Mic for Interviews - could use some advice

MathiasJGale

New member
I'm going to be hosting a work event where we are going to have a stream/podcast where we will be interviewing members of our senior leadership team. The setting will be a conference room and we will likely have 3, maybe 4 people max on camera at one time.

I'm wondering what the best microphone for this setting would be while still keeping frugal? The interviewers will be sitting side by side, so if there is a microphone that I could set on a desk or put on a boom that will pick up their voice that would be ideal but I am also open to looking at lavalier type microphones if I could find a solution that wasn't too expensive. Since this will be a stream I'll need something that can plug into my computer, USB being ideal (or having a 3.5mm to usb converter/external sound card). There are so many different types of microphones out there that I'm not sure what to look for. I've been mainly thinking shotgun or cartioid may work but I'm very new to the different types of microphones.

Ideally I'm trying to keep the cost under $150, which I know limits my options, but I'm also not needing the absolute best quality, just something to get by that has decent quality while we test the response rate. If it goes well then we will likely be open to investing more.

What are your opinions on the best microphone for this type of situation? Do you recommend any microphones in particular that would fit this situation? I genuinely appreciate any help you can provide!
 
Using one USB microphone might keep you close to your budget, but the sound it picks up will sound a bit distant. The sound reflecting around the room will be more apparent. If you do this you should do it in an especially "dead" room where there's lots of soft surfaces to absorb reflections. Perhaps hang some blankets off camera to help control things. A couple of cubicle dividers behind the subjects, angled so they're not parallel to any walls, could also help.

If I were doing this and had a bit more budget, I'd use lavs into a mixer and put compressors on all speakers and the mix. Since they're stationary you could use wired lavs.
 
Thanks, I was debating a few options but decided to go with a USB mixer and wired lavs as you suggested. A little over budget but I think the quality will be much better than just trying to go with one usb microphone at a distance.
 
What mixer did you choose? It would be very helpful to have compressors on each input. Many of the small Yamaha mixers have them built in. External ones would be more versatile, but also more expensive, and the mixer needs to have inserts on each channel. A compressor over the whole mix in addition to one on each channel is also very useful.
 
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