Originally Posted by Blastingas10

Buying a mic is something I'm really afraid of. I don't wanna spend 50 dollars on a mic and have it sound as bad as the ipad mic. I guess that's why I should make sure and get it somewhere that had a good return policy.

I bought it from Amazon and to be honest, I should have sent it back (and they would have let me)...but I got distracted on something or other. This review, copied from Amazon, seems to pinpoint my issue:

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Pretty good starter mike, January 2, 2011
By
movingwordsandimages


This review is from: Shure PG58-XLR Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone with XLR-to-XLR Cable (Electronics)
I used this mike for a really long while, to practice vocals at home for a spoken word and music project I was doing for a couple years. It's a Shure so it's good! But when you upgrade eventually to, say, the legendary SM58 or any of the Beta models, you will notice a SIGNIFICANT boost in power... Consider these other options if you're looking to record or perform for a live audience. Still, the PG58 is definitely great as an intro mike. And probably the best for the price!

BTW, the reason I mentioned this in the first place was for the XLR issue, not this mic. If I had to do it over again, I think I would try the SM58 as the Archangel is suggesting.

Also, I'm still not 100% sure I'm getting the most out of this mic yet.

I'm really looking for something under 100 dollars, but I guess if you have two mics, one for 50 and one for 100, it'd be worth just another 50 dollars for something good.

Not sure, but isn't the SM58 primarily a vocal mic? I think the SM57 is more the one to have for mic'ing an acoustic guitar. Anyway, wherever you buy gear, check to see if the retailer has a 30-day no quibble return policy. Most of the majors do.

I use the SM57 as well to record guitar and drums. It's a good mic.
If you know anybody that works at your local Guitar Center, ask them to buy one for you.
They get a decent discount

I was going through the same deal when I got my iPad last year, wanted to plug in a mic as well. Sad to say not too many USB mics sound all that good for the sub $100 price range... I ended up demoing a Apogee MiC at a store near me and fell in love. Big solid sound and a really nicely built mic and you don't even need a Camera connection kit to use it! Which made me happy. It was $200 but I'd say it sounds better than a lot of the other choices. I've also heard good thing about the Blue Mics Spark Digital. Thats my two cents.

Camera connector kit + Griffin iMic + XLR to phono adapter will let you hook up any regular dynamic mic.

Originally Posted by ging

Not sure, but isn't the SM58 primarily a vocal mic? I think the SM57 is more the one to have for mic'ing an acoustic guitar. Anyway, wherever you buy gear, check to see if the retailer has a 30-day no quibble return policy. Most of the majors do.

Ging is spot-on. The SM57 is a great all-rounder mic and you can use it for vocals, too (Moby did his entire first album using only an SM57). But the SM58 is a famous, industry-standard vocal mic.

Not advertising for anybody, but Sweetwater reps would be able to answer your questions. They're really great.