decent cheap mic

ntlbell

i'm looking for a mic to record a song on a laptop it's not for anything profesional but wouldn't mind a decent sound

any reccomend anything cheap and cheerful?

thumpybum

sm58

AFAIK niall in aquarius has a similar mic, if not a shure, its a similar brand I cant remember, I was speaking to him a while ago on it, for about the same price.

but take the sm58 off thomann if ordering more gear to knock off the delivery.

eoin5

Do you have an audio interface?

ntlbell

eoin5 wrote: »

Do you have an audio interface?

I was planning on just plugging into the mic slot on the laptop?

eoin5

ntlbell wrote: »

I was planning on just plugging into the mic slot on the laptop?

An audio interface with a mic preamp is very useful if you want to get a half-decent sound as most built-in laptop soundcards are pretty crap. You can buy USB microphones too like the Rode Podcaster but theyre limited as you cant plug them into a PA. You could do it all in one with the Zoom H4 and use the built in mics.

af_thefragile

You can't go wrong with the Shure SM57. Its the most popular mic for a reason.

slavedave

Depending on the quality of recording you want there is an escalating cost. Cheap (rough) recordings can be had with a purpose built mic for pc's (eg imic) of you can buy a cheap-ish preamp box off of ebay for electret type mini-mics for around 40 GBP. This guy sold me mine a couple of years back.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Stealth-Hawk-Microphones-And-Audio_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ0QQftidZ2QQpZ2QQtZkm
It served its purpose until I upgraded. Laptops have some degree of power going out of the mic input to power cheapo mics but not enough for "plug-in power" type mics though -you will need a powered pre-amp.
Going up a notch but with much better quality is something like the Zoom H2 It is a standalone mini-recorder (got mine for 200 euro from Waltons of all places - as cheap as eBay!) that can record onto SD cards and you can then transfer the audio to a laptop via USB. The great thing with this unit is that it has 4 mics in it and you can chose between front facing only, rear facing only with a wider pickup angle or all four at once (you can even record to 4 individual tracks at once). I have one of these and was really surprised by the quality for the price. I use it for quick demos, field recording and for lectures/peresentations (popped onto a mic stand).
Going up again, you will need to buy an interface for your computer. There are several posts around which type etc, but this opens up the opportunity to use any mic that you see fit to (inc some condenser mics if the interface has phantom powering). These can cost from 70 euro into the thousands!! You pay for higher quality and flexibility as you go up the scale.

slavedave

Coincidence? There is a guy on ads selling an H2 for 120 euro. Not much more info than that in the ad. Its 80 less than I paid for mine anyway. May be worth checking out if it suits your needs.

ntlbell

cheers guys all very helpful

PaulBrewer

slavedave wrote: »

Laptops have some degree of power going out of the mic input to power cheapo mics

I'd question that statement ...

Run_to_da_hills

Im using a Hama mike, paid about 50 quid old money. Originally to get me out of a hole for the new year count down about 6 years ago. Still have it and use it regularly, came with XLR to 1/4 jack and can be reduced to 1/8.

slavedave

Good point.n Well spotted. That should have read that soundcards (those in desktops eg .creative etc) sometimes have power etc etc etc.