Help Me Find a Mic for My Wife (Budget $250)

azngamer on 02/12/2020 - 15:15
Last edited 02/12/2020 - 17:43

Hi Ozbargain,

I recently got married and this will be the first present from me to my missus as a married couple.

I am looking for a microphone that will be used for singing which will be connected to a computer to record with Audacity. She used to sing at weddings as her part time job, so I think she sings pretty well. Genre of music includes R&B, pop and Sara Bareilles fan (I hope that helps to narrow down). She plays the piano and guitar as well.

Just a disclaimer, I do not know much about microphones.

I've seen a couple of mic deals like Neewer NW-700/800 and Yeti, but I think they are targeted more towards live stream/podcasting.

Microphones I have my eyes on:
+Shure SM 58
+Audio Technica AT2020
+Open to other microphones as well

I tried watching comparison videos but I am pretty tone deaf, so they sound different, but I don't know if that's good or bad.

With a budget of $250 (can possibly push it to $300) I would like to have everything included:

-Mic
-Adjustable boom arm - need advice
-Shock mount - need advice
-Pop filter - need advice
-cables - need advice
-Phantom power (if needed) - need advice

I am not familiar with the interface, I might have missed something above, but basically, I need the mic to work with the computer to record.

Please help.

Edit 1: Changed Advise to Advice as pointed out by MS Paint

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • Orico on 02/12/2020 - 15:35
    +5

    Steinberg for the audio interface, shure/rode/audio technica for the microphone. It's what I have and stuff never breaks.

    Easy peasy.

    $300 for the everything is on the low budget. You'll be hard pressed to get a good setup for that price. Visit Store DJ and look at your options. They have a large assortment. Buy the equipment from elsewhere because store dj tends to be pricey on most items. https://www.storedj.com.au/

    • azngamer on 02/12/2020 - 15:47

      Just looked at audio interface it it's as expensive as the mic. I think I've completely missed that in my budget.

      Are usb mic a good option? Or the quality is definitely noticeable?

      • Orico on 02/12/2020 - 16:08
        +1

        Get the audio technica USB mic

    • Caped Baldy on 02/12/2020 - 16:31
      +1

      +1 for Rode and they're an Aussie based company.

  • JimB on 02/12/2020 - 15:36
    +1

    I've give my buddy Robbie Hart a call and revert back to you.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/12/2020 - 15:43
    +7

    I misread the title as 'Help Me find a Wife (Budget $250'

  • DarthAntz on 02/12/2020 - 15:49
    +2

    I need to find the mic volume for my wife and turn it down to 5%.

    • John Kimble on 02/12/2020 - 16:20
      +4

      Only 5%? I need a mute button 😜

  • muckingfuppet on 02/12/2020 - 15:50
    +1

    Depends if she wants to just record her voice on the mic, or record everything. I've used a rode nt-USB which was brilliant for recording both voice and guitar at the same time. Beauty of it is that its USB powered too.

    If you have a laptop/computer to plug everything in, then get the shure.

    Would recommend going to your local music store, and speaking to the professionals though. They'll be able to show you what's best, and then you could probably look online for a better deal.

    • JimB on 02/12/2020 - 16:00
      +7

      "Would recommend going to your local music store, and speaking to the professionals though. They'll be able to show you what's best, and then you could probably look online for a better deal."

      That's a pretty dick move.

      • muckingfuppet on 02/12/2020 - 16:01

        Well its up to him, how tightass he is. I don't assume the lengths people go to bargains on this site anymore.

        I personally wouldn't, and I agree with you.

        • azngamer on 02/12/2020 - 16:15
          +1

          Not a fan of going in-store for queries as they are pretty sales pitchy in general - or at least in my experience. Would rather get a few recommendations from users, get some idea on what's good. But thanks for the advise.

          Do you feel there is any aspects of sound recording that you cannot get in rode nt-USB? It appears that I forgot to take into account of audio interface in the budget.

          • bcarp on 02/12/2020 - 22:43

            @azngamer:

            Not a fan of going in-store for queries as they are pretty sales pitchy in general - or at least in my experience

            Not at my local store in the northern suburbs of Sydney. They are very anti-sales pitchy. In fact, they have been cheaper than most online stores and have fantastic after-sales backup.

  • mizx on 02/12/2020 - 16:13
    +1

    I bought this and it's good, my only problem with it (maybe just my particular unit), is that it can become a bit loose at certain angles with the mic adjustment and falls prey to gravity, not something I can't live with though. Pretty good for <$100, delivery time was like a month or so.

    • azngamer on 02/12/2020 - 16:20

      Thanks, I think I'll need something more reliable as my wife isn't amazing with troubleshooting and it would kill her interest if its not working when she is in the mood to sing

  • John Kimble on 02/12/2020 - 16:21
    +2

    Congrats/commiserations on getting married!

