Sm57 all the way for me. $150 condenser mic I got at Guitar Center was terrible.
As a back in the day old time recording engineer, I had access to Neumanns and AKG mics worth thousands of dollars. But 60% of the time, a sure 57 ended up sounding better.
Hi, sorry for hijacking. I'm a bedroom producer noob and I'm currently using an NT1-A for vocal stuff although I've recently been working with a female vocalist who's got a very strong (and pretty bright-sounding) voice. Would you recommend giving the Sm57 a go for this sort of thing?
Absolutely. Condenser mics often don't work well with the kind of voice you're describing. They end up sounding shrill and a bit clippy even if they don't officially hit the clip level.
Mics like the 57, or the old re20 that you used to see in studios have a warmer, analog sound that's more forgiving and softens the harshness that you can hear in condenser mics.
As a back in the day old time recording engineer, I had access to Neumanns and AKG mics worth thousands of dollars. But 60% of the time, a sure 57 ended up sounding better.