Microphone Thread

>>58935299
Used an Electro-Voice RE20 earlier to do some recordings for a play.

Mic is sick as fuck for radio MCs, I love it

>>58935299

I have a Blue Yeti Pro that a friend bought me.

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Anyone have any suggestions for a mic that's suitable for making video tutorials for YT?

I've looked at a bunch of mics but it seems like you have to put them really close to your face which can be annoying since you can't see the screen in front of you.

Would a shotgun mic work better? I apologize for not knowing much about this topic...

The BM-800 is great assuming you have some phantom power DAC.

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Samson Go Mic + 10€ Chinaman mic stand and pop-filter
Upgrading to AT2030 soon.

I got the cheapest condenser mic I could find. It's behringer and was $20
Still sound better than the cock-stuffed mumbling everybody with a non-desk mic seems to love

>>58936012
USB? I was told that USB mics are garbage... true?

>>58936089
Compared to anything connected to an XLR, yes, absolutely. You have to crank up the gain and the voice quality plummets in most USB mics.

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>>58935299
Audio Technica AT2020 is your best bet.
>$100
>great sounding
>has USB option for plebs without a preamp/mixer

>>58935667
RE20 is a fantastic mic but it's pretty pricey for what it is. I use one every day for work.

>>58936115
Interesting.

Are condenser or dynamic mics better?

>>58935299

>Is this chink shit microphone any good?

With a few small mods it's okay for inputs which provide sufficient phantom power (12+ V) but it's very poor for a PC mic input. There was a DIY thread about it a while ago.

https://warosu.org/diy/thread/S1111390

>>58936089
There is nothing wrong with using digital USB to send audio data. If you have a good mic with a good power supply (if needed) and a good DAC built in, it really doesn't matter if the digital output ends in a USB port
That being said, there aren't USB mics with quality parts built in.
So yes 99% of USB mics are absolute garbage
But yeah, 5v of power and a shitty chink DAC crammed into a the mic (or even worse, into the cable itself) doesn't make a good setup. People seperate their setups into a good mic, good power, and a good DAC for good quality, most of them use USB as the final digital output too

>>58936203
Condenser mics imo, dynamic nice are much more durable and have less feedback issues but condenser have a much bigger frequency range and a more sensitive dynamic range
Basically condenser for the studio or if you only use headphones, dynamics for live voice or self-monitoring

>>58936203
I prefer condenser mics. Cleaner and more crisp sound. They pick up a lot of noise though (pretty much any noise in the room) so they're not good for live broadcasting.
Great for studio recording though.

>>58936207
Thank you!

I read a warning on some site that these cardoid condenser mics are sensitive and will pick up any noise around you and that unless you have foam on your walls (not sure what that shit's called but it reduces echoing), it will sound bad.

True?

The ones on my headphones, baka.

>>58936203
Dynamic mics are less finicky, but condenser mics are where it's at. Podcasts, voice acting, music, anything you want, it's all done on condenser mics. A combo of some cheap but good condenser mic (like the BM-800 in the OP, can be had for ~15 bucks on aliexpress) and a nice cheap audio interface that has phantom power (will set you back ~50$ at the least I'd say, I personally have a Scarlett 2i2 which is pricier but I needed it for music), along with some extending microphone arm or other comfortable way to hold the mic at the right angle, and you're set. The quality will be as pristine as the platform you're using it on allows.
Do note that a lot of DACs say that they have phantom power but actually provide half the actual amount for standard phantom power, which is 40v. You gotta be careful when you buy that stuff.

>>58936247
They are pretty sensitive
You can adjust that to be a non-problem with gain and EQ controls though. And even then you probably won't notice it in the first place unless your room is literally empty with hardwood floors
But if it's still a problem, a big pad or two of acoustic foam or bass traps on the wall may help
Honestly having laundry in the room accomplishes the same thing

>>58936266
It's 48 volts u scrub

>>58936247
No. My BM-800, phantom powered, will require you to scream to be properly audible in it if you're across the room. Anything that is not loud bangs and noises will be generally inaudible. If it's not phantom powered and you use the USB cable, you have to crank up the gain, and then it sounds like ass.

>>58936299
sorry it's been a while since i fiddled with all the technical stuff

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>>58936089
It's only 35€. For that, it sounds absolutely amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcoSeayWcNU
But yes, USB mics are the lowest tiers of mics and especially if you're using it to record singing, get a proper XLR mic (which is going to be 100€+).

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>>58936292
why would I put bass traps on my wall?

>>58936353
The video is something I recorded with the Samson Go Mic. It's really not bad for the price and it sounds a lot better than most headset microphones.

