Need help finding a microphone for casting

M

maxiboy

New member
To start off, I would like to say that I am a newbie with mostly anything audio. Now here is the breakdown, I am planning on doing some livestream/podcast work. The room that I am planning on recording in has a loud desktop, and a loud laptop right next to it. I have a Blue Yeti right now and I am looking to replace it with a good unidirectional microphone however due to my lack of knowledge I don't know what to buy.

If you have any suggestions for a microphone please post a link and some information. I need:
-No static
-Pick up nothing but my voice
-No need for a mixer/external sound-card (something that is plug and play)
-High quality
-Something between 25-55 dollars

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
 
Pray for a Christmas miracle.

"Pick up nothing but your voice" "No static" (using an internal sound card), "No external sound card" "High Quality" and a ludicrously low budget means you're asking for something that doesn't exist. The Blue Yeti, by the way, is a pretty good quality "unidirectional" mic. If it doesn't cut it in quality terms then you have a problem. Some may suggest a dynamic mic but an internal sound card won't have sufficient clean gain and you'd be limited to the budget end of the dynamic range anyhow...or need to get lucky on eBay.

Internal sound cards are rubbish quality at the best of times and with the best of mics, causing what you call static.

NO microphone can work miracles if your computer is as noisy as you say...a Coles 4104 lip mic (commonly used by sports casters in noisy crowd environments) would probably do it but it costs around $700 (and wouldn't work well at all with an internal sound card).

Hi quality? Sorry, not with an internal sound card and a $50 mic.

You'll probably be best served by an inexpensive headset mic of the sort you can buy for Skype and such things--but you'll have to put up with some "static" and less than "high quality"
 
Bobbsy said:
Pray for a Christmas miracle.

"Pick up nothing but your voice" "No static" (using an internal sound card), "No external sound card" "High Quality" and a ludicrously low budget means you're asking for something that doesn't exist. The Blue Yeti, by the way, is a pretty good quality "unidirectional" mic. If it doesn't cut it in quality terms then you have a problem. Some may suggest a dynamic mic but an internal sound card won't have sufficient clean gain and you'd be limited to the budget end of the dynamic range anyhow...or need to get lucky on eBay.

Internal sound cards are rubbish quality at the best of times and with the best of mics, causing what you call static.

NO microphone can work miracles if your computer is as noisy as you say...a Coles 4104 lip mic (commonly used by sports casters in noisy crowd environments) would probably do it but it costs around $700 (and wouldn't work well at all with an internal sound card).

Hi quality? Sorry, not with an internal sound card and a $50 mic.

You'll probably be best served by an inexpensive headset mic of the sort you can buy for Skype and such things--but you'll have to put up with some "static" and less than "high quality"
Click to expand...

Agreed - What you asked is asking for a Mercedes and only want to pay the price of a push-bike.

It doesn't exist.
 
Audio Technica ART 2100

Well, the results you seek are a lofty goal. The microphone that will bring you closest to those goals is the (link here->) Audio Technica ART 2100 just under $40 at Amazon.

This is a Handheld dynamic microphone with USB digital output and XLR analog output. So you can run it straight to your computer, using the free Audacity Software to record with. Or, if you later decide to use a mixer, it will also connect to that using the XLR connection.
This microphone is touted by many podcast coaches as having a smooth extended frequency response ideally suited for podcasting, home studio recording, field recording, voiceover, and on-stage use.

The ATR 2100 also has a built-in HEADPHONE JACK allows you to directly monitor your microphone output without audible delay
As far as picking up only your voice, this mic does have a cardioid polar pattern to reduce the pickup of unwanted sounds from the sides and rear. BUT ALL MICROPHONES PICK UP WHATEVER NOISE IS IN THE ROOM. A heat pump, a fan on a computer, dog barking, that is kind of what mics do, they pickup sound, no matter if it is your voice or a doorbell ringing. You can do some audio processing after the recording to remove some of that, and you can add a limiter gate to help, but then you would have to have a mixer for that, really the only way to get just your voice, is to have the only sound the mic can here,,, to be your voice.

