I know this is a bit of a dumb question in a way, as a truly decent mic is likely to BE expensive.

But in terms of value microphones that perform better than they "should" for the price, does anyone have a recommendation?

I presume that you are looking for a microphone for a flute, form your username.

There are many, many microphones available - each one is a compromise - therefore you need to decide what aspects of a microphone is important to you.

Cheap and cheerful - Shure PG57. Circa £40.00.

If you want a standard 'dynamic' mic, then I would suggest a Sennheiser e845. Circa £75.00.

AKG make some 'micro-mics' which can clip onto your flute. There is a small belt-pack with these. Circa £125.00.

If you want excellent quality, go for a condenser microphone. Prices will be £120 +

Top of the range would be a Coles or a Neuman studio mic. These cost £500 +

However, if you want to get professional advice, give the techincal support chaps at Canford Audio a ring. They are extremely helpfull.

Is it possible to input a microphone directly into a pc for home recording on something like audacity?
Also does anyone have any reccommendations in terms of microphones for recording a piano?

I can do this now, using Finale Printmusic. The headset that I use cost around forty pounds and has a good mic. I used this a few days ago to input some recorder music and it worked well in the end, when I found out how to do it.

please bear with me cos i'm technically very dim ........

when i was looking for a way to do recording, i bought a" sony stereo digital microphone", which should allow you to plug it straight into the computer, and then as long as you have the software loaded, you should be able to record yourself that way.

However, my computer hadn't got a sound card (what ever that is) or it hadn't got the correct one, maybe it was a mono sound card ........ anyway, something like that, so i had to get a voice recorder (the only other option i could afford at the time) but i did manage to get a "stereo digital" voice recorder from e bay. I put the sony mic in this and recorded, then i upload it to the computer, i then use adobe audition software to trim, and to cut out any hiss.

Splunket,

If you want to get really good results, use a condenser mic. Something like Shure's SM81 would do the trick. If you want to record onto your PC, then I would recommend that you obtain an external audio interface instead of the internal sound-card. Have a look at 'Studiospares' web-site. They have an impressive array of interfaces.

£40 is still at the high end of my budget (I realise it's not expensive for a mic, but it doesn't make £125+ any more affordable for me I'm afraid!). Like I said, I just want to know if there's anything that is somewhat cheap but does a better job than it "should" for the price. (ie like Gliga Violas which play far better than they have a right to!)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SHURE-MICROPHONE-PG5...1QQcmdZViewItem

I'd just go to Argos and get the most expensive microphone there (about £30).

Hang on in there Sarah-Flute. My hubby is a whizz with microphones and supplies PA systems as well as being sound engineer for various things. I shall ask him what's the best and cheapest. He's very good because he also makes speakers for our own use, and made me a flute and a violin mic. Do you want something which you can plug in to the computer or something to perform on stage with. I seem to remember he managed to get Shure mics for about £15, but don't quote me!
Will get back later.

Thanks After Eight.

I want something to record myself with initially - so something that can be plugged into the PC or can have an adaptor attached that plugs into the PC.

I do have a reasonably good mic, but it's old and it and the pc just do not like each other the only thing I can record onto with it is a tape deck, which is a pig to use and doesn't have great quality playback. At the other end of the scale I have a teeny £2.99 mic which plugs into the computer! Neither is ideal, and I can't get a good idea of what I sound like OR make SmartMusic work properly at the moment!!

Hi there - Wifey says I should put a post in here!
I am an electronics engineer by trade, but have been providing PA for bands for a few years.
Whilst there are a whole load of pros and cons relating to recording vs live sound there is one microphone which I have come across which is nothing short of first class. Its made by a company called Sekaku and is the model BS-20. You can get it from www.cpc.co.uk for less than £20.
We have put these side by side with Shure SM58 mics (the industry standard) and you really can't tell the difference in sound quality, with comparable feedback rejection and pop filtering. We have used them with the likes of Spiers and Boden, the Strawbs, The Paperboys, Kathryn Tickel, but to name a few. Never had a complaint, never had a failure.
Beware of cheap Shure stuff on the net at the moment - especially from ebay. I recently borrowed a SM58 from a friend and it failed on me during the gig. When I got it on the bench and stripped it it soon became clear that although it looked authentic on the outside, internally it was definately a rip-off.
Most mics aimed at the pro market will come with the wrong lead - (XLR-XLR) so you may well need to pop to your local independant electrical shop to get a lead made up. Also beware condesor microphones that say they need 'phantom power' - your equipment may not produce enough of it (they need almost 50 volts)
Hope this helps
Rob

^ Thanks - this was really helpful to me too.