    $8.99

    My wife would have loved this as a first gift (probably)

    • azngamer on 02/12/2020 - 23:39

      I think she would too, but she might get me a gym membership to get me looking fit

  • MS Paint on 02/12/2020 - 16:28
    +1

    Help Me Find a Mic for My Wife

    Magic Mikec

    • John Kimble on 02/12/2020 - 16:32
      +1

      What a lame joke…who would think of something like that…jeez…😳

      • MS Paint on 02/12/2020 - 16:42

        My wife. Though she does think Channing Tatum looks like he is a chromosome short.

        • John Kimble on 02/12/2020 - 16:45

          You obviously didn't read my comment and get my joke…

          • MS Paint on 02/12/2020 - 16:57
            +1

            @John Kimble: I read your comment but just thought you were bagging my dad joke. Haha I get it now.

  • MS Paint on 02/12/2020 - 16:40

    Adjustable boom arm - need advise
    -Shock mount - need advise
    -Pop filter - need advise
    -cables - need advise
    -Phantom power (if needed) - need advise

    The only thing I can advise

  • bcarp on 02/12/2020 - 16:58
    +4

    If she may sing at functions again, I would not get a USB mic. I’d get a mic with a standard XLR output and use an XLR cable to a USB audio interface. That way, you can hook the mic up to sound desks or powered speakers for live use later.

    The Shure SM58 is a classic and good mic. I’ve used them for years for live audio. I’ve recently used Sennheiser e935 mics and they are also quite good for the price. Sennheiser has a current sale and most shops have this for about $130, an outstanding price. You won’t need phantom power with this dynamic mic; you only need phantom power for condenser mics.

    You’ll need a USB interface. From what you’ve written, I’m guessing you aren’t needing high end stuff here, so a Rode AI-1 will suit your needs. About $170.

    You’ll need an XLR cable to connect the two together. Budget about $25 for a cheap but reasonable 6m cable.

    A mic stand is optional. Check eBay for cheap ones which will probably do in your home setting. A shock mount isn’t necessary. Singing is better hand holding the mic anyway so she can vary the distance between the mouth and the mic with volume of the phrasing, effectively acting as her own compressor filter. She’ll need a stand if she’s going to play the piano or guitar at the same time, but then you’ll need another mic and a different USB interface beyond your budget.

    Pop filter not necessarily required but can add later if she really needs it. Audacity probably has a feature to reduce pop noises anyway, I’d guess.

    I think this comes in close to your budget.

    This is all from my experience doing this for about 20 years on a budget. Live sound, home sound, home recording, and recently live streaming. No formal training, so some of the pros here may be able to add more knowledge to this.

    • azngamer on 05/12/2020 - 03:29

      Thanks. Did some research on dynamic mics and shared what I've learnt with the missus.

      Turns out she still has a shure lying around at her parents place (good thing I asked!) Not sure with the model. I guess I'll start with audio interface. Thanks heaps

  • AustriaBargain on 02/12/2020 - 17:29

    Are you married to Beyonce? She won't be happy with a $250 mic if so. She's used to the best.

    • azngamer on 02/12/2020 - 17:47
      +1

      Not Jay-Z the last time I check myself in the mirror

  • TheBird on 02/12/2020 - 18:26
    +1

    I was a professional soundie (film audio recording) for about 5 years so you may want to look for another opinion of someone with a little more experience than me. I don't have a lot of experience in this price range. It forces you into the really cheap options.

    There's something that looked really good. I got one from work but I never made the time to open it up. From memory, it's a NT-1 kit that includes the PC audio connection. I had a quick look but couldn't find it. It was a couple years ago, so maybe they discontinued it. It was about $300-$400. It has the benefit of using XLR microphones and a connection to a computer.

    The NT-1 is a good microphone for your purposes, but getting it all to work with a computer might be outside your price range. It'll get you about 80% of the way of a professional $2-5k microphone. The bang for buck is great.

    As someone said, you could try the Rode NT-USB. I have one. Used it a couple of times. If you get it working, it sounds decent for constant level pod casting, but the way it handles its recording levels, I think you'd end up with pain.

    The issue with audio recording is you pay for what you get.

  • pharkurnell on 02/12/2020 - 18:40

    Strangest first gift for new parole officer…. As said most want to turn them down not up

  • randomusername2017 on 02/12/2020 - 20:05
    +1

    MagicMic

    • brendanm on 02/12/2020 - 20:33
      +2

      Third time's the charm.

      • randomusername2017 on 02/12/2020 - 20:39
        +1

        swear I didn't see the first two…🍻 🍻

  • Peck on 03/12/2020 - 09:39

    I thought that this was a joke post to see how many members could get themselves suspended!

  • TasJacks on 27/01/2021 - 08:29

    Hi azngamer, I'm in the same boat as you - can you let me know what you ended up buying and how much did it cost?

    • azngamer on 27/01/2021 - 20:40

      Hi, I ended up getting a copy of magic Mike on blue ray.

      Jokes aside, I didn't get around to buying it yet. I told my wife about my Xmas gift plan and turns out she was given a dynamic mic back when she was singing in weddings. Anyway, fast forward now, we are still searching for that mic and once we do, we will get the other accessories for it. In the meantime, the purchase is on hold. Sorry I can't help you much but comments above are very helpful.

      250 is a bit low for budget with everything I wanted.

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