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>>58936364
Well you don't want bass on your wall do you

I use this one that you posted.

My audio issues are with my computer case, so if you find it's shitty and staticy with or without a power supply, try a usb audio jack on ports other than your motherboard stock ports.

Sounds great overall.

Are there any decent battery powered mics? I'd like a portable one I could use with as little hooked up to it as possible.

>>58935299
>>58936450
Didn't link.

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I usually find myself recording when I'm away from my computer. recording instruments and vocals. Most recently I got a Zoom h4n pro portable recorder and I must say its fantastic. extremely low noise, and I think the built in stereo mics sound incredible. The thing oddly enough doesn't fit on a mic stand without extra hardware but does accept a camera tripod screw mount.

I use a suction cup mount from a gopro kit to stick the mic on the under side of my grand piano lid while its raised all the way.

The thing has two extra xlr/trs inputs which record into a second stereo track. so 4 tracks total. really nice for a keyboard player like me

you're supposed to be able to plug it in via usb to a computer and use it as an audio interface, with built in stereo mics and two xlr inputs, but I haven't gotten that bit to work yet. my only mini usb cable is kind of wonky, might be the problem

>>58936450
I think you need phantom power for it to work well. Also, you can get a $2 USB soundcard to eliminate mobo issues.

>>58936636
I use a phantom power supply with it, of course. But the 5 volts you can get out of a usb card alone will be better than the <3 volts out of a mobo port. And I recommended a cheap usb sound card to deal with mobo issues.

Why you repeating after me, nigga?

>>58936626
>Zoom h4n pro
That shit's bees knees. I think it even has phantom power. Expensive?

>>58936656
Al USB ports run at 5v and have a very powerful amperage backing up those 5v.
If your USB isn't putting out 5v you either have a broken port or have a non-USB-compliant USB device

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>>58936115
>>58936012
anon if you could please answer a quick and simple question - I have been intending to buy the samson go mic after seeing many videos of its awesome performance for its price, but I want to know how it fits in a mic stand?

do you think it would fit in something like this? how does a mic of that shape fit in any sort of stand?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neewer-8-20cm-Black-Iron-Base-Desk-Mic-Stand-w-Microphone-Clip/381284318143?_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D41376%26meid%3D29c34e0746b244a19cd151006cb54e7d%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D131330010183

>>58936678
it does have phantom power.
like $200

it kind of chews through AA batteries but I use it a lot. 6-10 hours they say, it has a "stamina" mode for battery life. a 1gb card can record stereo with onboard mics for like an hour and a half, and boots WAY faster than with a 32gb card

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Could one of you experts tell me if this cheap mic would be good to mount it above my monitor so when I play games on Twitch, I don't have to speak into a headset and don't have to have a huge mic infront of my face?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stereo-Condenser-Shotgun-Supercardioid-Unidirectional-Video-Microphone-Mic-U1L2-/301979311947

It's $15. LOL

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>>58936714
It would be fine if it's placed under you and directed towards your mouth (the big part of the mic, not the thin top). I personally have one of these things which enables me better accuracy with my BM-800, but the BM-800 has a pretty small optimal direction to talk to so it's more needed.

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>>58936714
if it is the same as the mic in this pic I don't think it will fit on a mic stand

though that hole in the plastic clip part looks like its made for a camera tripod if you had like a nut or something to screw down on top of it.

>>58936777
That's a shotgun mic, he's supposed to point the tip towards his mouth

>>58936777
I bought two chink shit mic boom arms and they both broke. See that C clamp at the bottom? It's made from cheap pot metal. It will break after few weeks from just moving the arm around when you hold it by the mic.

Not sure what my advice would be but these arms are not worth the money. I now use a cheap stand since I don't wanna buy more of these boom scissor arms.
YMMV

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I'm using one of my older md421 at the computer lately
it's a good mic

>>58936876
Mine's still fine, I use it for about 3 months. Hopefully it won't break.

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>>58936714
I have the same mic arm as >>58936012 and >>58936777

You can unscrew the part at the end and screw on the Go Mic. It scratches it up a bit, but if you don't care then it's fine.

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I ordered one of these the other day (hasn't arrived yet) after a friend recommended it to me. Anyone have one? I'm gonna use it to record podcasts and my guitar tunes...

