Best setup for home recording

Dmlk

Hi All

Sorry if this has been covered but I have two scenarios:

  Electric Guitar into Amp with 1x sm57 into Focusrite 4i4.

  1x vocal and acoustic guitar for a 2nd scenario. Di box into focusrite. 

Question is what type of mic should I use. Rode M3 or nt1a or sm58 for voice?

I was thinking of using 2nd mic as a 2nd mic on electric guitar amp setup. 

I though a condenser mic would be good with sm57 but I am worried about room noise the condenser would pick up.

Also if it would pick up acoustic whilst capturing vocals.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks for reading my message. 

Cheers 
Derek 

JamieLF

I don't personally have experience with either of the Rode mics you've listed, but my own personal opinion would be that if you already have an SM57, get something other than the SM58 for your second mic. The 57 and 58 are virtually identical in their specification save for the fact that one has a pop shield which makes it better than the 57 when it comes to recording vocals.

So if it's purely down to a choice of getting a 58 or one of the Rode mics as the second mic in your collection, maybe skip the 58. Not an entirely complete answer but I hope it helps narrow things down a little!

spark240

58 will suffice but there are better vocal mics...Aston mics, AKG 414, what's your budget?

Dmlk

Thanks for the replies @JamieLF and @spark240. Budget wise I was checking out bundles where they were around £150.

I was trying to find another mic that gives me options to use with vocals but also with amp or instrument. I like to look for versatility if possible. Also thought if I have SM57 what other type of mic would work with this when using with amp for electric guitar.

spark240

Dmlk said:

Thanks for the replies @JamieLF and @spark240. Budget wise I was checking out bundles where they were around £150.

I was trying to find another mic that gives me options to use with vocals but also with amp or instrument. I like to look for versatility if possible. Also thought if I have SM57 what other type of mic would work with this when using with amp for electric guitar.

Sorry...I thought you had a Focusrite already ?.....why are you looking for a bundle ?

Musicwolf

At £150 budget I'm guessing that 'bundle' means something like an NT1A + shockmount + pop shield?  My NT1 (the predecessor of the NT1A) has given me years of reliable service and the shockmount and pop shield are actually essential items - so that's a good starting package.

I wasn't sure whether you already had an SM57?  If you have then NT1A + SM57 is as solid a foundation as any.  If your budget needs to cover both mics then I might be tempted to spend it all on the NT1A and try and stretch it a bit to cover something like this https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0E7W which is a lookalike of a Sennheiser 906 but costing about £35.  It's a bit plasticky, it obviously doesn't sound like a real 906, but it gets you up and running.  I bought one sometime last year just so I could throw it against the other guitarists amp whilst recording a practice.  I was also planning to use it to send a feed to the in-ear monitors when gigs start up again.  My expectations were low but I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Dmlk

spark240 said:

Dmlk said:

Thanks for the replies @JamieLF and @spark240. Budget wise I was checking out bundles where they were around £150.

I was trying to find another mic that gives me options to use with vocals but also with amp or instrument. I like to look for versatility if possible. Also thought if I have SM57 what other type of mic would work with this when using with amp for electric guitar.

Sorry...I thought you had a Focusrite already ?.....why are you looking for a bundle ?

Hi @spark240, sorry I do already have the Focusrite. What I mean was bundle where you can get cable and maybe a stand with the mic I plan to get. If I cannot then I will just look at getting the mic for now.

I already have the SM57 so what would work well with this for amp but also on its own for vocals whilst I play acoustic going into DI to capture that?

Dmlk

Musicwolf said:

At £150 budget I'm guessing that 'bundle' means something like an NT1A + shockmount + pop shield?  My NT1 (the predecessor of the NT1A) has given me years of reliable service and the shockmount and pop shield are actually essential items - so that's a good starting package.

I wasn't sure whether you already had an SM57?  If you have then NT1A + SM57 is as solid a foundation as any.  If your budget needs to cover both mics then I might be tempted to spend it all on the NT1A and try and stretch it a bit to cover something like this https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0E7W which is a lookalike of a Sennheiser 906 but costing about £35.  It's a bit plasticky, it obviously doesn't sound like a real 906, but it gets you up and running.  I bought one sometime last year just so I could throw it against the other guitarists amp whilst recording a practice.  I was also planning to use it to send a feed to the in-ear monitors when gigs start up again.  My expectations were low but I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Hi @Musicwolf, Yes you are correct as I was looking around at either M3, NT1a or SM58 at first. Bundle was just me thinking how to get XLR and stand with mic.

As I already have the SM57 I thought it was a good idea to find something different to go with this mic.

- I would end up double mic an electric guitar amp.

- I would use acoustic guitar into DI and then new mic for vocals.

My worry with a condenser mic is whilst singing into it and I play acoustic guitar at the same time would it pick up the acoustic and mess with my vocal recording?

So I thought I would check with people here as to which mic would work best in my setup. Happy to learn from you all.

Jalapeno

DI the amp, unless there something specific you want from mic'ing up. 

Use amp DI if it has one, or if not an Attenuator or Dummy Load device - far tidier, less disruptive to the household/neighbours.

Everything you need to know about mic'ing an amp for recording .... https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/guitar-amp-recording ... (spolier - SM57 )

Should add that since the POD 2 (Black Face setting) I use Line6 gear to record.

Dmlk

Hi @Jalapeno,  my amp does not have a DI out and I use the SM57 with this already. I am after another mic to go with this SM57 but also when I am not using electric guitar I want to use new mic to capture vocals whilst I play acoustic guitar which will go through a DI.

I was wondering if I should be worried about the new mic picking up acoustic guitar which would then mess with the vocal recording.

Jalapeno

Vocal booth/reflection filter, and gobo(s) to isolate the amp - worst case reverse the polarity on one mic so the signals cancel themselves out if there is spill.

That's why I use DI/Line6

Hick81

Bleed from the acoustic will happen regardless of the mic you are using, but a condenser mic will pick up more of the room noise. How much this gets in the way of the vocal will depend more on your playing.

Or just record your vocals separately? 

spark240

I would probably record one take with guitar and vocals the get the feel going...then play along and record the vocal and guitar separately. ....either way Id get a decent condenser ...you can get used Aston Origin or similar for close to the budget...

duotone

I got an Audio Technica bundle last year & the best prices I found was from https://www.studiospares.com/ . Might be worth a look there when you know what you are after.

Dmlk

Thanks all for your input.

I was hoping to do recording of the vocal and acoustic together but then I guess I will have to see how much the bleed effects the vocals.