Budget studio gear?

[jeeves.207]

I just recently picked up a Mackie Onyx-Blackjack Audio Interface. So far, pretty impressed. Very user friendly, and the plug-and-play was super helpful!
Now I'm on to what I need to best utilize this soundcard. I'm a studio musician, mainly, so I need a decent microphone to record vocals, as well as hand drums, claps, and any other sound to create samples with. I don't have an extremely tight budget, but I can't go drop a grand on a mic right now. So here's what I need from you...

What microphone(s) do you have, and what do you primarily use it/them for? Also, the cost, and why you chose it over the competitor.

And for those using instruments, is there any other hardware you use before running into your soundcard? I know the Blackjack has some tit pre-amps, but do you run it through your amp, then the soundcard, or just DI the instrument?

[m.o]

Ask these guys:
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/

[Moody]

The Rode NT1 has always been a favorite of mine for recording just about anything, vocals to entire jam sessions and the Shure SM57 is extremely versatile as well. These are pretty well known as not to pricey work horses in the recording industry (if that means anything.) Grab a good mic for kicks and you can get great recordings of drums as well. Getting a DI recording in combination to micing the cabinet/instrument usually gives the best material to work with in a mix down. Which mic you choose would depend on what type of noise you are recording. You might use a couple if you have the choice. Lets presume you were recording a dirty sounding electric guitar... I would DI (if possible), shove the SM57 sideways into the speaker and off set from center the NT1 in the room. Anyways... it is all about experimenting.