Need Microphone Advice from Audiophiles

[Hector Papi Castillo]

Hey lads,

Looking for a cheap (<$30) microphone to make Youtube/Instagram videos with. I'm gonna be taking our social media presence to the next level (also, I'll be taking off the mask so y'all can see my purdy face).

That being said, I need a decent microphone to record with.

I was thinking something like this, but my laptop only has one audio-jack and it seems to be an out-line. Maybe it's a dynamic one or something (I don't know shit about audio) and you can plug a mic in (and I think I remember doing so). It works when I use headphones that have microphones on them. Idk, but I'm worried the aforementioned mic won't work. So maybe a USB Microphone like this would be preferable?

If it doesn't have a stand, I'd also need a one of those, plus a pop filter.

Help me help you The nicer the audio, the more clearly y'all can hear me spit that game.

Hector

 

[Big Daddy]

If your mic input does not have three "rings," which is likely the case, you will have to buy an splitter so the computer understands it's a line-in. Gaming headsets generally work out-of-the-box. But that isn't super relevant as all your decent options will be USB.

For that price tag, you're gonna have a hard time finding non-generic mics such as the one that you have linked (in which case I can't make a proper recommendation as I'm not familiar with any). If you're willing to stretch the budget to $50 or so, go with the Blue Snowball.

If you really want great quality at a very, very low price (for the quality -- $80), pick an Audio Technica 2100. It's not a condenser mic (meaning you have to speak directly in front of the diaphragm and can't use with a guest, for example), but you will quickly hit diminishing returns after that quality.

(But if you are nonetheless feeling fancy and want to record audio clips to send to girls on WhatsApp and sound like Glen Danzig on a radio show, go with Rode NT-USB.)

You can get a cheap ($10) generic pop filter on Amazon, though you will only need for condenser-type mics such as the Blue Snowball (and the NT-USB).

 

[Hector Papi Castillo]

@BigDaddy

You rock brotha.

So this guy - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OO18NS/re ... B01MRNFN0V

I don't need that $8 pop filter that it recommends, do I? Any will do?

Looks like it has a stand with it so I probably don't need to buy a table mount.

Hector

 

[Big Daddy]

You won't need the stand but regarding the pop filter, it ultimately depends on how far away you plan to be. That mic has a mode for speaking from a distance and from speaking up close, and ideally you'd want to have a pop filter in the latter.

Which one will be better will depend on your environment -- maybe it's too noisy to speak from a distance, maybe your voice sounds more natural up close, etc. While you don't need the pop filter, I'd order the pop filter, test it a while and send it back in case you don't think it's worth the $8.

Any will do but try to looks for ones made out of cloth instead metal (such as the one you've linked). It's a personal preference, but I tend to get more annoyed at the more hissing sound signature that the metal one tends to generate vs the more toned down/"muffled" of the cloth.

 

[ray_zorse]

There are two main types of microphones, dynamic or condenser.

Dynamic is good for karaoke. A dynamic microphone is basically a speaker used in reverse, to gather energy from the air and convert it to electricity, but has an imperfect frequency response, this can actually improve the sound of your singing (in the same way that a distortion pedal can improve your guitar sound), but isn't good for studio work where clarity is everything. The condenser type that you linked is what you want.

Condenser types contain a built-in amplifier. There are 3 main types of these: Studio mics, computer mics, and USB mics. Studio mics are good but require a very expensive preamp. Computer mics are generally terrible and only useful for Skype (and can also be confusing to connect, desktop PCs have a 3 wire connection that's separate from the line out but laptops may vary). USB condenser mics are great, and are gradually replacing the studio mics that require the expensive preamp, including in studios.

I think you cannot go wrong with the product you linked, the appearance is a bit "out there" (professional USB mics look exactly the same as the studio type condenser mics shown on this page: https://www.thoughtco.com/condenser-vs- ... es-1817725) but I am sure that it will work great.

cheers, Ray