What would your first few mics be if you could start over

[DRodriguez]

Used Heil PR30. The PR30's IMO absolutely destroy anything else in the price range. The low end is monstrous yet clear, the midrange is smooth and natural and the high end is sweet and "hyped" yet notwhere near overbearing, they sound great on everything from drums to guitars to vocals and beyond. They are the next step up SM57, them shits sound great on everything.

You know, its a decent mic, but I always go for the 57 over the PR-30. It always feels a little too dead for me vs the 57. I am a huge fan of the pr40 though and the pr20 is a pretty good dynamic vocal mic. If you're buying something in the price range of the pr30, it might be worth it to pay the extra $75 for the upgrade (budget allowing). My partner, on the other hand, is a more of a fan of the pr-30. I generally use it when the pr-40 isn't around or on horns. Thing works great on horns.

Any thoughts on getting a 57beta over the regular? The shop was trying to talk me into the upgrade.

We have 2 Beta 57's at the office, and a solid amount of regular 57s. I can't remember the last time I actually used the beta's. They work fine, but not particularly better than an sm57. They have a tighter pattern, so they should work better on thing like close miked drums, but they also get a little more rear noise. I personally like some bleed in my drums, especially when you have a good drummer. Overall, I don't think it is worth the upgrade.

[tuj]

sm57
e609 - I like this better on most guitars than the SM57.
some ribbon like fathead II.
tube large dia. to get some different sounds, doesn't have to be a neumann...

[PeteeBee]

So a little update. Went with a 57 and a behringer xm8500. I ran into a bit of a budget problem once I started adding on cables and mic stands. I was considering not getting mic stands, but I've been so annoyed propping up my iPhone on books trying to get a decent stand I just had to buy some. I figure the 57 is industry standard, tried and true, the behringer will get the job done live for the girl singer and let me learn about recording with multiple mics, although it is clearly less than ideal for this as a secondary room mic. Then when I come back for another mic or two I'll know more what I want hopefully. And, realistically, any money after what I spent needs to go towards PA speakers so we can do house shows. *sigh* so much to buy...

[Kacey Y]

Excluding actual professional full band tracking, if I was just doing what I do at home now for my own stuff:

Sennheiser MD421

Shure SM7B

maybe some reasonably nice FET 47 based LDC.

This pretty much IS what I use at home now. I could swap out to different stuff and I certainly do if I'm doing something more elaborate or actually recording a band. I use SM57's and I recommend them to friends who ask for good multi-purpose starter mics, but I find in actuality those mics are the ones I use most commonly for the broadest variety of purposes. I would use either one or both on guitar or bass, drums, vocals. If you were asking what are good starter mics that are budget conscious, I probably wouldn't make those particular suggestions, but I would say if you bought them early one you'd probably end up keeping them forever. They're both great workhorse mics that sound great on a lot of different sources.

[waltdogg]

Luckily I literally stumbled upon my first SM57. It was on the street rolling around when I stepped on it. Works perfectly. Bought a second SM57 followed by an MD 421-II and a Radial JDI. Other than those, I have a couple of MXL 990s to get me by for vocals, overheads, acoustic, etc. Really want to get a higher end pair of condensers than can do the same double work.

[BoatRich]

I would also build some contact mics and buy a telephone mic or two. You never know when you're gonna want to mic your bong or something

[legbear]

STAY AWAY from the Groove Tubes GT55 those mics are horrific.

[echoraven]

...http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/enCORE100i It's buy one, get one free, and I really like the idea of getting 3 mics

I was going to mention the Samson CS Series Capsule Select Microphone which I've heard recordings and it's a good sounding mic (with the instrument capsule), but that deal is pretty damn sweet.