Best condenser microphone recommendations around $100

[mixyguy2]

Spam is a very fine meat, for the price.

Hardly. But you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

I wouldn't buy a vocal condenser mic on that budget.

Too bad. One can do a lot more, and very well, with one of those (on vocals at least) than with a a 57 or 58.

Again "you get what you pay for" is an extremely unreliable barometer as it's more often than not simply untrue when it comes to today's gear. And software, for that matter.

[mixyguy2]

Let me be more clear, I think that you should spend the least amount of money that you need for good results. I've never been happy with any vocal microphone in that price range, but especially cheap condensers.

Fair enough. I'm curious which have you tried for vocals. I think results can vary (in any price range).

[thecontrolcentre]

I started with an SM58, then picked up a C1 (horrible, noisy POS) which I sold, then got a Rode NT-1 which I'm very happy with. The price has gone up a lot since I got mine, but I spotted their USB NT1-Mini Condenser for under £100.

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... phone/3CFV

[ghettosynth]

I started with an SM58, then picked up a C1 (horrible, noisy POS) which I sold, then got a Rode NT-1 which I'm very happy with. The price has gone up a lot since I got mine, but I spotted their USB NT1-Mini Condenser for under £100.

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... phone/3CFV

This jives with my experience with cheap condensers. A friend of mine uses that exact Rode USB mic for dialog recording. It sounds fine for that, if not a bit dark. Of course, you can't tell if that's going to be your experience by looking at pictures and I can't tell whether his results are solely because of the mic or something else in his chain.

USB mics bring their own set of problems though and I wouldn't go that route unless I was doing something like podcasting on the cheap.

There is a very common experience with microphones where people go for budget options looking for a solution and then eventually realize that, like with speakers, acoustic transducers cost a bit more for good results and they either overshoot and go all in or end up somewhere in the sweet spot, e.g., the NT-1. Often by that time you've spent enough on cheap mics as a better solution would have cost in the first place.

[LoveEnigma18]

Thank you for the suggestions everyone. Much appreciated.

I am no hurry to get a condenser mic, so I will think through all the discussion here and based on my budget get something that hopefully suits my needs. It seems though that it would be better to save more and get a decent condenser mic rather than buying a cheap one.

[Hermetech Mastering]

Line Audio CM4 (cardioidish) an OM (omni), if you don't mind SDC.

[LoveEnigma18]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am looking at this again now and want to purchase one in near future. I can go up to $150 if needed, but better if below it.

Does anyone have any experience with Audio Technica AT2020?

However, I need something that has relatively lower sensitivity among the condensers mic options, just to keep the background sounds/noise as low as possible.

[Functional]

However, I need something that has relatively lower sensitivity among the condensers mic options, just to keep the background sounds/noise as low as possible.

The sensitivity of the microphone has zero impact on background noise. The only impact it has, is how much amplification it will need. So the 2020 is 100% fine.

The only thing that affects the amount of background noise (barring solutions like noise cancellation) is the polar pattern. Depending on the purpose, you might be able to use supercardioid which is the ideal polar pattern for a lot of things. The least ideal is omni - omnis pick up extreme amounts of background noise. Hypercardioids also exist, but they pose other issues and rarely are ideal for anything except for capturing sounds at a distance, i.e. boom mics.

Beyond these factors, the focus is on mic placement and performance. If it's vocals, then you have to sing loud & proud and/or as close as possible while either avoiding proximity effect or being able to mitigate it as much as possible. Personally, I instruct singers to take distance from microphone when singing loud - having some room in the mix is not a problem at all usually.

Acoustic guitars are among hardest to deal with, but 80% of that sound is basically about miking technique anyway. Fail that and your mics wouldn't matter anyway. And you need two mics generally.

[donkey tugger]

Acoustic guitars are among hardest to deal with, but 80% of that sound is basically about miking technique anyway. Fail that and your mics wouldn't matter anyway. And you need two mics generally.

There are many ways to skin said cat;

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... c-guitar-0

I'd say the most common is probably single small diaphragm condenser.

