What is the best mic for under a hundred bucks?

[cgarges]

Glad the board is back and happy to see you and Chris (amongst others) are modding.

Awww, how sweet.



OKAY GUYS, I THOUGHT WE HAD SOLVED THIS. I GAVE IT TO YOU BEFORE:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3717150392

BUT NOW THERE'S COMPETITION:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7191471623

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Skipwave]

I'm gonna cheat and say Scodiddly's Alice mic kit, $50. That's a cheat because I think he charged $200 assembled.

As for cheap dynamics, the Peavey PVM520i. $75 used, don't know what they went for new, but they don't make 'em any more so who cares.

[syrupcore]

at first I was like 'oh man. all these new interesting categories and the gear thread is the first one to bloat' and then dave's subject line made me actually laugh out loud.

duh, 57 but I also dig my green and gold marshall v67g or whatever it is. cause I'm a pimp and I like my microphones to express that. plus it sounds good on my voice and ukulele.


Will

[trodden]

at first I was like 'oh man. all these new interesting categories and the gear thread is the first one to bloat' and then dave's subject line made me actually laugh out loud.

duh, 57 but I also dig my green and gold marshall v67g or whatever it is. cause I'm a pimp and I like my microphones to express that. plus it sounds good on my voice and ukulele.


Will

yeah, i think thats the only reason i still have my Cad e200 still around.. Its big, its gold, it makes me look important. Love the way the e100 sounds but the 200 looks good.

[nacho459]

I have two 609's and I use them purely for utilitarian reasons, primarily they are low profile and hyper cardioid. As far as the sound... I think that are pretty lifeless.

Originally I got them after seeing Tortoise use them on their vibes. I talked to their FOH guy and he said due to their tight pickup, and because they are dynamic he could get them loud as hell in the mix without there being feedback problems. A few months later I was mixing FOH and was having a hard time to get the strings up in the mix with the rest of the band without feeding back. After the rehearsal I drove to GC and picked up a pair of 609's, swapped out the KM84's over the strings and come show time I had plenty of headroom.

As for recording I use them on toms, and sometimes guitars, but I usually end up swapping them out for something else.

[inverseroom]

I just got a pair of Beyer M810's (called "M818" in a little case, with clips and stands) for like $120 total. Nice little dynamics, a little brighter than a 57, very solid mids. And they look cool, like miniature Soundstars.

[vvv]

I think that stickies just prevent any new dialogue on a given subject. I would rather talk about this same stuff in to months when there is something new to say about it, rather than just keep seeing the same stuff....

Please feel free to PM me (anyone) about suggestions for making this thread easier to navigate, or better in general.

How about a sticky of links to good threads, ex., "$100 or Less Mic Threads"?

[joel hamilton]

I think that stickies just prevent any new dialogue on a given subject. I would rather talk about this same stuff in to months when there is something new to say about it, rather than just keep seeing the same stuff....

Please feel free to PM me (anyone) about suggestions for making this thread easier to navigate, or better in general.

How about a sticky of links to good threads, ex., "$100 or Less Mic Threads"?

This seems like a good start!

[Brett Siler]

Nobodys mention Oktava yet so I saw the Oktava 319 cause I bought two for $50 each.

[fremitus]

i think i was just talking about this last week on the myspace board, but I like my 609. they are not even close to the 409's that they are said to emulate, but they do the job. i do really want to check out the 906 and see if it's an improvement. i too see the 609 as a utilitarian performer. not often the best choice, but i have one or two around the house. i never use them in the studio though. if you can get a beta57a for around $100 do it for sure. they are my favorite mic in the price range i think. really great low end and proximity effect, i use them for live vocals religiously (my own anyways).

[lyman]

Nobodys mention Oktava yet so I saw the Oktava 319 cause I bought two for $50 each.

i was going to mention the oktava as well. it's a good mic for the price. oktava has some inconsistant quality control, i've seen very different sounding mics of the same model.

but you can't go wrong with the utilitarian sm57 for mics at that price point.

[cgarges]

i think i was just talking about this last week on the myspace board, but I like my 609. they are not even close to the 409's that they are said to emulate, but they do the job.

I just got a chance to compare the two (the 609 and 409) this weekend. I feel exactly the same way.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[trashy]

I think that stickies just prevent any new dialogue on a given subject. I would rather talk about this same stuff in to months when there is something new to say about it, rather than just keep seeing the same stuff....

Please feel free to PM me (anyone) about suggestions for making this thread easier to navigate, or better in general.

How about a sticky of links to good threads, ex., "$100 or Less Mic Threads"?

good god no. please, not that.

The fun thing about threads like this one is that new shit is discovered that people get excited about. In three months someone may be totally excited about some new $35 mic they found, and a new thread on this same topic would be totally different. If you "merge" the threads or make a sticky, you'll lose the feel of the thing.

Cripes. That was off-topic. Who do I have to blow to not get deleted?

Anyway, I like the 635. I use it on everything. I really don't want the price of these to go any higher than it already is. I bought mine at least a year ago and paid less than $50 for it. I hate to even mention it. But it is seriously such an awesome mic; it does so many things well. It sounds like a champ on snare.

I'm coming to love the 520, and I'm glad someone mentioned it here. That's a mic that no one was talking about a year ago. Eeldip mentioned it on the board that shall not be named, I bought one, and it's been downhill from there. New thread, new ideas.

Sorry.

[Brett Siler]

Anyway, I like the 635. I use it on everything. I really don't want the price of these to go any higher than it already is. I bought mine at least a year ago and paid less than $50 for it. I hate to even mention it. But it is seriously such an awesome mic; it does so many things well. It sounds like a champ on snare.

If you are talking about the EV 635a isn't that an omni? Wouldn't that pick up tons of hit hat?

[joel hamilton]

"New thread, new ideas."

Totally.