Selecting the best budget microphones can be tricky if you do not know what you are looking for. The old cliche quote comes to mind, "you get what you pay for." This is true for the most part, but there are some great budget microphones out there, most of which come from Shure Incorporated. For the beginners reading this article, I am going to make these microphone suggestions a little easier without using the technical jargon of pattern, type, and frequency range. These are important topics, and we do have articles about them if you would like to learn more about that. For this article, we just want to get you started recording on a budget using the best budget microphones available. Let's dive in and check out these microphones!
Best Budget Microphones For Recording A Band
Best Budget Microphones For Vocals
Shure BETA 57
An instrument mic, but is great for gravely or screaming vocals
Best Budget Microphones For Guitar
Shure BETA 57
Great starter mic on guitar cabs. After building mic collection, still can be used paired with other instrument mics.
Best Budget Method For Recording Bass Guitar
BSS AR-133 DI Box
Okay, so this isn't a mic, but just plug your bass guitar into this bad boy then to your interface, and you'll see why this is the best way.
Best Budget Microphones for Drum Kit
Shure BETA 57
Use these on your snare and toms and they will pick up the sound great
Shure BETA 52
Use this guy on your bass drum, and it will sound awesome
Now that we have a list of what the best budget microphones are, we need to figure out how many mics are needed for recording a band. Let's assume you have an audio interface that has at least 4 or 5 XLR inputs and you're ready to record separate tracks for the band, this is what you will need if using what I suggested:
- 3 or 4 Shure Beta 57's (Depending on if a drumset is a 4 piece or 5 piece)
- 1 Shure Beta 52
- 1 BSS DI Box
- Optional 1 Shure Beta 58 (Depending on the vocalist)
If you need any help picking out the microphones that are best for your set up, or are ready to progress to the next, feel free to contact us through our contact us page found here.
Check out our other recording articles below!
