Good microphone for minidisc player?

emmiemac

Hi there,

Was just wondering if anyone could recommend a good microphone for my sony minidisc player, my husband wants to use it to record his (bag)pipe band playing in their practice hall. Looking to spend about £20 or less.

Thanks very much

Lakeuk

You may struggle to get a decent mic for under £20

One thing I do recommend is that you place the mic a least 2 foot from the minidisc recorder, mines so sensitive that it it's pick up the motor noise from the recorder

mymatebob

You get a fair old dynamic range with bagpipes as well so not too close to them or you are likely to overload the input.
Something like this is within your budget
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=37392&doy=25m2

IamGeoff

If you search on Fleabay you will find things like this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sony-ECM-DS70P-Electret-Stereo-Microphone-Boxed-UK_W0QQitemZ130200705080QQihZ003QQcategoryZ8258QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
We have somthing similar to record the wierd and wonderful things our 3 year old comes out with.

Lakeuk

IamGeoff wrote: »

If you search on Fleabay you will find things like this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sony-ECM-DS70P-Electret-Stereo-Microphone-Boxed-UK_W0QQitemZ130200705080QQihZ003QQcategoryZ8258QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
We have somthing similar to record the wierd and wonderful things our 3 year old comes out with.

I got one of the those of the fbay but for the price I recone it's a fake, although it sounds good to me on the one I've got

fwor

IamGeoff wrote: »

If you search on Fleabay you will find things like this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sony-ECM-DS70P-Electret-Stereo-Microphone-Boxed-UK_W0QQitemZ130200705080QQihZ003QQcategoryZ8258QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Looks like a good idea, particularly as they supply an extension lead to get away from sounds of the MD recorder.

But one thing you have to be so careful about with eBay these days: there are so many badly-made (mainly Chinese) fakes of "brand name" products, and they are very difficult to spot in the listings.

Fran

mymatebob wrote: »

You get a fair old dynamic range with bagpipes as well so not too close to them or you are likely to overload the input.
Something like this is within your budget
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=37392&doy=25m2

Is that the best one for recording a pipe band? It says it's uni-directional.

fwor

Fran wrote: »

Is that the best one for recording a pipe band? It says it's uni-directional.

I think the real issue here is the £20 budget. It's hard to find ~any~ good mono mike at that price, so if that's all you can afford, probably the best bet is to use it at a distance and see how it works out?

If the results aren't good, the OP will know to go up-market without losing much in the process...

Lakeuk

fwor wrote: »

But one thing you have to be so careful about with eBay these days: there are so many badly-made (mainly Chinese) fakes of "brand name" products, and they are very difficult to spot in the listings.

You can guarentee it'll be a fake for that price

mymatebob

Fran wrote: »

Is that the best one for recording a pipe band? It says it's uni-directional.

Is a microphone that will record a pipe band, but it is not the best as it is less than 20 quid.

Ideally you would be looking at a number of mics through a mixer into your mini disc player but that kinda bumps up the costs.

One of the most important things to consider is the acoustic of the hall, or venue.

The sound will bounce all over the place in an environment with hard surfaces and you will find it hard to get a decent "clean" sound

Has no-one in the band got a mic that can be borrowed to try it out?

emmiemac

Thanks for all the advice, that's all great.

I don't think anyone at the pipe band is doing the same thing so I don't think we could borrow a microphone to try out unfortunately.

I'd be happy enough to spend more if there was a big difference in the quality of the sound, if anyone could recommend a specific one.

I think I was only wary of spending more because I was worried that they might stop selling blank minidiscs etc as I had thought minidisc players didn't really catch on. Maybe this isn't the case though