[Hermetech Mastering]

Yeah I hate stereo miced acoustics. They sound like someone stretched the guitar wide, very unnatural. Would always rather double track mono.

[LoveEnigma18]

However, I need something that has relatively lower sensitivity among the condensers mic options, just to keep the background sounds/noise as low as possible.

The sensitivity of the microphone has zero impact on background noise. The only impact it has, is how much amplification it will need. So the 2020 is 100% fine.

The only thing that affects the amount of background noise (barring solutions like noise cancellation) is the polar pattern. Depending on the purpose, you might be able to use supercardioid which is the ideal polar pattern for a lot of things. The least ideal is omni - omnis pick up extreme amounts of background noise. Hypercardioids also exist, but they pose other issues and rarely are ideal for anything except for capturing sounds at a distance, i.e. boom mics.

Beyond these factors, the focus is on mic placement and performance. If it's vocals, then you have to sing loud & proud and/or as close as possible while either avoiding proximity effect or being able to mitigate it as much as possible. Personally, I instruct singers to take distance from microphone when singing loud - having some room in the mix is not a problem at all usually.

Acoustic guitars are among hardest to deal with, but 80% of that sound is basically about miking technique anyway. Fail that and your mics wouldn't matter anyway. And you need two mics generally.

Thanks for the advice. Very helpful.

Sorry, I did mix up the word "sensitivity" there. But since it is a condenser microphone, I thought it will pick up more noise than my SM58, which I just want to ensure it doesn't get out of control. My room is decently quiet during afternoon and night, so hopefully it will be manageable.

Regarding the amplification part, the SM58 isn't that sensitive and my audio interface gain isn't that high either, so a condenser microphone would help me to get a healthy level (and a different frequency response) without much effort. I don't plan to change my audio interface or buy any external pre-amp right now.

I am indeed only recording vocals. I will pay attention to the polar pattern and mic placement as you suggested. I do sing about 4 inches away from SM58, but for reasons mentioned above going further away may not be good I guess. With condenser I will make sure to have at least 8-12 inches and experiment until I find a decent sweetspot.

[LoveEnigma18]

Any decent mic stand recommendation for condenser microphone? I am probably going to choose AT2020 or AKG P120 due to its easy availability in my location and decent quality and price.

I have a regular boom stand that I use for SM58. Will it work? Although it isn't very sturdy, so might as well get something better for the new mic.

[Hermetech Mastering]

K&K stands with Rycote InVision shock mounts here, for my KM84s. The Rycotes are the best you can get but you'll need the right suspension to match the size and weight of your mic.

https://www.mymic.rycote.com/products/s ... on-studio/

[LoveEnigma18]

K&K stands with Rycote InVision shock mounts here, for my KM84s. The Rycotes are the best you can get but you'll need the right suspension to match the size and weight of your mic.

https://www.mymic.rycote.com/products/s ... on-studio/

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like a complicated affair. Any simpler, one-piece solution?

EDIT: Looks like I will need to get a shock mount separately? Also, a new pop filter too. Hmmm. I do have the windscreen (Samson PS01), which I am hoping that it will work with the new stand.

[Hermetech Mastering]

K&K stands with Rycote InVision shock mounts here, for my KM84s. The Rycotes are the best you can get but you'll need the right suspension to match the size and weight of your mic.

https://www.mymic.rycote.com/products/s ... on-studio/

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like a complicated affair. Any simpler, one-piece solution?

EDIT: Looks like I will need to get a shock mount separately? Also, a new pop filter too. Hmmm. I do have the windscreen (Samson PS01), which I am hoping that it will work with the new stand.

Not complicated at all, find the right mount needed for your mic (there's a list on Rycote's website), buy it and fit it. How much more of a complicated affair could that be? Here, I just did the Googling for you:

https://mymic.rycote.com/devices/at-2020/

Any old pop filter will be fine, although the Rycote ones are again of excellent quality. I'd say just grab this and be done, it is the one piece solution you've been looking for:

https://mymic.rycote.com/products/shock ... tudio-kit/