Microphone review thread

[.Kikku.]

I just bought the AT2020 condenser mic and got a M-Audio preamp to go with it. I gotta say.. It's AMAZING for the price.. Picks up absolutely NO noise, but picks up the tiniest of vocals. Even when I'm whispering from half way across the room it picks it up clear.



I took a risk in buying it since I wasn't sure if it'd be good for VAing or not, but it really is. I haven't tried singing with it yet since I just got it yesterday, but I love it lots and lots.. ^-^ Can't beat the quality on it for the price. Got it on ebay for $80, got the preamp for $75.

[Pixelespace]

I have the Blue Snowball and it has a crisp, bright sound when needed, but also works well with lower tones. I've used it for VO for several projects now; ordered from Amazon; they included the little desk stand and USB cable. A pop filter is about $10-20 bucks more.

I like the mic, but would also like something that is a little more mellow for projects that require that "mellow." has anybody here used a R0de Podcaster?

PE

[scottoka1]

Hey I was wondering, which mics are better, the ones that hook up to a USB port or the ones that hook up to the back of the computer (right next to the speaker port thingies) since I wanna buy a new mic that is half decent... Possibly the Snowball Bundle I've been reading about since it's within my budget. The mics I have are a $5 mic from Fred Meyer and a $20 mic headset thing that really blah! It muffles my voice and stuff and I got it from Radioshack. I think everyone has at least heard my voice from the $5 mic I'm using but yea.

[Gan Xingba]

So, reading the reviews and examples posted here and elsewhere, I think I'm going to upgrade from my Logitech USB microphone to a Blue Snowball. The only part I'm confused about is which pop filter to get, because there are just a ton of them with a pretty big price range. So, do any Blue Snowball owners have a recommended pop filter for the unit? I know blue makes a high end filter, but it's almost as expensive as the microphone itself.

Any help would be appreciated. Hopefully, this is the right place to post this...

[Russ]

I haven't found a need for pop filter with the Snowball. I don't speak directly into mine - rather I speak facing my screen, with the Snowball about a foot away diagonally. Volume is more than acceptable for normal speech.

[jintor]

So, uh, I was looking into getting a Logitech USB Microphone, for about $40 Australian, but given that it wasn't essentially a specialised microphone (the packaging promised it would be 'good for voicechat' and that was about it, really) and there weren't too many details, I thought I'd check in and see if there were any opinions on it here, first.

It'd be better than the inbuilt webcam microphone I'm using at the moment...

[KS Chan]

Well if you guys use a usb mic, when you input monitor you will have latency issues with the hear backs. If you don't have to use input monitor the logitec usb mic is good to use (better than cheap condenser mics is what I thought).

If you want a good quality condenser mic a SM-57 or SM-58 is worth getting just that the price is expensive(about $100).


Off topic?
The mic I really really want to get is very very expensive but one day would like to get is a U-87. It is about $3000.....T.T. It does really nice recordings. I'm currently using it now for recording foley but you could record vocals, too. No noise, clear sounds,....very awesome. Maybe look into it if you are interested.

[Yoda117]

Off topic?
The mic I really really want to get is very very expensive but one day would like to get is a U-87. It is about $3000.....T.T. It does really nice recordings. I'm currently using it now for recording foley but you could record vocals, too. No noise, clear sounds,....very awesome. Maybe look into it if you are interested.

The U87 is my favorite day-to-day large diaphragm condensor mic. A good alternative for folks who aren't used to mics that are that sensitive is the AT 4040, which I've found to work nicer with folks who are new to VO. It's a lot more forgiving (the U87 does bump the mid-range, but it's very accurate... not always good for folks who haven't been doing this for a while).

Other alternatives worth looking at instead of the U87 (for the price conscious) would be the AKG 414, Microtec Gefell UMT71 and UM930 (the 930 is a personal favorite as a backup to the U87), and of course the Neumann TLM 103 (sounds similar to the U87, but I think the 930 does a better job overall )

[Steven Mane]

[quote=KS Chan;546645]If you want a good quality condenser mic a SM-57 or SM-58 is worth getting just that the price is expensive(about $100).quote]

If you're looking for a quality dynamic mic, my Audix OM-2 is worth the money. It's only about a hundred dollars and works great. It can be used without phantom power, but I'd recommend getting an M-Box or something to increase the volume of the output so you don't get a hiss in the background. It's very warm, but you do have to be careful with those plosives.

[Yoda117]

[QUOTE=Steven Mane;550018]

If you want a good quality condenser mic a SM-57 or SM-58 is worth getting just that the price is expensive(about $100).quote]

If you're looking for a quality dynamic mic, my Audix OM-2 is worth the money. It's only about a hundred dollars and works great. It can be used without phantom power, but I'd recommend getting an M-Box or something to increase the volume of the output so you don't get a hiss in the background. It's very warm, but you do have to be careful with those plosives.

Steve, just a few things.

No dynamic ever made uses phantom power. They're called a dynamic mic for a reason (has to do with the little magnets and diaphragm running along a coil which generates it's own electricity).

Some dynamic mics can be used with phantom power, but they don't need it. Pretty much it comes down to the wiring. If the wrong pin is "hot" then you'll damage the mic, otherwise you're fine. While for the most part it's a non-issue, it's always best to either check the specs for you mic to see the pin layout, or my normal recommendation - don't use phantom power at all when using a dynamic mic.

Regardless of what dynamic mic you're using, you'll need at least 60dB of gain from your preamp (I usually recommend 65dB since folks like to run them hot... especially when recording drums). My recommendation, record your level to -12dB (as taken from the threshold). It's a little low I admit, but after using EQ and compression to provide dynamic processing and raise the level, you'll have a really nice read without many of the issue commonly found with dynamic mics.

As for your Audix. Have you checked the pins on the mic? If there's a little "schmutz" or stuff on the XLR pins, take come rubbing alcohol and clean those. I only say that because I had someone with a similar problem with their dynamic mic (distortion/feedback at lower gain) and it turned out that the pin leads were dirty. YMMV on that one.