The Song Fight Bulletin Board

For those of you who are looking for a decent microphone without breaking the bank, I would like to recommend the Nady CM-100.

It is an omni pattern small diaphragm condenser. I just picked one up for $40. I like it good enough that I am gong to get another one for stereo recording.

Here are some sound samples that I recorded.

http://rossdurandmusic.com/steve/MicTest-Voice.mp3

http://rossdurandmusic.com/steve/MicTest-Ukulele.mp3

http://rossdurandmusic.com/steve/MicTest-Trumpet.mp3

Other than needing a pop filter, it sounds good.

I'm curious as to how many people need or would benefit from having an omni pattern, especially as their primary mic. Conventional wisdom says it ought to be cardoid, and unless you have a killer room, omni's gonna pick up all kinds of transients, as heard in the trumpet sample. I think the effect would be compounded using them as a stereo pair, potentially leading to some weird psychoacoustic effects.

imo.

It's still better than a built-in computer mic. Do songfight kids still do that?

No, the songfight kids have upgraded to the USB mic that came with Rock Band.

Hey All,

I just noticed that the Heil Pr20 UT is on sale for $80 at MF. This mic will sound so much better than a Shure Sm57 or 58.

Ken

Hey All,

I see that the MXL V88 Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic is on sale for $117 which is a deal on it's own, but if you buy it now you also get an MXL 603s Small Diaphragm Condenser as well! Those two mics are a steal at $117. Waaaay better than the MXL 990/991 combo for $100.

Just be aware that it is out of stock until 11/12/10. Worth the wait.

Ken

Looks like they changed their "expected in-stock" date to 11/21/10. If it's worth waiting over a year for, surely it's worth waiting only two weeks, right?

Eats kittens AND edits posts to make people who respond look stupid. *Grumble grumble*

I'm glad people are checking this deal out.

Ken

Ken, have you personally used either of these mics? I have had a MXL large diaphragm condenser for several years now, I forget the model exactly but I want to say something like V67? Anyway I have used it for the majority of the recording I've done for quite a while and have been really satisfied with it. I'm interested in adding more mics to my set-up, and wondering if perhaps the V88 would be a good replacement choice for vocals, while downgrading the one I am currently using to instruments only? Also I don't own any "pencil style" SDCs like the free one that is included with this package; I was wondering if you could tell us anything about it?

Thanks in advance for the info! If you don't have anything more to add from personal experience, thanks anyway -- glad you shared this promotion...

I have a number of MXL mics.

I also have the V67G, which I don't love, but it was my first mic and it works fine. I used it a lot on the drums for all the Loyalty Day recordings. My second mics were a pair of MXL 603s which I still use today when I need drum overheads. I've also hooked people up with the MXL 990/991 mics as well as another of their early condensers. My most recent purchase was an MXL 990 stereo mic, that I've used a bit for overheads on Berkeley Social Scene tracks, and usually if the song has stereo drums in the last year I am using that mic. I am very excited to send this mic to Oktavamod for a major upgrade. I remember checking out the V88 at NAMM either last year or the year before and was impressed. It cost $300 then, and seemed to be very balanced and nice sounding. Totally worth $300. So, to see this mic for just over $100 AND another good mic included, is a deal people shouldn't pass up if they need some condensers for vocals or acoustic instruments.

Hope that helps.

Ken

Whoops, my mistake. I just checked, and it turns out I have the V57M. Like I said, I've been really happy with it.

Anyway, the stuff you record always sounds good so I'd trust your recommendation. Thanks again for the words of wisdom.

i got this off another board/discussion waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back, but the GLS Audio ES-57 and ES-58 are fantastic and very inexpensive. For about $100, I got the 57 & 58 plus cables and stands for each. To boot (and perhaps more importantly), they sound damn fine.

Musician's Friend has the MXL V69 Mogami Edition Tube Microphone on sale for $220 right now and you get a decent boom stand as well! This mic is usually $300 on it's own. I expect it is pretty sweet if you don't have a decent condenser mic yet.

Ken

I'm looking forward to my first foray into the Ribbon mic arena with this inexpensive offering from Nady. Note that it accepts, in fact needs 48V Phantom Power to operate. The knock on ribbon mics in the past has been the need for a high end pre-amp to get enough gain out of them for general use and that you could blow them up with an accidental Phantom Power button being left on. For $150 this could be the cheapest solution for that. Mine is on order, I will report back on how it works out.

Musician's Friend has the MXL 9000 tube mic on sale for $150. I've heard a lot of good stuff about MXL tube mics, once you swap out the tube.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=273176

ken wrote:Musician's Friend has the MXL 9000 tube mic on sale for $150. I've heard a lot of good stuff about MXL tube mics, once you swap out the tube.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=273176

I've got the MXL 9090, which has two tubes, one of which comes from the 9000. I've been getting great results from it for over a year now.

http://www.mxlmics.com/products/900_ser ... /9090.html

The MXL 9090 is not a tube mic. It has two capsules, one bright one warm.

Busted.

(I actually thought those were interchangeable terms. Oops.)

Anyway, I've owned two MXL mics in my life. They were both priced very competitively, and delivered quality sound.

If anyone is looking for a cheap pair of small diaphragm condensers, this place is selling a pair of Audio Technica 2021s for $80.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-b ... tem/AT2021

Ken

Hey Guys,

If you still don't own an Shure SM58 and/or SM58 (or don't own enough of them) You can get a great deal on these mics right now!

Best Buy has them for $75 each and Shure is offering a $10 rebate! These mics are usually $99 at least so you can get these new for what they would typically cost used.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Shure+-+Dyn ... &cp=1&lp=2

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Shure+-+Dyn ... Id=7535385

http://www.shure.com/idc/groups/public/ ... m_2011.pdf

Have at it!

Ken

Hi All,

I bought one of these PylePro SM57 knockoffs for a friend and we were really surprised how good it sounded, especially on guitar cabinet. They are even cheaper now, and for $10 each, you should buy two!

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Pro-PDMIC78- ... ds=PylePro

Ken

If you still haven't picked up a cheap condenser mic yet. Amazon.com has the AT 2020 for $50.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B0006H ... =tbprod-20