>>58936207
>>58935299

I have the Fifine version of this microphone, it has a custom XLR connector with a 3.5mm output and a USB for phantom usb

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>>58936777
>>58936824
>>58936958
thanks goys

i've been wanting a way to record myself

one on the right is slightly out of pic, but its a classical

guess i'll be buying the neewer scissor stand now

>>58937030
I have one. It has a weird bug where, at random, it would completely distort both my microphone and the audio, and I would have to disable and enable it in Windows settings to get it back to normal. It happens a lot less frequently when I keep the buffer size at 512, and I only go to 128 when I'm recording guitar stuff.
Other than this weird and intermittent bug, it's a great little device. I record my electric guitar on it, I record my acoustic guitar on it through a BM-800, and I use it to talk to people while playing vidya gaemz. Great quality.
Only other problem I can think of is the USB cable is really awfully short. A meter at most.

If you don't mind me doing a tiny bit of self promotion, here's the first proper thing I did with my electric guitar on this device. Nevermind the track itself - as you'll hear, audio quality it delivers is great.
https://soundcloud.com/alon-shechter/screams-in-the-dark-wip

>>58937159
Thanks anon! That's a great song.. I'm listneign to it now and like it a lot! What kind of a recording setup do you have? What mic?

>>58937193
Thanks! All previous tracks to the one I posted were done with the shit desktop microphone I had before btw, some of them are great tracks for me personally but the quality is garbage.

My recording setup is pretty basic. I have a BM-800 microphone that I got from Aliexpress for ~15 bucks, one of those mic arms like this >>58936777, and a 10 years old Epiphone Les Paul Studio hooked straight to the Scarlett. I record through Ableton. This track and the one after it (Whispers, they're actually meant to be listened Whispers first and Screams later) were all done with Ableton's stock effects, after that I got Guitar Rig 5 but since I can't be assed to learn how to use it properly, I sound like shit every time I use it and only use their garbage presets.

But yeah, very basic setup. Everything beyond just playing the guitar happens in Ableton.

>>58937275
For such a basic setup, the sound is absolutely amazing. It literally sounds like you have a $2k audio setup. I've heard comparisons of BM800 with a $2k mic and I can barely tell any difference.

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>>58937030

I had a 2i4 v1 and it was a pos, hope you at least bought v2

Current recording chain:
Heil PR40
Cloudlifter CL-Z (don't even really need the gain, but it useful for impedance matching)
Symetrix 628 channel strip
RME ADI-2 Pro

I'm pretty happy with my PR40, but I'd still like to try an SM7b and RE-27

>>58937482
What was wrong with the 2i4 v1?

Plugging for the Behringer B1. $100 and it's breddy gud.

>>58937536
I found the drivers to be terrible and almost never get updates for windows. Preamps were weak and noisy at high gain.

Had the same problems >>58937159

>>58937446
Yeah, I'm very happy with it quality-wise. I'm sure my recordings would sound better in Abbey Road handled by professional engineers on 5K microphones, but for a bedroom setup that didn't cost more than 250 bucks, it's really really nice.
I have the 2i2 v2 btw.

>>58935299
Normies will say at 2020. It depends on usage. At is a condenser mic. Will pick up everything. If no sound treatment in your room, Ur fucked. Also at 2035 + a focus rite 2i2 is much better audio quality if u go condenser. Dynamic I recommend shure sm57/58. Only picks up what's right in front of it. If ur srs about vocal work a good dynamic will work too (since condenser requires room treatment). Shure sm7b is great and used widely for vocals/radio (see Jre experience) and even micing an amp. Ye

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Neumann U87
nuff said.

>>58938124
>$3.5K for a mic
kek

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>>58938170
>not having 8
do you even studio

>>58938204
DAMN! You're a pro. I guess that makes it worth because a studio without U87 is not a studio. Nice collection!

What kind of work do you do these days? Recording voiceovers or music?

>>58938316
classical.
voiceover / adr places rarely need 16 drawers of microphones

>>58938376
Nice. When setting up an orchestra, does each musician get their own mic or is there some other way of capturing the performance?

>>58938397
you usually work with a (or a couple) main system that's balanced across the whole ensemble and spots for the sections and special instruments so you can rebalance where needed

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blue snowball ice

>>58938436
blue snowball is a meme
>that hat

>>58938609

no it's not. it's a genuinely great mic for the price. and it gets sub 4ms latency on the usb line. no drivers, plug and play, great quality, 45 dollars.

>>58938649
they still sound pretty bad.

>>58936203
Condenser mics generally produce better sound, but more susceptible to damage. Dynamics, if you find the right one, can be used to hammer nails.

>>58938851

they sound better than 200-300 dollar mics i've heard. a bit sharp, but anywhere that that matters you can just fix it. it's very clear and detailed. it's damned good mic. especially considering it's 45 dollars and outperforms significantly more expensive amateur grade mics.

