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Sweetwater is having a microphone sale this month, and as a lot of you know, I really need some new mics. I put 3 mics into my shopping cart, but I'd like some opinions before I actually buy them. I was going by customer reviews, plus input on what each one does well.

Small condenser mic: AKG P170 small-diaphragm condenser mic. This is purported to be good for recording things like harps and other instruments that have a lot of sustain.

Large condenser mic: AKG P120 large-diaphragm condenser mic. This one would be better for vocals, etc.

USB portable mic for live recording outside using the laptop: Samson Go Mic Portable USB Condenser mic. It has two patterns: cardioid and Omni, which would be great for working with the band. It also has its own built-in phantom power, so I wouldn't need an interface. I know it's only 16 bit and 44.1kHz, CD quality, but at this time, the band probably wouldn't need more than that, and I probably wouldn't be using it for anything except outdoors. (Unless I used it for videoconferencing, but that's another story.)

I know these aren't any of them the best on the market, but they're reasonably inexpensive. If you have experience with any of them, I'd love to know what you think of them! Thanks!

Merry

Thanks, I will check into that!

Merry

Grab em before they get snavelled up!

Hi Marion,
Just throwing this out - if it were me buying these mics, I'd be tempted to double up on the P170 (small diaphragm mic) so I could do some stereo-miking on all the fine acoustic instruments that I'd record. I'd skip the P120 unless I was recording instruments with a strong fundamental tone such as live brass or percussion (such as the bodhran). Others will disagree with me, that's OK.

Do you have an interface that supplies the required 48vdc phantom power?

Others will disagree with me, that's OK.

A stereo pair is a luxury when you want a collection of mics to cover all bases.

I have a pair of SDCs but mostly use one with a ribbon or LDC for recording acoustic instruments. It's nice to position then mix the two flavours to taste.

SDC's aren't usually a go to for vocals.

lesmac wrote: ↑

Mon May 17, 2021 4:26 pm

SDC's aren't usually a go to for vocals.

Good point!