I'm looking for a microphone primarily for use in voice recordings. Most of its use will be used for podcasting, but otherwise just little things here and there where voice could be useful (shouldn't matter what, I assume). Because I have a $50 FRY's card along with some cash, I have more money available for FRY's than elsewhere. Also, I'm looking for a "stand alone", rather than a headset. Budget FRY's: $177 Other: $127 I was currently looking at this $120 USB mic at FRY's: http://www.frys.com/product/5457849 Frequency range of 20Hz - 20KHz, figured that was pretty good, but just wanted to ensure I was getting the best microphone for what I want to do [that's within my budget]; I'm looking for quality, rather than a "good deal"; a really good quality but overpriced mic is preferred over a moderate quality excellently priced mic. =P Thanks in advance, hopefully I can get some insight here.
Found something much better, called the Rode Podcaster. Unfortunately outside my budget, so I'll have to save up for a while, but I think it's worth it despite my impatient. I changed my decision based on the fact that there are some actual reviews out there (and the majority are very positive), simply sounds better (see here), and it has the headphone jack on the side so that I can hear what I sound like in real-time. So, well, I suppose this completes the purpose of this thread, unless there's something out there of equal or higher quality at a cheaper price :P Edit: Forgot to mention, when I say it's "better", I'm comparing it to that "Blue's Snowball" mic that I had switched to. I just forgot to bother mentioning it here, is all.
I use a standard Shure SM58 mic. The SM57 works fine too. Check them out. Keep in mind that the type of cable you use will help or hurt the sound quality. You want a balanced cable (or sometimes called "stereo") if you can find one.
Found an example of the Shure SM58, and it isn't too bad! Being the "worlds toughest mic" is a nice plus as well. I was a bit excited about getting the Rode Podcaster, but the Shure SM58 doesn't sound too far off in terms of quality. Being the massive difference in price, and the fact that I can actually afford the Shure SM58 as of right now, I think I'll have to choose it. I'll miss a couple things, like the USB input and headphone jack on the side, but I'll live. I'm hoping the fact that I only have a microphone input plug thingamabob on my laptop (as opposed to that "Line In" plug that I hear you're supposed to use) doesn't cause any [major] issues. Also, I assume I'll need to get a (quarter inch?) cable for it and some adapter so that I can plug it in to my computer in the first place... I'll look into it and stuff. Thanks, saxman!
The SM58 is the industry standard mic for live vocals, it will be more than good enough for podcasts. The mic has an XLR connection however, so that would mean you will have to get an XLR to 1/8 inch lead to plug it into your laptop.. I'm not sure about using the pink mic input, I've never used it myself... fun fact: If you unscrew the grille from the SM58, it becomes an "SM57", perfect for recording any guitar amps etc. that you may have :P
The Sennheiser E815-S is a great mic for the price, but again it's XLR so you'd need an adapter or cable to convert from XLR to 1/8". It costs about £40, not sure about in the US (the Shure SM58 weighs in at about £80). That's if you'd rather try for something a little cheaper than the SM58 since you probably don't need such a high-class mic for podcasting, and the Sennheiser is more than adequate even for live music and even home studio recording - so again, very good for a podcast mic.
I began to respond to Master Emerald, but in the process I came to a thought that might be worth putting out there -- the quality of the sound will be hindered by the sound card. It depends on how serious you are about the audio quality. I am not sure given that you want a halfway decent microphone that isn't overly expensive but definitely not crap either. You can try it out, but you may get some hissing in your recordings. If that's the case, your next goal may be to buy a decent sound card. Just some food for thought.
Hehe, he's going to go down the long and winding road of getting good quality recordings. It eventually leads to being a very expensive disease known as audiophilia, so watch out :P
Intended to reply before, but we just finished moving, and with such only today did we get the internet up and running again. It's about 6.5x faster, so I can't complain, lol. Anywho, when I did have internet, I found the three things I believed I would need, including the microphone. Shure SM58 Microphone Pyle PPMJ-L15 XLR-to-1/4" Cable Recoton CW1521 1/4" to 1/8" Adapter It seems XLR-to-1/8" cables are nonexistant, so I went with the XLR-to-1/4" cable and 1/4"-to-1/8" adapter so I can connect it to my computer. That's a good point, I really don't believe the sound card supplied with my laptop is all that great I have a couple other computers throughout the house I can test with though, the majority of which are towers (as opposed to laptops); as well, if they all suck, I can just upgrade the sound card in one of the PCs throughout the house, since I'm pretty sure it would be fairly difficult with a laptop. Oh well, I'll have to find out once the microphone and such arrive and I can test it.
The shitty onboard and laptop sound cards can be enhanced by means of modding, but its not recommended for people having difficulties with tiny surface mount components, and it voids any possible warranties :P
Drop a Creative E-MU into one of the PCs, great sound quality and you don't even need the 1/4 to 1/8 adapter.
I personally use my Echo Mia soundcard. It too has the 1/4" jacks. It's my baby, and has been for about 6 or 7 years now! Although it's not made for a mic and really should have a mixer plugged into it instead... which costs MORE money. *sigh* The vicious cycle never ends.
Compsense, listen to them. Also because the 1/4" jack provides a higher quality compared to the 1/8".
After thinking about this for a bit I'm not all that sure it's worth all this just for podcasting... it's going to be reduced to reasonably crappy quality in the end anyway (since it's a podcast) - this is all serious home recording equipment for producing music, not really for podcasting...
The difference is almost nonexistant to be honest. The bigger ones are more sturdy, but the 1/8" jacks actually can do a very good job at audio recording. It's all dependant on what that 1/8" jack is mounted to. But yeah, I'd start with the mic. The SM58 you're looking at is fine. You can adapt it to your computer's audio ports. The mic at the very least will be better than the typical cheap computer mic you will typically see people use.
Odd coincidence, I just found a bunch of walmart gift cards I had laying in a small tub accumulated from birthdays, my mom was willing to buy them from me for the same value as the cards themselves. With this, my budget has suddenly jumped up to about $265. Great timing too, I needed it. I found it, I think; is this the right one? I'm trying to get everything from Amazon btw, one shipping price (AKA Free). Reasonable concerns, but 2 things. The community I'll be doing my actual podcasting in keeps 2 versions available, "low quality" and "high quality", with 48kbps and 128kbps respectively (may be lower or higher with either, but it's around that). Secondly, despite podcasting being the primary and initial reason for getting a good microphone, I have other uses in mind. My brother, who plays guitar and drums, wants some way to record his playing (either/or). My mother, who sings and plays the piano, also wishes for a way to record and share some of her work. I also could use this for school projects, where voice could come in handy (yes, they're rare, but they occur). tl;dr: I'm not just podcasting, I have other uses where a high quality microphone is a near necessity. So with the SM58 ($100), the XLR-to-1/4" Cable ($20), and the Creative E-MU ($100), I'm up to $220. Same price as the Rode Podcaster, interesting
Ah, in that case I would absolutely agree with everyone on getting a decent sound card and a Shure SM58.
