I can only afford a couple of mics for my rock band. What should I buy first?
A typical rock band can get away with a rather small setup. If possible, record each instrument separately; you’ll be able to get away with buying fewer microphones, and you’ll have more flexibility in post. For drums, I like an AT PRO25 used for about $60 for kick drum, a shure sm57 on snare, and a pair of Marshall MXL603’s for overheads…for piano, the 603’s can do double duty…for vocals, the sm57 will work but if you wanna go the condenser route, a Studio Projects B1, or Marshall MXLv67 or v93 would be great – Gidge For $400, I think I’d get 2 57’s, 2 603’s and either a B1 or a V67. You could get a lot of mileage out of that setup. – freshmattyp First… with some dynamic microphones, like some Shure SM57’s and a Sennheiser MD421 you could record vocals, guitars, bass, horns, and all kinds of stuff. IMO, the Shure SM57 and Sennheiser MD421 are “must have” dynamic microphones. You’ll also want some small diaphragm condenser microphones and if you’re on a low budget, try the Marsha