>>58938436
>JD
>that fucking open computer
>Morakniv
>Beats
>MAGA
this is the most meme picture I've seen in a while

>>58939031

i made the desk, the monitor console, and the case myself.

>>58939094
I'm very impressed don't get me wrong, but lmao senpai you have a meme overload going one

my thinkpad's stereo microphone is better than anything i've bought online, for some reason
i've had bad luck till i discovered what a treat i had sitting in the corner the whole time

>>58939099

i know

:( / :3

>>58938436
what daw is that?

>>58939147

bitwig

>>58939112
>my thinkpad's stereo microphone is better than anything i've bought online
kek'd. you've been buying shit.

>>58935299
I use the mic it came with guitar hero 6 on xbox

It's surprisingly good

>>58935299

CAD U37

>>58938124
Jelly

I'm using a sennheiser mkh 416

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Using the blue memeball as of now since I got it for £20 on eBay. Cheap af and pretty good for basic chatting. I imagine it's terrible for professional recording and shit, but that's not what it's for.

>>58939632

if you know what you're doing you can definitely make some great recordings of voice and guitar with it.

>>58939467
Fuck I have this lying around and could probably use it as a mic for my desktop instead of having to use my phone for Skype/Discord

I have a Samson C01U and it honestly doesn't sound any better than any random mic. In fact, most microphones I've tried sound about the same. I can get it to sound decent if I do a bit editing and clip out the ambient buzz, but I can do that with any cheap shit mic. Not sure what the problem is.

>>58939774

there's just not that big of a difference between mics. there's a difference between the actual types of microphone - dynamic, condenser, ribbon, etc. but outside of really horrible mics and super-expensive mics, the run of the mill common mics sound roughly equivalent.

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If you have an acoustically shitty space (and most of us do), the Beta 87A is by far the best value under $500.

>>58939809
I see. There are people ITT talking about the Samson Go mic--would that be better than mine for any reason? It looks smaller so I imagine not, but it seems to sound better in the above youtube vid.

>>58939815
what is taped to those cables?

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>>58939849
Please tell me you aren't running your system without Brilliant Pebbles.

>>58939862
what is the black object on the top shelf?

>>58939844

i haven't used it so i couldn't tell you. if you're just using it to talk to people i'm sure it's sufficient. i use a blue snowball, and am extremely satisfied with how it handles vocals and guitar, it even makes decent piano demos. for sound reinforcement i've just used shure sm57's because they're like, the m16 of the mic world.

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>>58939872
My backup turntable.

>>58939906
model trains are getting quite esoteric

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>>58939031
How about this one

>>58939992
/comfy/

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>>58938436
hey man fuck you for driving up the price of replacement hd 414 pads via that dumb mod everyone does on their grados (and now i guess fucking beats too)

>>58940613

dude, i fall asleep to rain sounds every night, and my headphones just got destroyed. one pad is entirely loose so that i have to carry around the pad as well as the headphones, and place it between my ear and the speaker every time i put them on. i don't know what you're talking.

AKG c414xlii
Also have an EV re-20 and a few sm57s and sm58s

Can never have too many of those on deck

>>58938124
>not a Telefunken u47

Come on now

>>58935825
Get an audio interface and an audio technica 2020

>>58936321
I use a bm800. You need to use it with an interface that gives you enough phantom power. Or at least an adapter.

>>58936751
Shotgun mics are a bad idea if you only want to record your vice with it. They will pick up EVERYTHING.

>>58935825
Yes, regular large diaphragm microphones have to be about 15cm close to your face.
If you wanth to be further away from your mic, you need a shotgun mic. Good ones can sound very good too, but take a little more effort to do so compared to large diaphragm.
Why do you want to show your face for video tutorials?
I am making video tutorials for a living and never show my face.
Using the Rode NT-USB btw, its a very good mic

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I use a blue yeti with the blue shock mount and pop filter, on an rode psa1 boom arm. It's pretty comfy.

>>58938928
Now you're just meming. It sounds barely any better than the go mic, not even close to something like the at2035 (150$)

>>58941136

that's not what i say.

>>58941147
You said it sounded better than 200-300$ mics you tested. Either you tested 200x 1$ mic or you're full of shit.

>>58941197

no, my assessment is that the snowball sounds better than mics that cost 200-300. not all mics at that price range, mind you, but several.

you think that assessment is wrong.

we are at an impasse.

>>58941224
You might want to have your hearing checked then

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>>58936216
>>58936115
>>58936089
>USB mics are garbage... true?

