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My condenser is dieing, constantly cutting ot an has ruined some opportunities for me to record some really good stuff. (It's really disapointing when you record what you feel is a good song, only to play it back and your mic died 1/3 of the way in....)

So what would you recommend as an affordable mic fro general purpose recording? No USB mics, please.

Does it have to be a condenser? What types of usage are looking to get out of one?

We (our band) just purchased 2 Heil PR30's to use as drum overheads, I was weary at first at how they would do because they are dynamics but holy shit do these things sound amazing! They have the sensitivity of condensers without the need for phantom power and way higher SPL handling capabilities. We've used them on everything from drums to bass to guitar to viola / violin and female vocals and they sound great on all of them. Definitely an amazing all purpose mic that won't break the banka nd is built rugged as hell.

Hmm I do actually like what I am seeing on those.

I have a couple other dynamics, so I was wanting a larger diaphragm mic for some warmer sounds. Mainly for my acoustic/electric as well as vocals.

Psyre wrote:Hmm I do actually like what I am seeing on those.

I have a couple other dynamics, so I was wanting a larger diaphragm mic for some warmer sounds. Mainly for my acoustic/electric as well as vocals.

They are def backing up the hype IMO.

The PR30 is like a large diaphragm SM57, it sounds good on anything but with a warmer and fatter tone to it. I also love the high end, its really smooth and present but not brittle at all. I haven't tried it on acoustic but for electric and vocals it does sound amazing.

Heil mics are excellent.

I have two PR-40s, and have used them almost weekly for the last five years. Built like tanks, sound great, and made in the USA. I can't recommend them highly enough. They particularly excel at spoken word, which is mainly how I use them. They have unseated the venerable EV RE-20 in many broadcast studios.

These mics are ridiculously durable. As an example, when they were recording canon fire for Clint Eastwood's "Flags of our Fathers," they used PR-40s. They literally taped them to canons, and fired them. Talk about high SPL handling!

When I was looking to buy mine, I had a few questions. I went back and forth through email with Bob Heil himself. He recommended a place to purchase them that had lower prices than just about everyone else. Here is the site he recommended: http://www.randl.com It looks like they currently have the PR-30 for $229.95, and the PR-40 for $269.95.

Mike

mxl4000 is really good, and $199. blue spark is also in that price range. i use one of those... really straight up and natural sounding, where as the 4000 is a bit warmer.