Good Recording Mics & USB Soundcards

[curlicue]

Two things guys:

Since I suspect that the bad recording quality I get is due to my mic and soundcard, I wanted to ask:

1) What's a good recording mic to use considering that I'm just mic'ing my amp and capturing the audio signal thru the soundcard?

2) I read somewhere that there are USB soundcards? Well, I'm just using a standard-issue office laptop for my recording, so that would be really handy if there are good USB soundcards out there since I can't really change the parts of the laptop I'm using; and, I'm short on finances to get myself a new laptop.

TIA!

[reycantong]

Regarding USB Soundcards, you can try these:

Line 6 (Yupangco, Yamaha or Prefect Pitch)
http://www.line6.com/products/computerbased/?foo=bar?utm_source=Index&utm_medium=DropDown&utm_campaign=Recording

M-Audio (JB Music)
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=USBinterfaces

Tascam, Lexicon (Audiophile)
http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--TASCAM--USB_Audio_Interfaces

These are available locally here in the Philippines.

However, if you wanna buy online, there are tons of choices:
http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces

[reycantong]

Regarding the mic, you can try these:

Shure (Audiophile)
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_sm_overview_content

But in my opinion, a single SM58 can get the job done from vocals to instruments if you're in a budget.

[curlicue]

olrayt! lots of thanks; that was exactly the tip I needed definitely on a budget so I'll take a look at the SM-58

[LouieAzcona]

consider mo din yung guitar & mic cables mo sir... minsan, a cheap mic can result to something spectacular... basta malinis ung chain.  goodluck

[curlicue]

Hmmm.

Yung guitar ko naman is a trusty Squier Strat. Hardly the best guitar out there, but it's a decent instrument.

And the cables I'm using are Fender California Cables, relatively new - and I believe these are of good quality.

[LouieAzcona]

Hmmm.

Yung guitar ko naman is a trusty Squier Strat. Hardly the best guitar out there, but it's a decent instrument.

And the cables I'm using are Fender California Cables, relatively new - and I believe these are of good quality.

eh ininggit mo lang ako eh. hahaha. kasi ako, mumurahin lang kaya ko, basta malinis ang tunog, pwede na sakin. gusto ko din sana ng branded na cables pero lagi ako naoshort. carry on with the thread kung ganon. haha.

[bloodshedd]

Maybe you should check out the M-Audio Fast Track  or  Fast Track Pro...
             You dont even have to actually buy a mic... Just load up any guitar amp/stomp box simulation programs and you would be running already...

[curlicue]

eh ininggit mo lang ako eh. hahaha. kasi ako, mumurahin lang kaya ko, basta malinis ang tunog, pwede na sakin. gusto ko din sana ng branded na cables pero lagi ako naoshort. carry on with the thread kung ganon. haha.

haha hindi naman sa ganun. recommendation din kasi nung friend kong gitarista na mag-invest din daw ako sa magandang cables. also, i used to buy the cheap generic cables before and I'd frequently have problems with them. so far naman my cables now haven't disappointed.

Maybe you should check out the M-Audio Fast Track  or  Fast Track Pro...
             You dont even have to actually buy a mic... Just load up any guitar amp/stomp box simulation programs and you would be running already...

thanks for the tip. i'll read up on them guitar amp/stomp box simulation programs

[fraudulentzodiac]

don't want to start my own thread so might as well ask here.

I want to record electric guitar and bass at home and I want a mic'd amp set-up. Can you guys tell me what's the difference between condenser mics?
And also the difference if I use a condenser mic (I'm inkling toward the Samson C03 or Audio Technica AT2020) and a dynamic instrument mic (say a Shure SM57)? What do you guys recommend?
I'll be using a Fender Dual Showman Reverb Tube Amp for guitars and an Orange amp for bass.
Thanks. 

BTW, I use an Edirol UA-4FX USB audio/MIDI interface. I believe it was the last unit at Yupangco Main, it was a bit too pricey but it's well worth it. Masaya yung onboard effects and tube mic pre-amp sim.