Advice on getting a mic.

M

mrusername

New member
Hey Everyone,

I need some advice on getting a mic, The mic itself will only be used for vocals and youtube commentarys (Me and my friend will be sharing the mic 50/50 on paying it). The mics I have seen so far are blue snowball,Samson C01U. The mic I was going to get was "zoom h4n mic" but that is very pricey (£230). Would you say I am better off saving and getting the zoom h4n mic? Or are there better mics out there for me, maybe you know of even a better mic?

I have Youtubed and googled but I get a lot of mixed reviews on dose mics so maybe someone here has got one/used one and can tell me if its a boy or stay away. I do not have many music shops around me so I can not go and test mics out.

Thanks!
User
 
Don't own it but have used it.

I like it for there is a headphone/monitor out on the microphone it's self ... which many do not have.
 
I own three of the Zoom H4n's.

They are not a microphone but a hand/stand/table held recorder that has two microphones in an X-Y configuration.
 
if you buy something like an eclipse in line usb pre/phantom power unit

then you can take your pick of microphones

perhaps more cost for two things though, but much more flexibility
 
arcaxis said:
Can I through another mic into the mix? Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB. I don't have one, but a USB dynamic seems good like a good idea in that it may be a bit less susceptible to room noise than a condenser design. This particular mic has an XLR connection as well so it could be used with a conventional interface. Perhaps Henry (moresound) may have some thoughts on this one as well.

Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB ATR2100-USB B&H

Blue Snowball Microphone vs. Audio Technica ATR 2100 Microphone Comparison - YouTube
Click to expand...



It is a great alternative if one anticipates future growth and move to an interface/ XLR microphone(s) set up. :thumbs up:
 
arcaxis said:
Can I through another mic into the mix? Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB. I don't have one, but a USB dynamic seems good like a good idea in that it may be a bit less susceptible to room noise than a condenser design. This particular mic has an XLR connection as well so it could be used with a conventional interface. Perhaps Henry (moresound) may have some thoughts on this one as well.
Click to expand...

Kesh said:
if you buy something like an eclipse in line usb pre/phantom power unit

then you can take your pick of microphones

perhaps more cost for two things though, but much more flexibility
Click to expand...



Gosh so many mics/hand/stand/table held recorder(As said by Moresound)

I do not care about looks.
I do not care about how tuff it is.
All I want is geart sound quality!! And do not care so much about price. But of course I do not want to buy studio pro gear etc..
But I would also like a mic to where I can record and not be face to face with it.
 
Yeah, you are seriously confused. The Zoom H4n is not a mic. It is a 4-track digital recorder and computer audio interface. It does have a stereo pair of mics built in, but also facilitates the use of other microphones. It can record directly onto SD cards, or onto a computer. It is vastly superior to a USB mic, and far more versatile. It isn't what you are asking for, but it might be what you need (and don't know it yet).
 
Richard Monroe said:
Yeah, you are seriously confused. The Zoom H4n is not a mic. It is a 4-track digital recorder and computer audio interface. It does have a stereo pair of mics built in, but also facilitates the use of other microphones. It can record directly onto SD cards, or onto a computer. It is vastly superior to a USB mic, and far more versatile. It isn't what you are asking for, but it might be what you need (and don't know it yet).
Click to expand...



My thoughts exactly, Richard.
 
Richard Monroe said:
Yeah, you are seriously confused. The Zoom H4n is not a mic. It is a 4-track digital recorder and computer audio interface. It does have a stereo pair of mics built in, but also facilitates the use of other microphones. It can record directly onto SD cards, or onto a computer. It is vastly superior to a USB mic, and far more versatile. It isn't what you are asking for, but it might be what you need (and don't know it yet).
Click to expand...

The only reason I listed the H4n is because I know of how good the sound quality is. As one of my friends had it for about 2 years ish, Sadly he no longer has it anymore..

I understand were you are coming from with the whole " The Zoom H4n is not a mic " But I do know the H4n has got a pair of stereo mics built in which by them self records such great sound quality!

But again there are so many recorders out there and I have no local music store near me. So am going off reviews and sound quality from Youtube etc..
 
John Willett said:
Personally, I would go for the Olympus LS-100 over the H4n nowadays. :thumbs up:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. Interesting unit. It's very small. I like that. Question- can it be used as a computer controller like the H4n? Also, the specs I read didn't state what bit depth and resolution it supports. Do you happen to know? The only thing I didn't like about it is the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. I'd rather be able to use standard AA's, like the H4n, so I can switch them out when I need to, or use standard lithiums if I don't have the time or facilities for a recharge. I do a lot of work where I may have to spend a week or more with no electricity, and I'd rather not deal with solar panels and inverters, etc. It also stated that it supports multi-tracking. Do you happen to know if it can do 4 simultaneous tracks, like the Zoom? I'm interested, because as I said, it's smaller than the H4n, quite a bit smaller, and I like that a lot. I'd also be interested in what kind of on-board FX it has. The Zoom has a fair amount, but I don't use them much. If I want to add FX, I would do that in a real computer anyway, but they have their uses when I'm using the Zoom for a headphone amp.
 
So I had a look at both Zoom H4n & Olympus LS-100.

After doing some searching am thinking of staying with the H4n.

youtube(DOT)com/watch?v=AZ3zsarY4LM

photographybay(DOT)com/2012/03/17/zoom-h4n-tascam-dr-100-mkii-olympus-ls-100-compact-xlr-recorders-compared/

Thanks everyone! :)
 
Before you rush out and buy a portable recorder, can we have a bit more information. In your very first post you say you want the mic for "vocals and Youtube commentaries". Youtube commentaries is fairly self explanatory and implies that you want your recordings to end up online. What sort of vocals and what are you doing with them?

I ask this because I'm another H4n user and love it to bits for portable recording--but I don't think I've ever used it in my home studio. It's perfect for going mobile but includes all sorts of facilities (that you pay for) if you're going to plug it into the computer as soon as you're done. There's also a bit of a learning curve to get the best out of any portable recorder since they build so much into a small box.

So it might be better value for money for you to go with a basic mic...

Second, you've expressed concern about having to be up close and personal with the mic. I'd love to say that with a good mic you can record from a long way away but, frankly, this depends largely on the room you're in. The big problem is that the farther you work from the mic, the more echoes from around the room you're picking up--get a few feet away from the mic and the reflections off the walls are almost as loud as your original voice--and in a typical domestic room this sounds terrible. In professional sound recording, recordists use very directional mics on fishpole booms to pick up from father away--but even with hugely expensive gear the "echoey room" problem still applies.

I mention this because I'd hate to think you were spending money (whether a Blue Yeti or portable recorder) with unrealistic expectations of what even decent mics can do.

One final thing--you need to consider monitoring. If, when you say vocals, you mean singing along with backing tracks, you need a way to HEAR those backing tracks while you record. With many USB mics you have a one-way device and have to do some fiddly setting up so you can plug headphones into your computer while singing into the mic--and since you want to hear your voice as well as the backing tracks, this amounts to an uncomfortable amount of delay. Better mics like the Blue Yeti Pro solve this by having a headphone socket on the mic--or you can use a conventional mic and interface. The H4n or Olympus would through up their own set of issues for recording along with tracks on a computer.

Anyway, I know you're looking for easy answers--but these are some of the think about before possibly wasting any money.
 
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