The thing is that USB Mics are made for consumers, who have no studio gear at home.
So what you get is consumer quality most of the time.
A USB mic is technically more complex than an analog one (active electronics, DAC), so an equal quality one has to be more expensive than the equivalent analog one.
Ther are indeed good USB mics.
I am using the Rode NT-USB at work. It's almost 200$ but worth every cent.
If your USB mic has a volume control, its propably shit. (Volume control is pointless on digial output recording devices)

>>58941236

that's just another way of saying you disagree, which i already knew.

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>>58941268
>If your USB mic has a volume control, its propably shit. (Volume control is pointless on digial output recording devices)

>>58941288

he's not wrong.

>>58941297
Explain

>>58941322

what possible good would it do?

for that matter, what fucking mic has a volume knob anyways, unless it's some chintzy little thing designed to stick onto a phone or something?

what's the point? to control the volume obviously yes but that's what the pre or console is for. there's literally no reason to have a volume knob on a mic. you always want the mic to produce the most gain it's capable of.

the only mics with volume knobs would be crap.

>>58941347
You're aware usb devices change system's volume, right?

>>58941370

what does that even mean?

>>58941017
that's a lot of investment for a pretty consumer end microphone...

for everyone in the thread, serious question: what are you guys using these for?

>>58935299

That mic should be solid gold!

V-MODA Boom Pro and yeah it's an amazing mic

All these studio mics are ricey asf and I know what I'm talking about because it's meant for studios

>>58941370
no they don't always.
I had to use a 200$ razor usb mic (I did not pick this) before I got the Rode NT USB.
It had volume control which did not affect the system recording volume.
It was weird af. I left it at 75% and system volume at about 15%.

>>58941347
Every digital output mic has a built in preamp for which there is an analogue gain knob. What is wrong with that?

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Whats with 1950s-era microphones that some people are willing to pay a fortune for them?

>>58941429
yea, but you cant access the internal analog preamp gain, it is set to match the digital dynamic range perfectly.
The only point where you want to mess with mic volume is on you mastering device.
Ok if there are usb mics that remote change the system volume, that would be a neat thing, but anything else is pointless

>>58941452

sound signature

>>58941452
>>58941474

they look cool.

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>>58935299
le bbc

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>>58941470
So the controls on an audio interface like this are also pointless?

Because that's what a USB mic with controls on really is right? A mic with this shit built into it.

>>58941268
>>58941288
imo the biggest problem with USB microphones seem to be issues with 50 and 60Hz hum

H1 Zoom, it records in wav :D

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Rode Nt1-a
I use it for vocal recording and streaming.

>>58941506
you are goofing up the purposes of each. An interface needs an analog preamp gain because the interface does not know what you plug into it.
A USB mic always has the same analog driver infront of the pre so the gain can be set to match the drivers specs perfectly. No need for further adjustment.

>>58941517
used multiple usb mics on both laptops and desktops and never issued any mains humm or other humm...

>>58941560
Then how do you adjust for different sound levels going into the mic?

>>58941569
not him, but can you provide some audio samples? stories are completely unnecessary when you can just provide a sample.

>>58937159
Weird, I have the same issue. I usually just hotplug it and it works fine..

>>58937030
Using mine w/ a rode NT1-A, works perfectly Anon.

>>58941569
Good for you
So we have conflicting anecdotes
I have just had to help people with Blue mics in particular get rid of 60Hz a bunch of times

>>58936321
are you sure you have phantom power and not some chink usb sound card ?

I use a bm with 48v and can just talk at a normal level from anywhere in my room and it will pick up my voice.

>>58941577
system volume at recording/mastering device

>>58941582
>>58941600
Here is a sample of the Rode NT-USB going into a Dell laptop. No effects or compressor or anything on it, just cosmetic gain on the file. Basically how it comes out of the mic.
clyp.it/uzwu1zfz

>>58941764
I thought system mic volume reduced below 100% sacrificed sound quality?

>>58941876
no, system volume at 100% would result in horrible clipping. I keep it between 15% and 35% depending on the mic.

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So I've seen several mentions of the blue yeti, the ball and the rode one.
Are there are more recommendations I should take a look at, or are those my best choices already?

I wanna use it for skype/voicechat, without sounding like a goof, nothing to serious.

>>58941347
>>58941470
>>58941918

professional-tier misinformation

>>58940971
>I am making video tutorials for a living and never show my face.
>Using the Rode NT-USB btw, its a very good mic
I have to show my face because you gain trust with people when you show your face.

