That One Mic

What’s the best mic for a singer/songwriter? 31 manufacturers weigh in!

Whether one plays acoustic or electric guitar, piano or keyboards, software and loops or ukulele or djembe, one thing every singer/songwriter needs is a great microphone. Better yet, they need the right microphone for their specific task. There are the beginners who want to do demos at home. Some create songs to put up on YouTube or SoundCloud. Others are professional singer/songwriters who’ve chosen this as a career (God help them) and are tired of trekking to a pro studio just to get their ideas down in a form they can successfully shop around.

With all of the above in mind, we decided to go straight to the folks who design, build, and sell these tools of the trade. We asked them one question:

“What single microphone in your line would you recommend for use by recording songwriters?”

The list includes mics from the entry level to the high end and everything in between. There are large-diaphragm models, handheld models, and USB models; some are fresh off the design table and others are time-tested classics.

Some makers opted to offer a second mic choice; unfortunately, limited space required us to pick only one. We’ve also elected not to include special-effect mics or mic modeling software platforms this time around. Without further ado, let’s see what the makers recommend!