Not sure where to start (Looking for a mic)

[TheLaw]

I started to get serious about audio related stuff in the past 8 months. It took me that long to find a pair of headphones I really loved (Denon 2000.) Now I'm trying to find a good microphone to use on a desktop computer. I plan to use it for 2 things, one of which being skype and other voice chat programs. For this I know a cheap $15 microphone would suffice . But I also want to record voice samples for my friend.

This has been bugging me and I'm not sure what causes it. When I record anything from my headset it will only playback on the left headphone. 98% of the songs I play from these headphones works perfect but every once and a while it will only play on the left side.

So with this said I'd like to spend under $120 on a microphone that I could plug into my desktop computer. If i could I'd like a decent sized microphone so it doesn't get knocked over on my desk.

Also keep in mind that I am completely new to the recording aspect of sounds but fairly knowledgeable about sounds in general.

 

[Richard Monroe]

The problem is- by and large, microphones do not plug into computers. Mics that are any good require preamplifiers. Then the signal must be converted to a digital format. The sound cards in computers, by and large, are garbage, so you want to bypass them, going in by USB or firewire. So- you need a mic, a preamp, and an analog to digital (A-D) convertor.

There are some cheap mics that have the preamp and the AD convertor built in, but that limits your ability to monitor with headphones. Example:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=30906&Category=Microphones

It is also possible to buy a miniaturized preamp and A-D convertor, so you can plug any mic you want into it. Example:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=42882&Category=Audio_Interfaces

This is better, because then you can use a mic that will have other uses, and will probably cost less, but it still doesn't give you a headphone jack with a separate volume control.

The better solution is a USB powered interface. Here's a cheap example:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=27765&Category=Audio_Interfaces


If I was you, with your stated budget, I'd probably buy a Fast Track and a cheap dynamic mic, such as:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=6535&Category=Microphones

That will give you versatility, and sound quality good enough for your stated needs.

Good luck-Richie

 

[TheLaw]

The Marshall Electronics MXL DRK looks exactly what I want. Thanks

 

[Chibi Nappa]

I started to get serious about audio related stuff in the past 8 months. It took me that long to find a pair of headphones I really loved (Denon 2000.) Now I'm trying to find a good microphone to use on a desktop computer. I plan to use it for 2 things, one of which being skype and other voice chat programs. For this I know a cheap $15 microphone would suffice . But I also want to record voice samples for my friend.

This has been bugging me and I'm not sure what causes it. When I record anything from my headset it will only playback on the left headphone. 98% of the songs I play from these headphones works perfect but every once and a while it will only play on the left side.

So with this said I'd like to spend under $120 on a microphone that I could plug into my desktop computer. If i could I'd like a decent sized microphone so it doesn't get knocked over on my desk.

Also keep in mind that I am completely new to the recording aspect of sounds but fairly knowledgeable about sounds in general.

If I read you correctly your problem is not sound quality, but that you only get sound in the left ear. A new microphone will not fix this.

Sounds to me like your recording program is set to record stereo. A single microphone is mono. Most things default to "left" when presented with a mono signal in a stereo situation. In this case your software would be recording two tracks, getting data for only one track, using that data to fill the left and using nothing to fill the right.

Set your recording software to record mono tracks. That should fix it.