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Ask away bois
Also i'm disgusted by the number of USB mics here
Shame on you

>>58941224
so you're saying that it's better than some 200-300 dollar microphones, but not better than 150 dollar microphones.

this is retarded of you. compare the snowball against the *best* microphone at the $100 or $150 or $200 price point. don't just randomly sample from microphones that cost around $200 and then say that your snowball is better than the overpriced garbage.

>>58941835
that sounds like complete gibberish dude. did you even check it before you uploaded it??????

i'm planning on getting a condenser microphone for my desktop but i'm wavering between an XLR microphone and a USB microphone. the thing is i realize the USB microphone is the more utilitarian move, but limiting myself to USB (as opposed to getting an XLR mic and an audio interface, but leaving the door open to mixing with my guitar and stuff) worries me.

i guess the truth is if i'm recording to my computer (as i would be, if i ever got semi-serious about recording with my guitar), then i could just get a smaller audio interface for my guitar and keep piping the microphone into the computer via USB, right?

>>58936626
I just bought a Tascam DR-40. Do you use it connected with aux to your PC as well?

How to reduce sensitivity of condenser mics?

>>58936656
WHy are you saying things that I literally just said? I specifically said "the 5 volts you can get out of USB."

Are you autistic?

>>58942198
If you ever record your guitar it will be cheaper to get an interface now.

USB mic + interface is more expensive than XLR mic + interface

You're balancing the upfront cost of an interface with the probability of recording your guitar.

I would pony up because gear is fun.

>>58942029
wow... that mic looks like it costs more than $500. what is it?

>>58942343
AKG C414 B-ULS TLII with a Rycote USM-L Kit Shockmount
Roughly 950 USD all up

Also using a Projectmix I/0 and a Yamaha MG16XU mixer as my interface/Mixer

>>58942118
In case you did not notice, this is not english.
Also no processing done on this clip

>>58942379
Very nice. What do you use it for? Are you a musician? Vocals?

>>58942313
that's basically my thinking as well, but i'll want to kick myself if, in 3 years or so, i find i'm using an XLR microphone and interface exclusively in ways that a USB microphone would've sufficed

>>58942492
Bit of everything I guess,
I'm shit at singing so mostly use it for voice chat

Ended up ordering
>Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 v1
>BM-800

Wish me luck lads, I hope I didn't get memed. Going to use them with Linux so I hope >>58937560 won't be a problem.

Decided on 2i4 since it's supposed to work well with Linux on low latencies, I want to dick around with MIDI and it has phantom power for the mic. v1 because it was super cheap and I'm a thrifty jew.

>>58935299
AT2020 . Fantastic thing, Dont even consider a bul yeti they are fucking awful

>>58942198
Here's what you do. Go buy a used USB audio interface. I'm a huge fan of Focusrite Scarlett series... either Solo (for mic only) or 2i2 if you want guitar + vocals. Then get the mic from OPs post (BM800) and you'll have hard time outgrowing this setup.

Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zomZsBSUNwg

I'm a musician (not a professional one but I do have 30K followers and over 1million of likess on Soundcloud. And all of my audio recordings are with 2i2 and BM800. Almost no one ever told me it sounds bad.

If you have more money to burn, save it for something else you need instead.

>>58942586
>I'm shit at singing so mostly use it for voice chat
dude... you have this badass setup for shittalking at the internet. talk about an overkill...

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>>58942669
Money can't buy you happiness anon

>>58942508
You could get a Yeti Pro or an ATR2100 that does XLR/USB as a sorta safe option.

>>58941757
Well that depends on how much gain you slap on it. My Scarlett 2i2 certainly isn't some chink sound card.

>>58935299
The Behringer XM8500 with a cheap chinese XLR to USB cable.
The mic is a clone of the Shure SM 58 so it sounds pretty great.

>>58943861
>Behringer XM8500
It's a dynamic mic. You gotta stand close to it. Unless you're a singer or doing stuff on stage, why use something like that?

>>58943899
Because I have a mic stand that I can put next to my face.

>>58943899
>>58943911
Also you don't have to be THAT close to it, get that mic out of your mouth.

>>58942029
>spending an absurd amount of money just to team chat with normies on discord

I think I'll stick with my USB microphone anon

>>58943911
>>58943928
Every dynamic mic I tried was hard to get to sound good. I also had to speak with a much stronger voice to increase the volume without having to do post-processing which just ade things sound noisier.

I know these mics are sturdy as fuck and you can drop them and they'll outlive the person that purchased them but fuck man... they're hard to make sound as good as a condenser.

>>58935299
Logitech USB Desktop Microphone.
For the price - the voice clarity is 10/10. But has Cons (sensitive to background noise, clicking it on and off with the button makes a loud noise and the neck of the thing doesn't stay angled properly, no friction.

