Condensers... good or bad?

[driftwood]

I'm thinking about getting a condenser and a mic.. I have a relatively high voice and it mixes very well with my guitar (tis very low) is it beneficial? what kind of accesories?.. So if you have any experience.... drop me a line

God bless

[LWatford]

Condenser Mics are generaly best for recording. They are a little tempermental for live use as they are pretty easy to damage.

I have had good experiances with the Rode NT-1 and Audio Technica AT-4033 mics. They are very good mics for the price. The Rode is a fairly bright sounding mic, and the AT is bright, but not as bright as the Rode.

If your budget allows, I would get two small-diaphragm condensers (Shure Sm-81, AT-3033, etc) for the guitar, and a nice large-diaphragm condenser (AT-4033, Rode NT-1, AKG C-3000, etc) for your vocals.

If you can only afford one mic, get a nice large-diaphragm condenser. It can be used for pretty much anything.

[Fuzz]

what IS a condenser??? I've heard and seen them, but I don't have a clue as to what they are! -Adam

[LWatford]

Most dynamic mics, (Shure SM-57/58 and the like) operate on "basicly" the same priciple as a speaker, with cone, voice coil, etc. They use a series of "resonant chambers" to alter the frequency response of th mic.

A Condenser mic uses a charged capacitor behind the mics diaphragm that develops a different charge depending on how far the diaphragm moves. This signal is then amplified before leaving the mic. These mics need to be powered either from phantom power or their own power supply.

For a better explination of the different types of mics, do some internet searching.

Lee