beginning recording equipment

[notMe]

Hey all- I'm wanting to get into some recording stuff- does anyone have any recommendations for mics if I'm going to be doing some more acoustic stuff (so far a double bass, hand perc, cajon, hammered dulcimer, will expand more later). budget <$150 (hopefully) Thanks in advance!

Oh, and noob question alert- will I need to get a mixer or other stuff, or can I record directly into my computer with mixing software?

[Frederic Petitpas]

You need a cheap condenser mic. 45$ for this Behringer C-1 and you need an audio interface like this PreSonus AudioBox USB (150$) because it has everything you need, including midi ports and they give you a software (Studio One) in which you can do all the mixing. You probably can get these 2 items for under 200$ tax included.

[Ryan Jobson]

If you're into found sounds at all, I'd recommend the Tascam DR-05 or DR-07. I use it for everything from field recording to guitars to vocals, partly because I still don't own a really good mic

Great for getting SFX, fun for podcasts... i dunno, makes you think outside the box and be creative. Maybe this isn't what you're looking for but thought I'd post anyway

[notMe]

thanks for the advice! I have looked into more portable audio recorders, and they appeal in some ways, but if I'm primarily looking to record for some instrumental stuff, will the quality suffer at all in comparison to a normal condenser mic? Is the basic difference just portability?