Neweer nw700

I'm very interested in starting field recording and ambient recording as a hobby. Can you guy's give me any suggestions? Is it possible to have a fair beginners set up for less than a hundred bucks or is this a hobby I should save up a bit for?

>>58945694
$100 won't even get you a shitty field recorder
get a pair of rode nt5 along with rycote dead cats and a zoom h4n
might be able to get that all for $500ish

>>58944619
thats the same as BM700 and almost the same as BM800 (I don't think there's even any diff between BM700 and BM800 other than looks).

>>58945694
You want a shotgun mic or a hypercardoid mic.

>>58946232
>You want a shotgun mic or a hypercardoid mic
for ambient recording? what

>>58946290
I agree that I didn't understand that. From what I understand I would want something as sensitive as possible without excessive, distorted gain.
I suppose a shotgun would be nice if I wanted to "aim" at a specific thing like rain dropping or a bug in a specific area.

>>58946345
a shotgun is needed if you need a spot mic that rejects most other stuff around and you have to keep a certain distance, f.e. on a film set out of camera perspectives and so on
there is no reason for one in an audio-only context like that where you can place the mic as close as you want

>>58946365
What if I wanted to hear, say, the noise from the highway from a ways away? The road sounds different up close than it does when it's traveled and reverberated. Would a shotgun be used in that instance if I don't want to sacrifice the timbre change that comes from that distance?

>>58946408
by blocking the diffuse field components by using a higher directivity microphone like a shotgun you are just making it sound closer
there is a thing called distance factor that calculates the same direct/diffuse sound balance in between different directional patterns for a reason, using a shotgun from further away sounds exact the same as a cardioid from a tad closer in a free field environment (outside)

>>58946448
Oh, that makes sense, thanks. Do you have any reading suggestions to learn acoustics?

>>58946501
I don't have a lot of english literature recommendations because I read a lot in german, but I think there's translations of the outstanding Jürgen Meyer books (which are mostly about musical acoustics, but cover a lot of the basic stuff as well)

>>58946588
>german
>88

Thanks, though. I'll give him a look.

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I have a pair of Superlux headphones but I need a decent cheap mic for games (CS:GO) and maybe an arm.
Suggestions?

>>58938124

Just recorded some death metal vocal with this fucker.

The guy rented it from guitar center for the occasion.

I felt like I could hear my heartbeat in the headphones. Made me realize that there is a reason that real studios use sound booths.

Nevertheless, mission accomplished, and needless to day, we did not add any reverb to his tracks.

Here is the finished product:

https://clyp.it/4mfrynmu

>>58947418
that was fucking great!

>>58947463

Thanks man.

Big fan of this mic now. We used to just record this kinda stuff with a SM58 cuz lol.

>>58942654
that's basically what i was planning on for the XLR route, except with an AT2020 instead. i'll look up the reviews for the BM800 and see what the different profiles are and which one I want. I'm also looking into buying used, so it's not a straight up question of which one's a better value at MSRP, but which one is a better value at the semi-arbitrary price i see it for on craigslist or from a reasonably reputable ebay seller.

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Super impressed with these cheap Thomann small diaphragm condensers.

>>58936266

With the circuit of the BM-800 less phantom power doesn't really matter. It's an electret so it doesn't need bias voltage and it's not going to significantly matter for signal swing or linearity either.

>>58942696
my sense is that as a microphone it's not as good as the dedicated XLR or USB microphones i've been looking at. i'm not optimizing for connectors here, but value/quality, but only after making a somewhat bifurcated choice on connector. so as an example if i went with USB i might go with the Rode NT USB or something else people recommend, but if i went XLR i might get the 2020 (or apparently the BM800).

right now i'm predicting that most of my recording will be straight up vocal recording (i.e. speech), with a ~20% chance of going into podcasting sorts of stuff, with like 2 or 3 people at the mic. this won't be professional so i don't need that latter use case to be perfect, but it needs to at least be good enough to not be distracting if people are interested in listening.

>>58947585
nice collection. which one is your favorite and what do you use these mics for anyway?

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This seems like the place to ask...
My employer just bought a new location that has a pair of Shure 55s microphones in a box. I see them for well over $200 on the internet. I can probably swoop on them for less than $10. The question is, should I get them to use or sell? And if sell, how much? I currently have a blue yeti and have hands on this interface. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/m-audio-firewire-solo-mobile-audio-interface

>>58948200
they are pretty crappy, especially for the retail price. purely a show mic for rockabilly bands
selling them with that kind of profit would be the best option

A rock band mic i bought for $2 and change at a thrift store held up by this rock i found in my back yard with a couple holes in it

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>>58935299
buyed pic related for $15 and $13 shipping costs from the US to Germany and a chink mic pop shield. probably the best 30€ to replace my webcam microphone

>>58935299
Is there a difference between the BM-800 and the NW-800? The BM is on sale on Amazon atm, but since it doesn't come with a cable, I'm considering the NW.

