Microphone Question! Help!

You'd be right to an extent, dynamic mics are great for live work because they handle the volume so well, and many engineers still like the sound of a 57 on a guitar amp when it's cranked up loud (including me).

A condensor (or capacitor) mic will be much more useful to you if you want to record acoustic guitar and vocals, they are more sensitive and have a wider frequency response, which equate to a more realistic sound in most cases.

You can get some very nice condensors now for much the same price as a pair of 57/58s. Check out Rode, Oktava, SE, lower end AKG to satrt with, others will chip in with their favourites I'm sure.

I currently use a Neumann TLM at home and favour U87s and 47s in the studio, but they are costly.

Mr. Monsieur said:

Thanks, WinterMute!
It's strange...after reading your post I went to the Shure website to look at the specs of the 57s and 58s...they are also considered "performance mics" (as opposed to "studio mics") and yet they're used in the studio a lot (from what I gather)...hmm...I guess I'll just have to wait and see how the akgs sound...

Click to expand...

Built for live work, essential for studio work, give me a matched pair of excellent condensors and a bucket of 57/58s and I'll record anything....

A lil of topic..but WinterMute, i have heard some hit and miss reviews of the Oktavas. I was looking into them but heard that sometimes their quality suffers and othertimes it does not. Basically from what i have heard the Oktavas are supposed to sound great, that is when they built properly at the factory. Do any of the retailers do any quality checking of these mics? I have heard of one such place in Florida, but can not remember who told me, or what the name of the company was.
thanks

-cameron