Thanks Rob, that's brill - sounds like a good buy, I shall be looking into that!

PS at the risk of looking totally ignorant...

yerwhat?

Hi Sarah

It's the wife back again, Rob's out. XLR is a type of plug and socket. It's a cylinder shape, one end has three round pins and the other end has three round holes. I think they're meant to be a super duper alternative to the old audio plugs, they also have a little switch which you have to push to take them apart again, it's mainly to stop people standing on them when they're on stage and accidentally pulling them out. An XLR is also about 2ish cms in diameter. Fairly much everything geared to home use will not have an XLR socket, it will have a normal audio input, i.e. a small hole with 'mic' written above it. So, the plug on one end of the lead will just need changing from the XLR to a normal jack so you can plug it into the stuff you have at home. The other end can stay the same because it plugs into the mic.
Hope this helps
Give us a shout if you need a hand.

I'll second that - my husband bought some Shures on ebay at a price that looked too good to be true. When they arrived he tried them out and they sounded good. However we then did a bit of research and found out that there are huge numbers of fake Shures out there. We checked the specs and found that the mics we had were far lighter in weight than they should have been (I have a set of very accurate postal scales for my ebay business).

With the weight and a few other pointers (particularly after reading in discussion forums on what exactly should have been in the box and was missing from ours) we decided they had to be fakes. They had what looked like genuine certificates etc. but just weren't quite right. Luckily we contacted the seller (who was selling a lot of these) and were able to get the money back and we returned the mics. Yes, they were decent mics but they certainly weren't the Shures we wanted. The company ceased trading on ebay very soon after so I think we were lucky to get our money back.

We've since bought some more from a certified Shure dealer (look on the Shure website to check).

Just be very careful, paticularly with Shures - they are a real target for the forgers - you might get a decent mic but it won't be of the quality of a true Shure. Just google Fake Shure for all the info you could possibly need!

Thanks!

Rough budget?

What for?

PA or recording?






Yes, but they tend to be not very good.




Omni mics are best.

Upright or grand?

Budget?

For a grand I use Sennheiser MKH 20s or Neumann KM 183-Ds (both over £2,000 for a pair).





£40 is absolutely nothing for a microphone.

Question - is the mic. for recording or PA?

If it's for PA get the best omni tie mai. you can afford and put it on the flute with an elastic band.

If it's for recording get a small diaphragm condenser mic. Best to get second-hand as there is nothing usable new at this price.


_______________________________________________________________________________



Further notes

The Shure SM58 is a stage vocal microphone with a frequency response tailored to let the vocal cut through a backing band - I would never suggest this mic. for recording unless you want the specific sound it gives.

the XLR is the standard microphone connector and most microphones have this connector on the end of the microphone. Consumer equipment tends to have a jack or mini-jack connector and you would need a cable terminated like this.


I hope this is helpful - microphones and recording are my full time occupation.

John

I've been watching this thread and I assume 'mono' mikes are being discussed.

To record music I've used (with great success) a Sharp mini-disc player with an Audio Technica ATR25 Stereo mike. The problem is not with the mike but the shorter of the 2 leads [the long one terminates in 2 separate phono plugs]. Over time the wires inside have become compromised (broken!) and I only get a recording on one channel unless I use a rubber band to secure the lead to the mike and test the output with headphones to see if I've managed to make the broken wires meet.

"Buy a new lead" I hear you say! Not possible. Whilst the midi-disc end is a normal stereo mini jack, the mike end is the same BUT with a specific screw thread to secure it into the mike. They are not available anywhere.

Can anyone suggest an alternative stereo mike (not to expensive) for a mini-disc.

Alternatively can anyone tell me how to solder a new lead directly into the mike; there are 4 wires and I could give you the colour codes. PM me if you prefer.

Thanks!

I use a Sony ECM-MS907 Electret Condenser Stereo microphone with my mini-disc player. It wasn't very expensive and I am very happy with the quality of sound recorded. This microphone is designed specifically to make instrumental recordings.

This is a current Audio Technica mic. you should easily be able to get a replacement cable from Audio Technica Spares in the UK - their contact details are HERE.




Probably the Røde NT4 or the Beyer - both around the £200 mark.




Ring Audio Technica Service on the contact details above - they will tell you. Personally I would buy a new cable from AT themselves.

I hope this helps.

John

Thought I'd use this thread - hope you don't mind, Sarah!

I was thinking of buying a mike for my choir. We will use it with the Yamaha STAGEPAS 300 speakers for making announcements at concerts (mostly in churches but occasionally outdoors), for occasional solo singing and at social events. Any recommendations? Max budget of £100.

I remember a thread suggesting one but cannot find it...help!