recommend a good mic for live music

[Alan Tran]

i have a gl2 and ill be using a beachtek dxa-4p...
can anyone recommend a good mic for live music recording?
thats not all ill be doing but thats when audio will count the most

thanks!

[Jay Massengill]

Will it be predominantly indoor or outdoor live music? Will you be camera-mounting the mic or will it be on a mic stand? What's your budget?

[Alan Tran]

indoors, i think ill mount it on the camera (good mount ideas?)
since im a one man show
budget..500ish

[Jay Massengill]

You can go a couple of different ways with this.
You can stick with your DXA-4 only and use a battery-powered mic or a dynamic mic.
Or you can get either an auxiliary phantom power supply or a BeachTek DXA-6 with phantom built-in and then you can use any mic you want.
You also need to decide if you want to attempt to record in stereo. The least expensive good stereo mic with balanced output is the AT825 at about $350. However, it has a very wide stereo pattern that can become muddy when used indoors with loud music sources.
In mono battery-powered mics that would work for camera mounting, the ATM-31a, the K6/ME64, the SM94 and the NT-3 would all work. (Although the NT-3 would be a little large and heavy for mounting on a GL-2, which is a shame because it's a great mic that doesnt cost much).
If you're recording really loud indoor music, you may want to stick with a dynamic mic like an AKG D880 or Shure Beta57a.
If you do go with phantom power, the AT3031 is really good for the money. There are really too many mics in this category to list.
There are shoe-mount shock-mounts available for cameras. Generally they run about $30 to $75 for the moderate to good quality ones. More expensive for the really advanced ones.
You can also rig up your own dual mount if you want to record stereo with a pair of regular mics. This way you can set the width of your stereo pickup to suit the situation and you have a backup mic for other uses.

[Alan Tran]

dx-a4= mic with built in battery
dx-a6=powers teh mic itself

is that right?
what about the me66? ive heard a lot of good things about that mic

[Alan Tran]

and what are the advantages/disadvantages
phantom/battery p owered

[Matt Stahley]

If you are planning on moving around or even panning the cam on a tripod i would mount the mic on a mic stand.If its a stereo mic like the AT825/822 which i own and have made several great live music recordings with to MD from ear bleeding metal to cool out jazz its best to have the mic on a stand in the back of room with it pointed to the middle of the stage as best as possible. basically with any mic when you change its position it will alter how it picks up the sound etc.

[Jay Massengill]

You are essentially correct about the BeachTek models, although you don't have to be limited to exactly how you summed it up.
In other words, you have more flexibility than that depending on which exact mics you're using, but that's basically the way it works.
The K6/ME66 is a very good mic for picking up dialog and for use on-camera in moderate loudness environments, especially outside. Indoors and in loud to very loud situations it's definitely not what i'd try to use.
The ME66 is a very hot mic and often requires an attenuator when used with many mic inputs. Fortunately your BeachTek would serve that purpose. However, in reverberent indoor situations, the ME66 (like most short shotguns) has too much off-axis coloration and a hypercardioid or cardioid mic usually does much better.
In addition, in really loud situations the ME66 itself can start to overload and there's nothing you can do about this but use a mic with a higher maximum sound pressure level or a less concentrated pickup pattern.
This leads to your final question. Almost all mics that can be battery or phantom powered have better performance when phantom powered. Under normal circumstances you wouldnt be able to tell the difference. In loud situations, the max SPL and dynamic range of these mics is always several db better with phantom power.
If you have phantom power available, then you can run any mic you want. This opens up alot more models with comparable or better performance at equal or lower prices. You may spend more on a better BeachTek or a separate phantom supply, but then save some on the mics you choose.
It's also important not to dismiss dynamic mics for loud indoor situations too. You can get very good performance from medium cost models and you dont have to worry about any kind of powering.

[Alan Tran]

thanks for your responses
i guess what im looking for is an all purpose mic that excels in live music but i can still use it for normal use

know what i mean