need help on buying decent microphone for recording at home

[redroom_14]

hi guys..i currently just got my laptop..i plan on using my laptop for recording ..so i planning to buy a microphone for vocal singing and play my electric guitar..okay..to keep it simple..i want to record what i sing while playing my guitar..so what do i need to buy?my budget ard 50-70 dollars..and where do i buy it?..i really apreciate if u guys could help me out

 

[kongwee]

Well, that budget ready cannot do what is required. A decent mic like Shure SM 58, it is three digit already.

 

[blueprintstudios]

Hi Redroom congratulations on your new laptop purchase.

On behalf of SOFT computer sw section, I would like to apologise for the lack of experience,alternatives and discouraging suggestions made by some people who is not a pc user.therefore have no sense of costefficiency.

Assuming you have read http://tinyurl.com/diyrecording

At $70, what I would like to know is what's your specs of your laptop and operating system.
What do you aim to achieve from this recording (quality wise)

To confirm your query you're recording vocals and your electric guitar yes? And you only wanna record live simultaneous? Or record e guitar first then vocals separately?

Do you already have any audio interface/DAW software?

 

[kongwee]

Well, I am mean,brainless, senseless, a waste from the earth, whatever..... don't care

In your current situation, You need a mic and an audio interface with a mic and line/guitar in.
Mic(proved studio quality) will cost +$100, and audio interface +$100. Not to mention other accessories like cable, mic stand, pop filer, headphone which you may not have. Not to mention DAW. Then you are comfortable to do sing and play. Since you mention you are going to do sing and play, I already have the idea what you are looking for.

I have already know what to buy with $70 with either PC or Mac. For me, I will save it and work for more budget to play with.

 

[unsane]

for $70 - easy, get a karaoke mic (i dunno, $30?) . if it doesn't have a 1/8" plug to go into the microphone jack on your laptop, get an adaptor ($2.50). download reaper as your DAW (free) .

forget the mic stand - improvise something. duct tape is your friend ($8ish? surprisingly expensive). steal broom handles and a big potted plant. i'm sure you can figure that one out.

so thats about $40.50 - spend the rest on beer. $8.80 for 3 anchors if you can still find em.. or 2 breda tall boys for $6.

pop filter? when you do find out what that is ... build one. wire coat hanger + pantyhose. maybe a bit of duct tape. your mom will probably have both - please do wash the pantyhose first.

of course, no one said it'll sound great..but hey - keep it simple and within $70!

 

[redroom_14]

decent mic

actuali my spec are intel core duo 2,at 2.13 ghz..memory ram are 4 gb and system type are 32 bit..and i want to record vocal and guitar at the same time..im not really that good so buying a expensive mic for studio quality isn,t my choice..im not taufik..hahah..just for simple recording..clear and no hissing sound..thats all i ask..

 

[kongwee]

How much have you already spend on laptop and guitar, compare to what I suggest?
Just spend a couple of hundreds and you will enjoy what you are doing.

 

[ankursamtaney]

Based on what you've said so far, you're not looking for an absolute pro set up that you may want to expand sooner or later, but rather all you want is a decent mic (standalone or kit) that will let you record your vocals and guitar for under $70.

While unsane's option of buying a karaoke mic for some $30 bucks might be one viable option to consider, my vote would be on getting a cheap USB condenser mic. The cheapest of these may record vocals better than any dynamic mic in a similar price range, in my opinion. Below are some cheap-ish options. I would expect results to be quite similar with most condenser mics in this price range.

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-C-1-Studio-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B000CZ0RLK
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/CAD-U37-USB-Condenser-Microphone?sku=271322
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-MXLUSB006-Powered-Condenser-Microphone?sku=273175
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Alesis-AM3-Stereo-USB-Condenser-Microphone?sku=502562

Some of the above are out of your price range, but you might just be able to find someone selling these second hand on soft classifieds, gumtree singapore or craigslist. If not, i suppose you could even buy used mics from musician's friend or amazon.

Shipping could be an issue since most don't ship outside of the US. To work around this, I setup an account with http://www.hopshopgo.com/hsg/home.do?l=1&c=SG (no, i'm not related to these guys in any way!)

It's what I've used for ordering some stuff from the US (which is still on its way, but i've heard some others speaking well of their service) They give you a dummy US address to ship stuff to, and arrange to ship it for you to Singapore at a relatively nominal charge. If all that you're buying is a mic, shipping should not cost you too much.

But obviously, before rushing into that, first find out local prices (hung brothers, eng ho bee, swee lee, ranking, city music, shops in peninsula / excelsior, etc). Chances are, you may find a USB condenser mic for 70 to 90 SGD locally, which makes more sense than ordering internationally and running the risk of not liking what you've bought.

Lastly, if you must go the dynamic mic route (and plugging it either into the input of your laptop or in an external interface now or later), one of the best SUPER-cheap mics i've used is the Behringer XM8500. Sure, it's not a Shure SM58 (heck, it's not meant to be one!), but it's the best dynamic mic I've used at the $20 USD price mark.

 

[ankursamtaney]

forget the mic stand - improvise something. duct tape is your friend ($8ish? surprisingly expensive). steal broom handles and a big potted plant. i'm sure you can figure that one out.

so thats about $40.50 - spend the rest on beer. $8.80 for 3 anchors if you can still find em.. or 2 breda tall boys for $6.

pop filter? when you do find out what that is ... build one. wire coat hanger + pantyhose. maybe a bit of duct tape. your mom will probably have both - please do wash the pantyhose first.

I'd totally hit "LIKE" for this post, if that option existed!

 

[unsane]

cheers ankur

the USB condensor suggestion is rockin actually - completely forgot about those. definately a viable option.

i guess the moral of the story is...stealing brooms and pots is alright, but not definately not software

 

[soft]

Hi redroom_14

If your computer has a sound card with MIC IN, you can just get a computer mic to try. Should cost less than $10.

 

[blueprintstudios]

soft : that one old school sia, what was it Digitek or Ranger brand hehehe

TS : http://tinyurl.com/softguide

I made myself guinea pig for this. hope it all works out for you . enjoy!