Audio-Technica AT 2010

good choice overall

well youknow, this mic is nice. the price aint the lowest but its sill low budget and some easy investment of money. first of all it needs phantom power. I wanted to know if thats true cauz I always had dynamic mics in the past and the phantom power in fact is necessary.. research done.

one thing that makes the at 2010 a good choice for the price is its frequency response. nice detail same as present highs. mids can be boosted without clipping too fast (if I need some more mids). if I boost my dynamic mic seriously I get a peak over.

for me it was a bit confusing first to buy a mic without switch, my dynamic one has a switch like most dynamic mics have, but I guess its cauz dynamic mics are meant for vocals and therefore a switch makes some sense in live scenarios.

Great all-rounder for project studio

Many books and online guides on budget/project studios tell you to get two microphones: one decent all-purpose condenser, and one decent all-purpose dynamic.

The AT 2010 is a more than decent all-purpose condenser mic -- quite a good one, actually, for a very convenient price. I've used it to record live vocals, flute, and acoustic guitars, and the response and sensitivity was amazing for the price. Sure, it's no AKG 414, but for a tenth of that microphone's price, you get a lot more than a tenth of the 414's quality. For a singer/songwriter home studio, I'd recommend to get either a couple of these, or one plus a Shure SM-58, and you'd be set for recording very hi quality demos.