What kind of preamp ya got? That plays a big part.

I'd always suggest an SM-57 or 58 as a starter (like Don said). I prefer SM-57 myself, but that is just personal preference. If you have one already (and have phantom power) I'd suggest a Large Diaphragm Condensor mic (LDC) as a next purchase to see the difference.
T-3, B-1, MXL 990 or Neumann U87 .. depending on budget <grin>. You can spend a lot on mics, and then spend a lot on preamps. Just realize; one affects the other quite a bit. An expensive mic thru a cheap preamp isn't going to perform well, whereas an average mic thru a good preamp will perform better than you may think. Consider both.

My SM-57 recorded thru the M-Audio soundcard XLR preamps (though servicable) does not have the clarity of the same mic thru a VTB-1 preamp (and then into same soundcard).
Something I noticed long ago; mics are only as good as the preamps they are ran thru.
End result is Mic->preamp->processing->soundcard convertors. Once converted they are just numbers. The real difference is in the path to the numbers.

Last edited by rharv; 01/22/12 02:35 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!