dsayers Posted December 22, 2014 Posted December 22, 2014 I was wondering if anybody had suggestions on a good microphone. I was thinking I would want a standalone mic, but I'm open to hearing arguments for headsets instead. I'm not one for getting overly excited or randomly screaming, but a mic that doesn't distort even under those circumstances would be a must. Also, ambient noise cancelation would be useful since I do have roommates and I'm set up near the laundry room. 1 1
PatrickC Posted December 22, 2014 Posted December 22, 2014 I'm no expert in this matter, but for the Philosophy Film Club I went for a Blue Snowball microphone. It's the cheapest high quality mic on the market. It has three settings to allow for a circle of people talking in a room. Another setting which cuts out all background noise. The third setting kind of works as an in-between setting. Probably for when the mic is set on a table next to you, but not against your mouth. It recommends a pop guard (not included) for singing. Which I guess comes close to your requirement regarding random screaming. You can use a thin towel wrapped tightly with your hand around the neck of the mic, as a free alternative. But you need to be conscious that the towel isn't rubbing against the mic, as this will cause distracting noises. It cost £60 my end, but I imagine it's no more than $60 or so your end. They do have more expensive alternatives such as The Yeti. But from the reviews I've listened too, including recordings, the Snowball compared surprisingly well against the Yeti. That said the Snowball seems to work better for multi directional use. Whereas the Yeti seems to work better at close quarters. As far as I know, the advantage of headsets is that because of their close proximity to your mouth to the mic, that this always improves the overall sound quality. I'm not sure they wouldn't distort if you screamed into them mind, unless it was some top quality (expensive) noise cancelling headset mic.
shirgall Posted December 22, 2014 Posted December 22, 2014 I was wondering if anybody had suggestions on a good microphone. I was thinking I would want a standalone mic, but I'm open to hearing arguments for headsets instead. I'm not one for getting overly excited or randomly screaming, but a mic that doesn't distort even under those circumstances would be a must. Also, ambient noise cancelation would be useful since I do have roommates and I'm set up near the laundry room. What's your price range? In general, you would be amazed what you can do just by improving the acoustics of your room. I've mentioned some things in another thread before, but it does sound like your noise issues with roommates and laundry should get as much attention as your microphone.
dsayers Posted December 22, 2014 Author Posted December 22, 2014 Not sure about price range. I've found some cardioid condenser USB mics, shock mount, pop filter, and scissor boom packages for less than $200 on Amazon. It's one of those things that I've wanted for various reasons over the years. So on the one hand, I'm not sure how much I'd use it once I had it (a lot at first, but would it last?) so I don't want to spend too much. On the other hand, I want it to be good quality so I'm not out having to re-buy it later on out of dissatisfaction/underperformance. From the quality standpoint, I don't think sub $200 is so bad. But I'm pretty new to the whole idea, so I don't know. I'd be using it for things like Skype, podcasting, streaming, voice overs etc. I don't think it would go to recording music/vocals.
PatrickC Posted December 22, 2014 Posted December 22, 2014 What's your price range? In general, you would be amazed what you can do just by improving the acoustics of your room. I've mentioned some things in another thread before, but it does sound like your noise issues with roommates and laundry should get as much attention as your microphone. Actually, this is so true.. I think I've managed on occasions to devalue any value I got from my microphone, by merely ignoring the environment I was recording in. All said, we live and learn of course.
HordOfTheFlies Posted December 22, 2014 Posted December 22, 2014 It might be a little more expensive in total than what you are looking for but I purchased an AKG Perception 220 with a Rode PSA1 swivel mount mic stand with a cheap pop filter. I've been extremely happy with this setup. I can't remember exactly how they describe it, but it is a directional mic which is supposed to cut down on ambient noise. I don't know what all options exist for you but you'll need a way to convert XLR (3-prong microphone) to something your PC can input. I already had a USB pre-amp I've been using for bass guitar so this wasn't an issue for me. For me this setup is absolutely worth it because I can't stand having cans over my ears and most smaller headsets I've used are just garbage. Whatever you find, good luck.
shirgall Posted December 23, 2014 Posted December 23, 2014 If you can catch the sale, then check out this: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Podcaster That's a screaming good deal on the microphone, but it's a quality mic from Røde. As HordOfTheFlies indicates, though, you'll want a quality microphone stand and perhaps a shock mount unless you have an incredibly stable setup. These days I'm using a headset mic, but I used the good stuff a million years ago when I worked in a recording studio.
dsayers Posted December 23, 2014 Author Posted December 23, 2014 Thanks for the input, guys. @PatrickC: I looked into that and it looked like it would be acceptable. However, the only shock mount that seems to be available for it costs three times what others do. Might steer clear of that for that reason alone. There is a local shop that has the Yeti though, so I'm going to give them a call and see what a total outfit would run. @HordoftheFlies: I too am not interested in having something covering my ears. I should've specified that I'm looking for USB. I know enough people that if I asked around, I could probably get a used setup to convert XLR for cheap, but I'd rather just cut out the middle man since so many are available in USB. I did see the name Rode. In fact, I seem to remember a couple vids of Stef's that had a shotgun-looking mic with that name on the foam. I could be mistaken. Their price tag doesn't scare me too much since it seems like with them, I'd most certainly get what I paid for. @shirgall: That's cool. I noticed it said it has an internal pop filter. Do you think that would be adequate? I was already of the mind to have one, but it seems as if the ones that are integrated into the shock mount are rather obtrusive. It would be really cool to have one that was internal.
shirgall Posted December 23, 2014 Posted December 23, 2014 @shirgall: That's cool. I noticed it said it has an internal pop filter. Do you think that would be adequate? I was already of the mind to have one, but it seems as if the ones that are integrated into the shock mount are rather obtrusive. It would be really cool to have one that was internal. You can actually make a pop filter with a pair of pantyhose and make a popsicle stick frame to stretch them over. Don't bother with one until it's clear you need one.
dsayers Posted December 24, 2014 Author Posted December 24, 2014 Stopped at a local music store. Their USB mic selection was limited. Got what I thought was going to be a nice "desktop" boom, but it's not quite long enough. Still mulling this over. I'm leaning heavily towards either the Samson C03U or the Rode Podcaster. The Audio Technica AT2020USB seems to be quite popular, but probably the lowest quality of the three. Anybody know if it's okay to use scissor booms sideways? Like mounting it to an upright instead of to a table top?
shirgall Posted December 26, 2014 Posted December 26, 2014 Adding for future reference: A good series here: https://www.youtube.com/user/OpenBookAudio/videos
dsayers Posted December 26, 2014 Author Posted December 26, 2014 Thanks for that. I'd cutting back on the cost of the mic itself. Looking at a Samson C01Ucw since it would be the quality level I need and not a lot of cost. Reason being that I going to spend a lot more on the mic arm than I originally anticipated and I'm also going to be going for a high quality webcam as well. These changes alone bumped my bottom line up about $150, so I'm going to trim almost that much out of the mic itself for now. Once I'm more experienced, I might step up to a Rode Podcaster for example. Haven't pulled the trigger yet. Also, I'm not entirely sure I will want the webcam portion of it. If I don't, I might step the mic back up.
Recommended Posts