The ATR 2100 also has a Built-In Headphone Jack with Volume Control, this makes it easy for you to pre-listen to what room noises will be picked up. You can employ some good practices to reduce unwanted noise, such as using a good swing arm shock mount, Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand with Shock Mount $32 at Amazon. Position the mic so it is about 2 to 4 inches from your mouth, reducing the room noise as much as possible. I used some sound board from Lowes, and quilts, bed sheets, moving blankets, to create a room within a room in my recording area. But even with all that, when the heat pump kicks on, I can still hear it, one of the dogs bark, it gets recorded. A high quality set of headphones tailored to voice will go a long way to identify unwanted sound. Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphones are about as good as it gets for podcasting. However they run about $80 bucks on Amazon. So, do the best you can with what you can afford.

Here are a couple links to help you with podcasting equipment:

The Podcasters' Studio - Learn How To Podcast
School of Podcasting - Learn "How To Podcast" with Podcast Coach Dave Jackson | Podcast Consulting, Live Training, How to Podcast Tutorials, and Resources
 
The ATR 2100 is value for money but never forget that the money is low. The quality will NOT satisfy the "no static" and "high quality" portions of the spec.

AT are very cagey about figures on output level and noise levels...but several reviews mention that the USB output has some 5dB more system noise than the XLR out. If this is true (and I've not used the mic either) I wonder how much better than the built in sound card it'll really be and also whether a dynamic on a stand can ever have as good a rejection as a headset mic inches from the user's mouth.

It all depends on how serious the OP is about his podcast (and his spec). If he really cares as much about quality and low noise levels as he says, he'd do well to up the budget and get a decent XLR dynamic mic (with a proper published noise and output level spec) and an external interface with sufficient clean gain for the chosen mic.

If, on the other hand, the money is more important than "no static" and "high quality", by all means try the AT mic.

The point I was trying to make is that he simply cannot fulfil all his wish list at that budget and will have to compromise somewhere.
 
Yup- "plug and play". That means the mic has an analog to digital (A-D) converter and a microphone preamplifier (preamp) built in. Let's see- top quality A-D converters are a couple of grand. World-class preamps are $1000-$5000 per channel (or more in some cases). The best main vocal mics in the world run $5000-$10,000 or so. So- at a minimum, you want an $8500 signal chain for $50, and it must be miniaturized. So do I. I'd also like a new Ferrari for under $1000.

And you know what's worse? If you really spent all that money, (do a search on Neumann solution-D, which is the closest thing I know of to what you are asking for- about $10,000)- If you really did, the mic would pick up *everything*, from your ticking watch to your creaking chair. It would know if you had a carbonated beverage for lunch! Microphones pick up sound. It's what they do. The better they are, the better they do it. The *only* way to deal with noise is to get rid of the noise. There is no other way. All electronic solutions remove desired sound while removing undesired sound. That includes so-called "noise reduction" apps, "noise cancelling" headphones, and noise gates. Most electronic solutions also create their own noise, adding to the problem. EQ can be used very judiciously to decrease noise, as long as the noise isn't in a frequency band you are trying to record, but that is rarely the case. If you can design the mic that only picks up the sounds you want- patent that sucker, and become an instant billionaire. The whole key is first- finding a place that doesn't already have a lot of noise. Then, surrounding the source with *mass*. Then, figuring out how to make less noise. Get the damned CPU and it's evil fan into another room, or in an isolation booth. In other words, put *mass* between the noise and the mic. Next, you need to use equipment that doesn't make it's own noise. Of course, the less noise it makes, the more expensive it is. Then, break up flat surfaces that reflect sound, and soften their surface to decrease reflection. There is no simple answer to the problem. That's why people build recording studios with heavy insulation, dedicated HVAC systems, and isolation booths. Stick around here for a while, and you will find out the real answers. The first one is that no one here has a magic wand.
 
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