Reddit reviews AKG Perception P120 Professional Studio Microphone, Sliver

I'm going to be a little bit different from these other comments. I think there are some pros and cons to this bundle. I clicked on your thread out of curiosity but ended up realizing this was the bundle me and my friend bought during college when we first started rapping. While this bundle is a good starter kit, we had a lot of issues with monitoring. Monitoring is the ability to hear yourself while recording. Its not super necessary but I prefer to hear myself within the headphones while I am recording. There is something called latency, which is the time you speak to the time you hear yourself in the headphones. With this bundle sometimes we couldn't monitor ourselves at all, and other times we could but the latency was so large that it sounded like we were rapping over our own echoes.

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I would recommend purchasing audio technica M50 as headphones. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVLUR86?aaxitk=cVQsljyy61ps.jPMCOqbVQ&pd_rd_i=B00HVLUR86&pf_rd_p=44fc3e0f-4b9e-4ed8-b33b-363a7257163d&hsa_cr_id=9643844680501&sb-ci-n=asinImage&sb-ci-v=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F81Hajq6vPiL.jpg&sb-ci-a=B00HVLUR86

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AKG perception microphone. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00160PRBU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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and this behringer audio interface. https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-Audio-Interface-1-Channel-UM2/dp/B00EK1OTZC/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=audio+interface&qid=1571236325&refinements=p_72%3A1248939011&rnid=1248937011&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-5

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It comes out to the same price kind of. I have the M-audio M - track audio interface. I dont think they make it anymore but I really like it so if you find it on ebay or something it might be worth it.

If you are looking at a DAW to start recording. I suggest reaper. Its literally free and insanely robust software considering its free. Theres a 60 day limit on the software but you can really use the software past that date. I used it for like 1000 days before i ended up paying like the 60 bucks for it.

High end costs a lot of money, more than $200, but $200 is still going to get you plenty.

On ear headphones sit on your ear, over ear ones rest around your ear on your head.

You could just buy a mic then you would be set, or pick up some HiFi headphones too. Its up to you and how much would want to spend.

Closed backed headphones have the outside made of a solid material to block the noise going in and out. Open backed headphones just have some kind of mesh to let the sound in and out, this gives a performance benefit but means anyone nearby will be able to hear the music.

For some ideas for headphones, HD598, A500x, M50x, SHP9500. As for the mic, the modmic is a popular choice.

What kind of sound do you want?

If you like your Bose headphones then you could get a good mic, possibly like this one or this one.

Problem Solved Add it to your wishlist, you never know! Oh this too

I've got two Shure SM57s that I use with my drums, one on the snare, and the other between my two rack toms. I've also used it on my girlfriend's violin (though it's just an entry level $250 Stentor), and even my 22" kick drum before I got a proper low-frequency drum microphone, and it did the job. It's called the "Legendary Instrument Microphone" for a reason. :)

For $100 apiece, it's the industry standard, as well as the studio/live workhorse its reputation has made it to be. It's a dynamic microphone suited to almost all uses, and I'm incredibly happy with the two I have.

However! It depends on what you wish to use it for. Live? Studio/Home ? I see you said you want it for studio recording. If you're recording a solo instrument (i.e. just the violin) you ideally want two microphones to get a good sense of the room you're in, unless you legitimately just want the "sound" and no ambience (which tends to sound dead). While the SM57 WILL work (and it does have the capability to match both high and low frequencies on most instruments), you'd want to lean towards Ribbon or Condenser microphones. Unfortunately, they're generally more expensive, and quite fragile too compared to dynamic microphones.

You said your budget is $100 - $200. Do you already have a preamp/audio interface to feed this into? Do you have a DAW (software?) to record into? I'll assume you do, so I'll suggest only microphones in the $100 - $200 range.

If you take a look here, you can find plenty of $100-$200 Ribbon microphones. My preference is the ART M-Five, as it's only $150 and has a nicely coloured sound. (Or spend a little bit more and grab a Cascade Fat Head though I have no personal experience with it.)

If you're looking into large diaphragm condensers and want a stereo solution, I'd recommend the AKG Perception 120. I've used one to record my drums back before I got my Rode NT-5 Pair (used, $200) as well as to help a friend record guitar, and it's fine. You can pick up two of the P120 (they're only $79 on Amazon, see link above) and record in stereo (using Mid-Side, ORTF, or similar recording techniques), or just grab one Ribbon or Condenser (higher end) and record one track. Upto you.

Keep in mind, cables, stands and sometimes shockmounts (for larger microphones, if not included) also all add up to the cost. Cheap stands can go from $30-40, a good (short) audio cable runs $15-20, so it can easily add up. If you need help rounding down the options further, feel free to ask me questions right here, and if you don't already have an audio interface, I'll be happy to assist you with that as well! I just assume you already have one, so I gave you suggestions to put your entire budget towards the microphone itself.

You'd probably be looking for some kind of condenser mic then, which can be expensive. However, AKG makes an excellent cardoid polar pattern condenser called the Perception 120. You can find it online for around $100. I recommend using Sweetwater.com for their exceptional customer service, but I found this one at Amazon for around $80. http://www.amazon.com/AKG-PERCEPTION-Professional-Studio-Microphone/dp/B00160PRBU

Hope that helps!