cushion and raise the mic to same level as the speaker cone.

Unless you're playing an instrument at the same time as singing, you can probably manage by holding the mic in your hand. Just be very still with your hands to avoid handling noise, though that's these mics are built for.

And btw, windscreen's are pretty much useless. Unless you're referring to a pop filter, which aren't all that necessary with live dynamic mics, you can compensate by using proper mic techniques.

The SM58 is a great choice.

That seems like a good package deal. I think that mic is similar to the SM58. For many people, for live vocals, the SM58 or the E835 are usually the most popular choices. You could give it a try.

That E835 has slightly better frequency response. The SM58 is 50 hz to 15k hz. the E835 is 40 hz to 16k hz. That looks like a nice package for the money.

Mike T.