| It depends on what you're going to use the mic for... Do you want a dynamic or a condenser? What polar pattern do you want?
Hypercardioid - super unidirectional, mostly used for live performance where feedback is a problem.
Cardioid - still unidirectional with some off-axis rejection, but still picks up some room sounds. (SM57 and 58 fit into this category, as do many dynamic mics)
Wide Cardioid - "mostly" unidirectional, but actually in between unidirectional and omnidirectional. Many so-called "Cardioid" pattern condensers fit into this category. The sound quality is often more detailed, but bleed-through noise is difficult to eliminate without a controlled recording environment. A good "Cardioid" condenser for little money is the MXL 603, at about $80.
Omnidirectional - just like it sounds, it picks up signals from all directions. Sometimes referred to as "reference mics", these are a good choice when you want to hear the TOTAL sound happening in a room without singling out any particular one. Earthworks makes the top of the line omnis that I've heard, but you can get a nice omni condenser from Behringer for about $35...it's called the ECM8000.
Remember that with any condenser you buy, you'll need phantom power to supply voltage to the diaphragm (dynamics don't need phantom power). Some multitrack units come with phantom power, but most do not.
What kind of 4-track are you planning on buying, and what will be the main function of the mic you want to buy?
Last edited by Chris Fitzgerald : 12-25-2001 at 11:37 PM.
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