Best all-purpose condensor mic for recording with Logic

Question

Hey everyone,
I'm just about ready to purchase Logic Pro and a MOTU Traveler and I am on the prowel for the best all-purpose condensor mic to record with ($500-650 is my budget).
I would like to be able to record vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, primarily. Does anyone have suggestions? Thank you.

Answer 1

it's going to be hard to find a good mic that is well suited to all 3 of those applications. Sure you can find stuff that will "work" on anything, and for that I would definately look at the Rode mics. But if you are willing to save up a bit more I would highly recommend the following:
Rode NTK for vocals
Peluso CMEC-6 small diaphragm condensers (about $580 for a matched pair) - these are amazing acoustic gtr, drum overheads, etc. mics. Also, I've used them for electric guitar cabinets and they sound great there too.
SM57 for electric guitar
These 4 mics will give you a lot of options. For instance:
vocal/acoustic gutiar together (NTK and Pelusos)
Electric guitar (SM 57 on speaker cone with either a Peluso a few inches away from the speaker or NTK a couple of feet away for body)
Drums (NTK a couple of feet off of kit, Pelusos as overheads, 57 on snare, which would actually give you a really great drum sound in a good room with a good kit)
Obviously this is almost twice your budget. You could start out with the NTK if the vocals are most important to you, or the pelusos if acoustic gtr is most important, and add on the other mics later. The 57 is super cheap and really needs to be in anyone's mic locker. I also recommend an old Shure 545 which is the predecessor to the 57. You can find them on ebay for under $50 (make sure that you get the low-z version with XLR connector, not the high-z with 1/4" connector) and they sound like a 57 but a bit warmer and smoother. They are really great electric guitar mics.