My recommendation is get an SM57 first, it works well on a lot of stuff; vocals, acoustic guitar, etc.

Then get a large diaphragm later, like B-1 or one of the MXL (if budget is an issue) or a better one.

Then note the differences and you'll be in a much better position to make further choices. My peferred mic for vocals is often the 57.. especially for me.

The preamp does make a difference. I'm not familiar enough with your card/board to make a call either way. I know I like a couple of my stand-alone preamps much better than the ones on a soundcardcard or mixer much of the time. I'd actually suggest an SM57 and maybe a StudioProjects VTB-1 as a nice starter set. Nice mic, nice preamp. You could get a lot of quality tracks down with just those two. Then when you add mics you know you have at least one decent preamp to drive them.
"An average mic thru a great preamp sounds better than than a great mic through an average preamp." I'm not the first one to say that; I'm just agreeing. VTB-1 isn't a 'great' one but it is a great one to start with.


I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!