We here at instrument microphone shop want to do everything we can to assist you in finding the best microphone for your personal home studio our live performance. Whether you are new to audio equipment or a seasoned professional, we'll make it easy for you to find the right microphone.
For you beginners, read our introductory tips below to inform yourself before you buy.
For you experts, just browse our catalog using the menus on the left or at the bottom of this page and enjoy our factory direct prices and
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Quick Reference Quide to Microphones For Beginners.
Get as close to your microphone as you can. By getting super close the mic will pick up more of the direct sound and less of the reflected sound of the room, aka the hall tone sound. Do rooms make a sound you might be asking? Why yes they do. Once you begin experimenting with a high quality microphone you will be amazed how noisy your home studio actually is. The best thing you can do is get as close as possible to the mic to stop the unwanted sounds from creeping in. The absolute best condenser microphones in the world will not help this, they will actually make it worse. It is because they are so sensitive they pick up every little detail including the sound the air is making. You can improve the quality of and recording by making sure the mic is properly placed in the room to reduce environmental noises.
There have been huge advances in studio recording equipment in the last decade but among this, the microphone has changed the least. If you look at the best designs today you will discover that these same principles were used as early as the 1960s. Forty years! The same time tested products have been copied and repackaged with some very minor refinements. Arguing over what is best for a specific recording application is a hot topic. It can be hard to take in all the information and come to a conclusion about what is hype and what isn’t. I’m going to try and give you the reader some basic knowledge so that you can at least have some idea about the differences in microphones so that you can make an informed decision when buying equipment for your studio.
The same microphone can give vastly different results and it all depends on how it is used. There is a fine balance of expertise and experimenting that goes on when placing a mic to capture a sound. It doesn’t matter what mic you use, if you place a vocalist too close, the mic will sound boomy and not usable. This same mic would also sound horrible if say, an acoustic guitarist, were too far away from the mic or if it was angled away from the guitarist. You could take a super cheap mic, have it placed optimally, and it will pick up all the nuances. Add this to a sound board where the EQs are handled professionally, the sound is compressed and filter with other plugins and you can create an outstanding sound! Now take this same optimal setup and place a high end microphone with great preamp and you’re talking professional quality sound!
Just like anything in life, getting the best results you can takes practice, patience and some experimentation. Getting a higher quality microphone can consistently increase your chances of producing a great take but an expensive mic does not always correlate with quality. Unlike other gear, with microphones you can spend a lot of money on a mic and produce something not so great, or spend little money and produce something stellar. So which mics are the gems? Which ones are the duds? Well none of the mics on this site are duds despite the variance in price range ($75-$1000+). If you’re looking for a value mic, under $50, I highly recommend saving some money and going for a 100$ mic. As mentioned earlier you will increase your chances of producing a great take. If you are still budget conscious, use this link to browse our mics under $100.
For more tips on choosing the right microphone, Check out our Article Section .
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