mic you'll come across:

 

1) Condenser

 

Condenser mics are perfect for recording instruments like pianos and acoustic guitars, as well as most vocals. One of the reasons for this is that they can accurately capture the higher frequencies that these sources produce - the top-end 'air' that gets talked about so often.

 

These mics come in two different forms: Large-diaphragm and Small-diaphragm, each one better suited to certain recording scenarios. Small-diaphragm models are a bit more specialist, so for a general 'all-round' condenser it's best to shoot for a large-diaphragm model.

 

You've also probably heard of something called 'phantom power'. It's a great phrase for something that's actually pretty mundane - condenser mics need a power source of +48V to work, and most audio interfaces and mixing desks these days will provide this signal.

 

2) Dynamic

 

Dynamic mics are the tougher big brothers to condensers, and are better suited to recording louder sounds with larger sound pressure levels, like guitar amps, drums, and rock-style vocals (the type with lots of shouting).

 

But due to the way they're built, dynamics can introduce more noise into a recording (they have a higher noise-floor). They also fail to catch the top-end detail that condensers are so good at recording.

 

You're probably wondering by now which microphones you should get, so you can start recording and working on your productions. Put simply, I always recommend starting off with one condenser and one dynamic. These two are my favourites:

 

Audio-Technical AT2020
Shure SM58

There are, of course, alternatives out there that may better suit your current situation. Here are a few that you could consider instead of the above:

 

Condenser:

Behringer C-1U
Behringer C-3

Dynamic:

Shure SM57
Sennheiser e815S