They are all good points. A couple of (low-end) tips, I think:

Want to make your own pop filter? (Pop filters are good, by the way. I just don't like to pay *anything* right now.) Pantyhose--the old "sheer" stuff--stretched over a rounded-out coathanger. (Sure, it looks hokey. You've seen pictures of my studio. The only thing that doesn't look hokey is the vase of plastic flowers I added for "class.")

Mikes sometimes have little quirks that can be advantageous. The little Nady "Starpower" I acquired several years ago (for *free*, of all things--I'd ordered a mike stand from Musicians' Friend and they threw in a mike for free) has a very short, very narrow "cone" within which it picks up sound, and I love it, especially for recording. Meant I could record somebody out on a street corner (and I did that once, with a harmonica player I know) and not pick up any traffic noise. Works great for performing, too; I tend to be motionless and deadpan when I'm singing, anyway, so I can be right on top of the mike and know I won't be moving away. When we do concerts, that's the mike I use for vocals--even though we've got lots fancier, name-brand ones to play with.

Polly, I like the candles idea. If you come visit, I'll do that.

joe

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