We, like many started out with a crappy TalkShoe website account and a 5 dollar-dollar store headset.

When it came time to upgrade and get serious, we looked at countless mics both dynamic and condenser from countless companies.

It really came down to going to a gear store and trying them out. Everything from $50.00 Chinese crap to a $28,000.00 limited edition mic from some German company where you could only guess at how to pronounce the name.

Through most of it, our buyer noted that the specs generally averaged out to include a nice wide 30Hz-20kHz frequency response range and a 130dB maximum SPL Sensitivity. When he combined those factors with our needs in the studio He found that generally, the field was narrowed to a nice workable price range of between $80.00 and $1,000.00 each for anything we'd likely want or need.

Ultimately, we settled in with the MXL line of mics for quality, afford-ability, great sound and longevity in the workplace. Anything MXL within the range of $70.00 for a nice 990, up to the GENESIS II at $999.00 are workhorses that will last while taking a beating.

Now, our studio is exclusive to MXL thanks in part to a corporate deal with them, but we already had our studio choice with them long before that.

Also we've used and recommend often RODE, Audio-Technica, Heil and SHURE as top quality professional grade mics for the money.