inexpensive recording mics?

[cbope]

Maybe I am misunderstanding his question, but to me it seems he wants a room sound recorded which would require an omni directional mic or PZM mic. Condensors and dynamic mics are for close recording or individual instruments and he said he didn't want to do that. Am I missing something here?

If omni directional the best bang for your buck is a pair of Behringers 8000 measurement mics. Flat response and a pair gets you a decent stereo sound. Get a pair under $100, done.

Nope, you're not missing anything, that's exactly what I thought I said I was looking for. Maybe I wasn't clear enough...

Is the ECM8000 the one you are talking about? They are 59 € each, pretty cheap and well within my original budget.

[cbope]

What about the Behringer B-5? It's just a little more than the ECM8000 but seems like it might be more versatile for other applications since it can be omni or cardioid by changing the capsule.

[jackson1]

For what it's worth, you can make excellent rehearsal recordings with one or two condensor mics, preferably large diaphragm ones, preferably switched for omni.
The only problem is sound pressure; If you play loud as hell and in a small room, even a large diaphragm (membrane) condensor mic will not cope with the physical air pressure and the result is distortion, which can't be fixed by dialing on any knobs.

[jtr]

Go to the H-C recording forum they can probably help you. Also what kind of mic's are availible in Finland?

[Jackson-Charvel]

The sound levels of a live band would probably fry a ribbon mic.... Put a Ribbon mic up to a PA to see what I mean if you're curious.

[cbope]

Go to the H-C recording forum they can probably help you. Also what kind of mic's are availible in Finland?

Basically, almost anything is available, the main issue can be the price since this is a small country with only 5.2 million people (relatively small number of customers compared to USA for example). AKG, Shure, Sennheiser, etc. Most of these companies (except Shure) are European anyway. I order most of my music gear from Germany where prices are lower (much larger market than Finland). We're part of EU so there's no customs or duty, only VAT (similar to sales tax in USA). Unfortunately, Finland has one of the highest VAT rates at 22%.