Help with buying a good mic and audio interface

     So... up to now I have only used midi with sonar. I have only done stuff with EWQL and the like. But I have come to a point where I need to record audio for vocals, live keyboards, and maybe guitars. I have never bought a mic before and I have never bought an audio interface before.
      So I am wondering what a good direction in looking for mics is. Should I be looking into mics like the Shure 57 cardariod or more like the Shure KSM137? Keep in mind I need one mic which is versatile and one of the best. The mic will record vocals and instruments like guitar and piano. I'm thinking of sticking with Shure mics (mainly because I am not sure of any other brand or how good it is in the studio). Something under $200.
     For the audio interface I really am on a budget:something under $200. I am looking at the avid mobile pre or fast track series. Would these bee good for what I am thinking or should I also look somewhere else?
     Basically, just give me information or good products to check out. Help me filter through all the products out there to find something that would suite my purposes very well. Also, don't be hesitant to leave general information about mics and how I would filter through the different categories of Shure mics; whats the difference between PG, KSM, SM, and BETA?

Thank You in advance...

So do you think avid fast track would be acceptable in this case?
And what about the KSM 137? because that is the only studio recording mic in my budget other than the SM 57 or BETA 58A.

So, I pretty much understand now why the SM57 is not for recording. I see that what I need is a condesner mic, but I am still not sure why the SM57 or BETA 58 A are not for recording while a condenser mic with a large diagphram is. The mic packages you gave me look great I think going with something like that or a Studio Projects B1 mic or I am also wondering if an NT 1 A mic would be good for. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/rode-microphones-nt1-a-condenser-mic-bundle


Again thanks for your help Beagle

I thought of something else, why should I get a audio interface? I already have monitors running out of my own computer's soundcard. So why not just get a USB mic instead?

What audio interface would you recommend?
and what mics?

$200 ish... as long as it starts with a two  or one and does not go above 250

hm

that's hard, there's almost nothing in that range that i would call 'good'.

that said, doing a quick survey of what's available....

mics:
Rode NT1-A
Shure Beta 87A
sE Electronics sE2200a II C
Blue Microphones Yeti Pro (if you just have to have usb)
Studio Projects C1
Audio-Technica Artist Elite AE3000



interfaces:
i use a maudio audiophile 192 pci card, has excellent sounding convertors, midi, digital in/out and stereo analog in, and it only cost me $190, highly recommended for the pci 

most really decent cards start at about $500 tho....

you got usb and firewire interfaces, you've got to be careful with firewire because of the chipsets...

focusrite saffire 6
motu microbook
allen and heath zed 10
focusrite scarlett 8i6
roland quad capture



firewire:
presonus firestudio mobile
focusrite saffire pro 14

notice i already had roland quad capture.

a mic, is a mic.

sometimes, the right tool for the job doesn't fit description.

The Quad Capture is supposed to be quite nice but I don't think it's as good of a deal as the Fast Track or Scarletts. Oh and there is nothing wrong with using those "live" mics for recording but you won't get that nice, crisp, airy feeling type vocals you generally find on pro recordings. When doing screamer metal and stuff though I'd probably use a dynamic over a condenser. And again dynamic mics are good for recording amps and stuff. Drums too.

Have you heard anything about Komplete Audio 6? or Audio Box?
What about RODE NT1A condenser mic?

@gat19g... Hello again. First I should mention I'm not exactly an expert on digital recording stuff. I have done quite a bit of live work and been around big studios in my life though as well as having many friends into pro engineering. I've also spent the last year researching like crazy on the internet to build my new set up (which is replacing an older system I did actually manage to record/produce a couple of decent albums on, nothing super special though). The point is I know quite a bit about certain mics and basic recording principles but I'm certainly nowhere near as knowledgeable as some of the other guys (and gals) here on the forum when it comes to interfaces and fancier recording mics. There are large gaps in my knowledge especially in regards to the "latest and greatest" gear. The recommendations I made above are things I've worked with or have researched to death so I can confidently say they are good recommendations. The following opinions are merely based on taking a quick look at both of those interfaces briefly last night online before I went to bed. My thoughts are merely semi-educated guesses. I just want to clarify that so you take these opinions for what they are (spotty) and not buy something that may not fit your needs or miss out on something that is actually quite good.