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>>58948754
mic is the same. shit that's inside the box might be different.

incidentally, BM8000 is probably the best mic to get. costs maybe few dollars more than BM800

>>58936144
>RE20 is a fantastic mic but it's pretty pricey for what it is.
an outstanding dynamic pic with an exceptionally low noise floor and no proximity effect? worth every penny.
>at2020
shitty medium diaphragm chink condenser. grainy and noisy.
>>58938124
overrated unless you're still analog. the whole reason it was popular in the first place was the presence boost at 9k and that's just annoying with digital recording. still a nice sound on pianos and choirs,though.

>>58948629
garbage mic + garbage boom arm. you just wasted money anon.

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Probably not the right crowd for this,but I just got a Studio Projects CS5 for a project I'm doing (I needed something that could do figure 8 and didn't completely suck). I've been using it for a bunch of stuff in the last month. Kinda shocked that it's only $300 and I'll most likely be buying at least one more soon.

Whats a cheap but OK way to record 5.1 audio? Doesnt need to be all synconized and easy, I'm Ok with having to line up all the audio manually... doesn't need to be studio grade, but I dont want the quality to be distractingly bad (like sounding like phone call quality)

>>58948836
paying more than $60 for a boomarm is wasting money anon

>>58948863
Set up 5 speakers and play back 3 separate recordings.
surround is meme tier shit.

>>58937159
Mine does that too, but only at the most random times.

Even after reinstalling drivers and such, I still have not pin-pointed WHY it happens, or WHEN, as there seems to be no pattern.

That being said, this is some of the best quality you can get for the price, minor inconveniences aside.

It also looks rather sharp.

>>58948870
no you dummy, these things are made from potmetal. you can't even clamp them properly. and they can't even hold a mic upright for 30 min.

both the mic + arm are total garbage.

>>58948925
now i feel bad

>>58948956

Whatever dude fuck that guy.

Run what you brung.

Use it, learn it's limitations, and then upgrade.

>>58948850
>I needed something that could do figure 8 and didn't completely suck
I'm curious, why would you need figure 8? What are you recording?

>>58938436
A E S T E T I C

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What USB microphone /g/ recommend? I saw a tip a few months ago from a cool USB model, but I can not remember which model it was.

>>58950232
>What USB microphone /g/ recommend?
AT2020. Everything else on USB side is trash.

ps: stay away from those wacky USB Blue mics.

>>58936144
At2020 are awful

Audio Hipster AH-01
It's a neumann clone for under 100

>>58950385

Thanks anon! Is just for my PC. :)

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>>58935299
If you get that chink microphone make sure to get a higher quality cable for it. Bought the same thing and bended the cable just a bit too much and now its fucked. Other than that its pretty good. If you're online gaming just turn its volume up in your OS, there will be background noise but you will be heard loud and clear. If you are recording videos get a phantom power supply for it, believe it or not it actually sounds really fucking good.

>>58950765
>If you get that chink microphone make sure to get a higher quality cable for it.
Which XLR cables are decent but good value?

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Not entirely sure if asking this here is the right place but whatever.

I use one of those simple ModMic things, I think I have the 4.0 and it's plugged directly into my motherboards rear panel.When I'm idling at my desktop it sounds just fine, but when I play games everyone complains that my mic sounds like a chainsaw.

Obviously it's because of coil whine interfering, but it's really, really bad. Is there anything I can do about it? It happens even when the mic is muted (meaning the physical button is moved into the mute position) so I'm guessing it's not because the mic itself is bad.

>>58941386
Minecraft LP's

/g/, recommend me a stand for my blu yeti (it was a gift)

>>58952512
Get one of those .99 cent USB sound things and plug it into that. No quality loss and should be enough to fix it

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>>58952617
>.99 cent USB sound things
Thanks didn't even know they existed.

Since it's USB I guess they use their own drivers, can you still adjust mic gain and levels and such? My ModMic is really, really quiet without 20dB of boost in Realtek.

>>58948754
BM-800 and NW-800 are the same mic with small physical changes.

>>58948780
The BM-800 is better than the BM-8000.

>>58952597
The Arm Desk is great.

any opinions on mxl r144? interested for ham radio