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Hey guys, did a quick search and couldn't find a thread regarding this.

I'm looking to start recording my own samples for tunes. Bongos, pots and kettles for snares etc. The usual. So which kind of mic would best suit that kind of work? Dynamic, condenser?

I'd say my budget is a couple hundred quid at most. I'm a complete noob at microphones so any insights would be great!

Thanks.

Go for an expensive mic by all means, but I once saw on a video Kryptic Minds recommend just a basic phone/Ipod mic as being fine for recording simple stuff like drum hits on the fly. It gives a nice dry recording and although there might be a bit of crackle that just adds to the sound. I find it's not a good idea to try recording stuff with lots of bass through them though for obvious reasons.

Have you thought about a small portable field recorder like zoom h4n. Its got a stereo mic, saves on mini sd cards and you can take it anywhere. There are cheaper alternatives if thats out your price range.

cpdwane wrote:I once saw on a video Kryptic Minds recommend just a basic phone/Ipod mic as being fine for recording simple stuff like drum hits on the fly.

Yeah I think I saw that, they went into the woods with a Nokia 3210 or something to record them hitting sticks against trees for snares on the One of Us album. I've got a little Olympus DS-55 Dictaphone for doing stuff on the fly, was just curious what kind of (200 quidish) mic would be good for building up a library of decent WAV samples. For frequency response etc, only looking to sample mid to high freq stuff anyway...

rockonin wrote:Have you thought about a small portable field recorder like zoom h4n. Its got a stereo mic, saves on mini sd cards and you can take it anywhere. There are cheaper alternatives if thats out your price range.

Oooh I'll have a look at the Zoom and it's alternatives. Does that export as WAV or lossless?

Look up Editors Keys SL300. Its a usb microphone but its supposed to be pretty good for sampling. I think its WAV format for the Zoom H4N. I didnt check to see if there was losless format. I was a boom operator/audio recordist for some no budget films and i used this as my recorder with a sennheiser boom mic. '

Ok, so now I have found some entry level ones, I'm thinking between the SL300 and the Zoom. I suppose the Zoom would be good for going into the woods and recording tree snares and gravel snares, but is the SL300 better in transient and frequency terms?

Shure SM57, but you'll need a good preamp (I recommend a valve one) or it's a waste.

Why don't you look for second-hand stuff? A well-looked after good mic will be way better than a new budget one.

test recordings wrote:Shure SM57, but you'll need a good preamp (I recommend a valve one) or it's a waste.

Why don't you look for second-hand stuff? A well-looked after good mic will be way better than a new budget one.

I was thinking about a good second hand one, but there's always the chance that it comes in the post and it's all battered and there's something rattling somewhere inside! xD

Go pick it up or buy it from a dealer then

You can only record mono then. I'd go with a field recorder too.

I have a matched pair of condensor mics, but I only use em in the studio. Field recorder for sampling.

For studio recording... as others have said, to use an SM57 or something, you will need proper I/O. A dynamic mic like the SM57 won't need phantom power, but it will need an interface to record into (either a decent soundcard with XLR inputs or a mixer). A condenser mic will require phantom power (again, most soundcards that have XLR inputs will have this, but check to make sure).

That said, if you want the freedom to record stuff anywhere - I would look at the Zoom line of field recorders. Not only are they portable and have good recording quality - but some models also allow for extra mix inputs. For instance - I have the Zoom H2. It doesn't allow for XLR input, but it does have a 1/8" input - so I can use it with my hydrophone and contact microphones. The H2 also allows for 4 channel surround recording which is fun.

Hey guys lost the thread, don't get emails when someone posts for some reason.

Mad EP wrote:For studio recording... as others have said, to use an SM57 or something, you will need proper I/O. A dynamic mic like the SM57 won't need phantom power, but it will need an interface to record into (either a decent soundcard with XLR inputs or a mixer). A condenser mic will require phantom power (again, most soundcards that have XLR inputs will have this, but check to make sure).

That said, if you want the freedom to record stuff anywhere - I would look at the Zoom line of field recorders. Not only are they portable and have good recording quality - but some models also allow for extra mix inputs. For instance - I have the Zoom H2. It doesn't allow for XLR input, but it does have a 1/8" input - so I can use it with my hydrophone and contact microphones. The H2 also allows for 4 channel surround recording which is fun.

I have an M-Audio Fast Track Pro soundcard and I have my HS50 near fields going through that via 1/4" TRS so I have XLRs free for a mic. I already have a Dictaphone for on the go, and those samples will be for really ethereal ambient things, so the quality doesn't really matter that much.

I have my eyes set on the SM57 or the SL300, both within my budget, so I'll delve into those in a bit more detail online.

Cheers for all the input guys, much appreciated

Someone said zoom h4n, I second that suggestion.

I also just bought a Shure SM7b and it's fantastic, but probably not what you need. If you're going to be recording these samples in your studio, then you will probably want a nice condenser mic. I've heard great things about the MXL V67g and the Behringer B2, and I almost bought one of them but I am totally content with my Shure mic for now. If you're field recording stuff, the zoom h4n is not bad at all. I used it in school to record a bunch of sounds using my girlfriend's bedroom door for the percussion in a song. Worked great. I'm sure there's better stuff out there though, but at the price, it's good.

Guys shit just got big brother up in here, only a couple of days after I was suggested the Shure SM57 I got an email from a store I usually buy my stuff from that they had it on offer...

http://shop.musix.ch/en/Shure-SM57-SM-57-LCE.html

WTF

i think you would want a condenser mic really rather than a dynamic (like the sm57) for more clarity. recordingt 1 shots and vocals on an sm57 usually sounds a bit boomy and dull

Sinestepper wrote:i think you would want a condenser mic really rather than a dynamic (like the sm57) for more clarity. recordingt 1 shots and vocals on an sm57 usually sounds a bit boomy and dull

Surely that can be handled with mic placement alone? Put the mic angled towards the source to pick up the frequencies necessary for 'brightness' and have it a bit of a distance away to reduce 'boominess'...?

Its never as good with a dynamic mic in terms of clarity if you get me

If both were optimally used, I'd agree with you. As a mic for random purposes though, the dynamic is more flexible because it can take high sound pressure levels.

test recordings wrote:If both were optimally used, I'd agree with you. As a mic for random purposes though, the dynamic is more flexible because it can take high sound pressure levels.

So can a condenser, maybe not as high, but I really doubt OP will be recording such high SPL for this to be a deciding factor.

@OP: it really depends on what you want to record. Things to keep in mind are that you need P48 for condensers like mentioned already, don't need this for dynamic mics. Condensers are generally more sensitive thus will get you better results when dealing with soft sound sources. They also have greater frequency and transiets response than dynamic mics.