Komplete Audio 6: I had in fact seen those in my search for an interface. NI makes some great stuff and that does look to be a rather nice interface. I can't remember specifically why I scratched it off my list but I'm guessing it was the price for what you are getting with that unit. It does not have very many inputs and I don't think it is expandable (meaning you can't add an extra unit to it to achieve more inputs like many other devices). You may say to yourself that you don't need that many inputs but someday you may find yourself wanting to record a drumkit or a full band and it just does not allow for that (from what I can see). There also seem to be reports of the headphone output being very weak which is definitely not a good thing. Also as far as I can tell it can't handle anything more than 44.1 samplerate. That's not a HUGE deal as that is pro audio quality but personally I would want more options than that. There's also the fact that Native Instruments, although they make great stuff, aren't really well known for their i/o boxes. Their controllers and software are awesome but I think this might be them trying scoop up an extra little slice of the market (I may be mistaken on this though but I've rarely seen people raving about NI interfaces in all my travels). The problem I have with that is that when buying an i/o you REALLY want your mic pres to be top quality and I have a feeling these ones may not be as good as other brands who have been making preamps and interfaces for longer (like Focusrite, M-Audio, Echo, etc...). I also see a user review that talks about crackling when they hook up a second mic. That could just be a latency issue on that specific person's computer but... IDK doesn't sound like a good sign to me. That said it probably is quite a nice entry level box and the big ole knob on the top is useful but unless I actually had a chance to play with one I don't think I would purchase it. It seems to actually be more for DJs and live applications anyway.

Pre Sonus Audio Box: I really wouldn't go there. It just looks like a cheap, bottom of the barrel type of product and I think it would probably only lead to frustration. Now PreSonus do make some really nice stuff but I don't think this is one of those products. I also saw a complaint about it making line noise and that is DEFINITELY not something you want happening. Again though it could be that specific person's set up causing the problem so take that with a grain of salt. As with the Komplete it will also be very limiting as far as inputs if you ever wanted to do more than two tracks and it does not seem to be expandable. It can achieve a slightly higher samplerate at 48k but again that's not very high and you may want more options. I would definitely avoid this box. Maybe someone else here owns one and will prove me wrong but that's my gut reaction.

So yeah, there are my thoughts on those boxes. I could be way off base but without actually working with them I can only speculate on the specs, pics and reviews. Another thing that stands out to me is I just don't see a lot of people here or elsewhere talking about or using those interfaces. With all the scouring of the internet I've done on this type of thing I would have seen them come up more often if they were really that great.

As far as that mic goes I can't really comment because mics really are something I need to hear for myself to make an opinion. I would try to see if you can find a shop that carries most of the mics you are interested in and try them out side by side to see what you think. Sometimes you can even rent them to take home and play around with so you get an even better idea of what's up.

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck.

Well I bought the Scarlett 18i6 which is $300 and it has an optical connection that allows you to add an extra module (Octo Pre or something) for more inputs. After looking around a bit I'm not sure the 8i6 does this but I might be wrong. The Roland Quad Capture (and probably some of the other Roland stuff) is expandable as well but I think that might be out of your price range. Here is a little article in regards to the Fast Track Pro and potential expandability options http://www.homestudiocorn...spdif-and-adat-inputs/ It's not much but it's something and in fact I learned something new today about expanding things via SPIF because of this thread. The other thing to remember is if you have extra line ins and a mixer that will let you output one channel at a time (either with direct line outs or creating panable busses, sub mixes, whatever) you can use that to use up the extra inputs on your interface. That's how I used to do things with my old Layla 3G. However putting your signal through a mixer will usually color the sound a bit. Sometimes this is desirable... sometimes it is not. Also have you looked into monitors/headphones at all? Being able to get a nice flat reference sound is imperative to making things sound good on other systems. Cheers.

Right on, man. The reason I asked was I just had an issue where I did not have a way to adjust my monitor levels with out using the DAW or interface mixer (one wrong mouse click and you're getting blasted by sound or destroying the monitors) or physically adjusting the level on the powered monitors. I used to use a mixer into my stereo (it's all I had at the time) so it wasn't a problem but now I'm just going straight in/out through the interface into the monitors. I kind of had a freak out because all of a sudden i needed something to control those levels and I can't afford it. SOOOOOooooo, when looking at an interface having a monitor level knob is great. The 18i6 has one which solved my problem without having to spend any extra. Bapu however recommended something called the NanoPatch + and it looks like it would do a great job as well but it's $60. Great deal considering the fancier devices tend to be over $200... but it's still an extra $60. As far as headphones you should snag some good ones. There is another thread on here about quality headphones for cheap. It seems the consensus is the Sennheiser HD-280s are great (they are around $100) and the Audio Technica AT ATH-m50s are the winners in the under $200 category. I picked up the Senn HD-280s and have been using them for a week or so now and I have to say they are pretty great. The thing about having good headphones is they let you REALLY dig into the mix and hear little buzzes, pops, frequencies, flaws, whatever that you might want to fix that may not be apparent in your monitors. It also really helps you focus on what you are doing. Both those models are "closed back" so they block out any room noise and are preferred for tracking with louder instruments like drums or cranked guitar amps. Anyway... I'm just rambling at you because I'm bored. Like I said other dudes around here know more than me so maybe some other guys will chime in and correct me. Cheers.

at this price point, you do not have much to gain by changing.