Advice on Microphones

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kdewhitt

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I'm new at this so if this isn't where I need to be, please someone point me in the right direction. Here is my question: I have a daughter who is thirteen and is very into music. She wants a new microphone so that she can eventually record herself and burn on a CD. Shoud I buy a USB microphone or should I get a microphone with a cable that you plug into an amp. I am not very savvy when it comes to stuff like this and sure don't want to buy the wrong thing. Not really looking to spend a whole lot of money up front, but if it turns into something more, I don't mind. Please let me know what you guys think.
 
Hey man, welcome to the boards. First thing i'd suggest is to have a read of this sticky and hopefully it will shed some insight into your question.

it's often a tough choice when starting out and both a USB Mic and a more standard mic and audio interface combination have their own pro's and con's. I suppose the main question i'd ask myself if i were in the same situation is "how far do i think this will this go?" and, as you've said, this is sometimes a hard one to judge. A mic and audio interface has the advantage of easily upgrading the mic and the quality of both are normally higher than that of a usb mic. however, the usb mic route tends to be cheaper and simpler to setup, although sometimes the trade off is that the quality is less than that of a separate mic and interface and, should your daughter get much more into recording and wants to upgrade, you'd end up having to buy an audio interface and separate mic anyway to replace the one usb mic.

How much were you thinking of spending/what's your absolute limit?
 
They make a cheap little thing, I think it's called an icicle that lets you plug an XLR mic cable into a USB port. Then you could just get an inexpensive MXL mic for under $100 - Actually I think MXL might make a decent entry level USB mic too.
 
Best thing about the Yeti is it has a headphone out so one can monitor what one is doing.

Many USB microphones haven't this feature only a hand full of them do.
 
Yeah, as USB mics go, the Blue Yeti is a cut above many of them purely because of the headphone out for monitoring. Without that (and most USB mics don't have the facility) set up can be an exercise in frustration--and, even if you get it working with the computer's inbuilt sound card, latency can make it almost useless.

To summarise my overly verbose FAQ that Justsomeguy linked to, you have to calculate the odds that your daughter will want to progress on her recording ambitions. If you think this is just a fad, then the Yeti may be your best bet. However, if you think the odds are good she's serious, it might be worth spending a bit more for a conventional XLR mic and a separate USB interface that'll let you upgrade things without scrapping your first purchases.

FYI, my teenage daughter's recording ambitions lasted about a year. Fortunately, I didn't have to buy any extra gear since I was already into recording!
 
Get her a pony. It's cheaper in the long run... :)

Welcome to recording... it's like Hotel California... you can check out any time you like but you can never leave...:thumbs up:
 
kdewhitt said:
I'm new at this so if this isn't where I need to be, please someone point me in the right direction. Here is my question: I have a daughter who is thirteen and is very into music. She wants a new microphone so that she can eventually record herself and burn on a CD. Shoud I buy a USB microphone or should I get a microphone with a cable that you plug into an amp. I am not very savvy when it comes to stuff like this and sure don't want to buy the wrong thing. Not really looking to spend a whole lot of money up front, but if it turns into something more, I don't mind. Please let me know what you guys think.
Click to expand...

I would avoid a USB mic.

Best to get a normal mic. and use an interface.

The Focusrite ones are good - or get a CEntrance MicPort Pro.
 
Armistice said:
Get her a pony. It's cheaper in the long run... :)

Welcome to recording... it's like Hotel California... you can check out any time you like but you can never leave...:thumbs up:
Click to expand...


I would like a pony, David. :)
 
A pony and a dental floss tycoon - Frank Zappa would have been so proud of me.
 
yeah, I think I'm in the camp of USB as well. I don't know anything about the Yeti but these guys are pretty savvy :D so for starting out, and the possibility of this being a passing phase, I'd probably avoid the interface / regular mic thing.
Stay simple and cheap.
:listeningmusic:
 
Dogbreath said:
yeah, I think I'm in the camp of USB as well.


so for starting out, and the possibility of this being a passing phase, I'd probably avoid the interface / regular mic thing.
Stay simple and cheap.
Click to expand...
^^^^^^^This. Kids will be kids and this could be a short lived fad due to the popularity of these X factor type 'talent, become a star' shows. Or it could be the start of a lifelong or long term interest in music making. Either way, starting simple and cheap hedges your bets and gives you the best of both worlds in that, if it's a fad, the cost is minimal and worthy for the risk and if it isn't, well, it's not a serious problem to knock out a bit more for a better mic. Fortunately they're not bankbusters {unless you work for George Martin}.
 
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