Hi guys,
I'm looking to buy a microphone for singing and acoustic guitar. As far as i have figured out I need a condenser mic (fix me if im wrong) At the moment I am looking at behringer C-1U which is £41. But do I need anything else with it or is it plug & play? maybe there are better (cheaper maybe) alternatives? Any advice appriciated, thanks!

Here's a pretty nice package for around the same price. The big one on vocals, the little one on the guitar.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/mxl-990-991-recordi ng-microphone-package

I don't know what you're recording to, but you'll need a mic preamp with phantom power for both.

If you're going straight into the computer, USB mics are the only way to go. Audio Technica's 2020 usb is a little more that you mentioned, but you'll save the money for an audio interface or mic preamp to get you into your DAW.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?sku=552791&Q =&O=&is=REG&A=details

KVR/eSoundz: Xenobt

the AT2020USB is £160 here in UK , so its just a little bit 4 times more expensive then the previous one. ;/

I use the $20 Behringer XM8500 dynamic mike and the $40 Behringer C1 condensor.

Both sound great, clear. I don't know why you'd want a USB mike though, it will cancel out your ASIO driver.

The AT 20202 usb is $99 usd and the the price you mentioned was for the Behringer was $65 usd, not too far off. No good deed goes unpunished!

KVR/eSoundz: Xenobt

For the non-usb mic's I would need different cables , power supplies etc, while for the USB mic I can save all that money. Im really looking for a very cheap deal.

If i were to go for a XLR Microphone what else would i need to get it to my PC? Mic , XLR cable , phantom power supply and usb to pc cable or something like that?

This will handle the mic preamp, phantom power and usb connections to your pc (mac or pc). You'd still need an XLR cable from the mic to it, but otherwise it's got everything you'd need to start tracking. And comes with a version of Pro Tools!

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrack.html

This is also a nice package deal, everything you need in one box, with two mic inputs, and comes with CubaseLE:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/tascam-us144-interf ace-and-990-991-mic-pack-bundle

KVR/eSoundz: Xenobt

Xenobt, the TASCAM US144 Interface and 990/991 Mic Pack Bundle is more affordable compared to the one I found in Amazon and in ebay, but I still don't have budget for this one yet. Should I find some second hand unit ,you think it would be worth buying? what are the essential things should I check on the unit to make sure I can still use it for several months or maybe a year or two? Pardon me for asking I'm just new in my field so buying things like this is really complicated for me,quality and budget is always the issue.

Get the SE X1. It is awesome . I can't believe how good it is.

http://www.thomann.de/gr/se_electronics_x1.htm

Or get the bundle with the reflexion filter:

http://www.thomann.de/gr/se_electronics_x1_rf_projectstudio_ bundle.htm

It's quite the deal.