[freepats] What mic to use for recording?

[Roberto]

That's an interesting topic. You may get better answers on the Linux
Audio User (LAU) mailing list, there are many experienced people there:

 http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-user

My experience is limited, I use AKG studio mics conected to a Phonic
compact mixer and M-Audio Delta sound card. Sometimes a good dynamic
microphone may be better, depending on the instrument (SHURE makes very
good dynamic mics). My dynamic mics are all cheap so I have to use the
AKG for everything.

The acoustic properties of the room are also very important and can
modify the sound of the instrument to a great extent (I've learned it
the hard way).

Since my setup is very difficult to move, I recently got a Zoom portable
recorder. Those recorders usually produce much better results than
laptop + cheap external mics, they are easier to move and way less
expensive than studio condenser mics. I think it's the best option for
anyone that don't want to spend a lot of money on studio mics.

If you have to use cheap mics, don't worry too much, we are doing this
for fun and it does not have to be always perfect. It is usually useful
to record a few seconds of pure silence before starting to record all
samples, with the mic in exactly the same position. The silence will
contain pure noise background from the room and recording equipment that
can be later analized and digitally substracted from the samples. If the
mic has a narrow frequency response, that's a different issue more
difficult (or impossible) to repair but depending on the instrument it
may be not very noticeable.