[shadowgenesis]

If you wanna look at a budget condenser, i'd say check out the AT4040. It's extremely transparent and accurate and has a reputation as a do-all mic. The Shure KSM27 seems to get comparable reviews as well and it's the same price (cept it appears the shockmount is cheap junk?).

erm. hope that was helpful in some way. good luck dude!

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by Drew

the SM58 is a great live vocal mic. For recording, if you have phantom power, you really want a large diaphram consenser.

Unless you're doing screaming/metal vox. Then, well, you could go either way. But a good dynamic, I feel, is probably a little better for straight up heavy singing.

Again, about the Behringer mic... as pointed, Behringer's QC likely is spottier. But, remember here...

1. It's 20 dollars.
2. It is seriously built like a tank. It's a 58 clone, so go figure.

[Popsyche]

Originally Posted by Drew

the SM58 is a great live vocal mic. For recording, if you have phantom power, you really want a large diaphram consenser.

For some reason, the MXL entry level stuff and in particular this $120 2-mic set are really well regarded over at HomeRecording.com. Definitely worth a look, as you most likely will not get a large diaphram and small diaphram condenser anywhere else for less:

Buy MXL MXL 990/993 Studio Package online at Musician's Friend

I can second the opinion on the MXL990 as sounding WAY better than it has any right to! I bought 2 of the 990/991 2 mic kits at my local GC when they opened for $49/set (), and we use them to record stereo room mixes.

[The Dark Wolf]

My MXL condenser sounds just fantastic. Great bass reproduction, and crystal, crystal clear highs. You hear your teeth clack.

Run it through a tube pre, and that clarity translates really well, with the terrific warmth.

[shadowgenesis]

that reminds me: what kind of interface are you recording with? (i'm assuming you're not recording analog). mic pre's are a huge key in the sound of a mic. a good mic w/o a good pre is kinda like running a $2000 gibson into a $50 crate combo. It might be a good idea to go with a budget mic and invest in a nice mic pre to go with it.

[The Dark Wolf]

^ True, buuuuut...

Some boards have really nice pre's. Mackie boards are renowned for having nice pre's. (We're not talking Neve consoles here, but c'mon.)

[Drew]

Yeah... Honestly, for $120 for the set, I've been meaning to grab one.

[Naren]

Thanks for the info, guys. I went and ordered the XM8500 and it should come in the mail sometime this weekend. It only cost me about $25. So, if it works out for me, great. If it's a little sub par, it'll still be worth at least the money I paid for it.

Originally Posted by shadowgenesis

the issue with cheaper gear like Behringer and similar companies is not always that they don't make a good product, but that their QC is far worse than a reputable mic manufacturer. If you're buying a SM58 you can be sure that it's going to be solid, sound great, and last you basically until a nuclear blast. With cheaper gear the consistency from one piece of gear to the next is less reliable. You could get one mic and it'll sound great, then buy another of the same model and find it doesn't sound the same. I'm not saying that's necesarily true in this case or that it'll happen, but that's what i've been warned about a lot. If the reviews are consistently good, go for it.

the other thing is that as great and solid as 58's (or their clones) may be, they're really more common for live sound than studio recording. They sound great for the price and they're durable as hell (you can probably drive a nail with a 58 then use it later that night), but almost any professional engineer could tell you that you want to use a large-diaphragm condenser for vocals.

I'll admit this is mostly me regurgitating what i've been taught in school (I'm studying production/engineering), but all of my teachers are experienced professionals who are active in the field, so i trust their judgment.

Are you gonna use the mic for anything other than vocals? Cuz if you're looking for just a mic to record you're own vocals i have an idea. You could go to you're local music store that's got a good array of mics to choose from and simply try them out A/B style. Everybody's voice has a different character and there's mics that'll sound better for that individual. Sometimes it's the $3000 Neumann, and sometimes its the $100 58.

Yeah, I've had the same experience with Behringer, which is the reason why I originally wasn't so hot on the idea of trying them out. On the site that I checked, the Shure SM58 had an average score of 4.2/5.0 and the Behringer XM8500 had an average score of 4.8/5.0. I'm sure those scores are also reflecting the pricing, though.

I've heard most of the stuff you're saying.

I'm only going to be using this mic for vocals. I'm not much of a recording guy, because I always suck at everything I record, I have absolutely zero ability in programming drums, and I don't own a bass anymore.

I will be recording through my GNX3000, which is hooked up to the computer by USB. I will be using the ProTracks Plus software to record (that came with my GNX3000).

It would probably be nice to have a diaphram condenser, but I'll start out with what I got. Since I suck at recording in general, I might just say "fuck it." When the guitarist for my band is at the controls tweaking everything and all I have to do is play my guitar or sing, it's easier, but I tend to get annoyed when I'm trying to do this and I have so little experience with it.

I assumed that the SM58 was more known as a live mic, since it's the mic that I pretty much use at each band practice and live performance.

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm not planning anything huge, mainly due to my incompetence in regards to drum programming and general recording technology. Mainly right now I'm just looking for a decent/good mic that I can use for vocals for stuff I want to try out and screw around with and maybe see what I can do. (I don't think I'll consider another mic until I've thoroughly tried out the XM8500). For recording something for my band in the future (demo or album), we wouldn't be using any mic that I bought anyway.

[The Dark Wolf]

E, if/when you roll back in the states, c'mon over. I can give you a hands-on tutorial for recording. I'm actually going to start recording this week, so I'm sure I'll have lots of material and advice or whatever.

[Naren]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

E, if/when you roll back in the states, c'mon over. I can give you a hands-on tutorial for recording. I'm actually going to start recording this week, so I'm sure I'll have lots of material and advice or whatever.

Sure thang. I should be in the states sometime this year. Probably around Christmas.

Most of what I know about recording is just from testing stuff out myself and reading manuals, so I don't know that much.