Piecing together a home recording setup

John_P

I like the m5 as a cheap sdc - regularly use them as drum overheads and they are silly cheap for the sound quality imo.  so a pair is worth considering.   

For acoustic guitar recording one sdc reasonably close aimed near the high end of the neck combined with a LDC a little further back will get good results with minimal effort - almost any of the cheap Chinese mic - rode nt1 is a safe choice will do a decent job  plus it’ll be fine on vocals.  
I can’t see any need to spend more than that until you have great preamps and room treatment.  

camf

Actually... I think, so far, the room sounds really good. One whole side of the wall is covered in books, lots of them in random sizes and random piles, and some stacked two deep. It seems to do an excellent job of warming up the room and deadening any reflected sounds. If I face away from the books, I can get a brighter more lively sound if I need it. 

camf

@John_P ; Rode NT1 or NT1A? 

John_P

camf said:

@John_P ; Rode NT1 or NT1A? 

I’ve only used the nt1,  apparently the nt1a has more top end and the graphs support that.     
To be honest though almost any of lowish priced LDC mics available are going to sound ok - ADK. Studio projects, Audio technica, CAD, Joe Meek etc etc will be fairly similar and give a clear and bright recording - especially if you’re used to using a 58.         

camf

OK, things are coming along but I've still to make my mind up regarding an LDC mic. An sE 2200a ii seems like one option or the Rode NT-1 seems to have it's supporters. It's exclusively for recording and hopefully bringing out warmth in a softer male vocal and for recording acoustic guitar, so something quite specialised or otherwise limited would still be fine. Any thouts for something around the £200 mark? (Or even lower! )

camf

Doh! I’d forgotten about this thread - http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/133598/mic-for-studio-singing-and-acoustic-playing

Any other thoughts? 

camf

Looking like an Electro Voice RE20 might make sense. 

Winny_Pooh

camf said:

Looking like an Electro Voice RE20 might make sense. 

No, bland and need a fair bit of gain. 

camf

Ah... okay. NT1?

BazzBass

I suggest a  Condenser mic, an SE X1 is cheap and good value. Great for vox and acoustic guitars. Can also capture both at the same time if required to

camf

Just a wee update. After lots of faffing around and internet research, I finally just followed the advice from @Winny_Pooh and bought an Aston Origin. I've only just started using it but so far I've been really impressed. Sounds great on acoustic guitar and vocals. Thanks for the advice @Winny_Pooh. ;

Winny_Pooh

NP. It's well regarded as a utilitarian mic and the integrated pop filter is nice.