Oh jesus help me buy a mic please

  • Thread starter Thread starter nickeym1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
N

nickeym1

New member
Hi i have decided to buy a mic and thought hey i will go on to ebay and buy the first one i see boy did i get a fright. Can someone help me choose somehting please. What i want it for basically is to record vids for youtube for now. Something cheap to be honest i play guitar unplugged and sing and am looking for a mic that will plug in to my sound card if thats possible its a creative xfi soundcard. I was hoping for a condenser mic as i hear they have good quality sound. Sorry if i sound stupid in what im asking for but i really have not got a clue. Oh ya and when i say cheap i mean in or around the 50 euro mark maby a little more if it makes a big difference. Thanks in advance guys
 
Buy a mic

I've just registered to answer so this is to see if I'm in
 
Yep I'M IN ETC..
ok buying a mic, first are you still out there interested cos it aint easy just to go buy a mic even on limited funds or bulging wallet, so post back
 
I don't know that sound card so first you need to find out if it will take mic input, often cards dont, which will mean other solutions.. but it might, though the quality won't be real "pro" even if it does...mic pre amps alone can cost a whole heap o cash, but will probably do for the youtube thing,
then we'll cary on
 
I don't think the X-FI has phantom power. For your situation, and assuming you aren't overly concerned with fidelity or upgrading to a more professional setup, I reluctantly recommend a USB mic.

/shudder
 
Well it does have a mic input but I would tend to avoid it and think about the USB option..these mics as the name implies plug into a usb socket and come with their own pre amps and in theory should just work (if selected correctly in the recording software.!!!!). I have no experience of these, but companies like M-Audio, SE Studio Projects, Samson are nameas to look for on an ebay search..search "mic usb"
 
Last edited:
Well it does have a mic input but I would tend to avoid it and think about the USB option..these mics as the name implies plug into a usb socket and come with their own pre amps and in theory should just work (if selected correctly in the recording software.!!!!). I have no experience of these, but companies like M-Audio, SE Studio Projects, Samson are nameas to look for on an ebay search..search "mic usb"

Why do people not like the usb mics?? just curious. And why should i not plug a normal mic into my sound card if it will fit and again sorry for the newbie questions
 
OK the guys that deride usb, work to supposed pro standards (comments indicate otherwise!!), which is questionable with usb(to do with noise and other factors that effect signal)...but for many hobbyists and home studio use, CAN be acceptable..what are expectations?...
The input on games sound cards were never intented for serious recording.. the input plug is usually a wee little jack... and they ARE VERY NOISEY (the sound cards)
{the AKG c12 mic mentioned is one old classic (still being cloned by others) and would be verily unhappy if plugged into said type of sound card...oh and so would the musicians engineer etc LOL},

Lets just put all this into perspective...some mics can cost well into the thousands of £, $ euro...and so do some pre amps..but it is a case of diminishing rerturns..you gotta pay expotentially more for little improvement and have the rest of the gear to appreciate it all ...but when it does all come together, we all come together..as it were!!
 
OK the guys that deride usb, work to supposed pro standards (comments indicate otherwise!!), which is questionable with usb(to do with noise and other factors that effect signal)...but for many hobbyists and home studio use, CAN be acceptable..what are expectations?...
The input on games sound cards were never intented for serious recording.. the input plug is usually a wee little jack... and they ARE VERY NOISEY (the sound cards)
{the AKG c12 mic mentioned is one old classic (still being cloned by others) and would be verily unhappy if plugged into said type of sound card...oh and so would the musicians engineer etc LOL},

Lets just put all this into perspective...some mics can cost well into the thousands of £, $ euro...and so do some pre amps..but it is a case of diminishing rerturns..you gotta pay expotentially more for little improvement and have the rest of the gear to appreciate it all ...but when it does all come together, we all come together..as it were!!

Toonertik -

You have the gist of the argument against USB mics, and you are offering sound advice to Nickeym1. Don't let the fact that we kid and poke fun discourage you from posting here, or give you the impression that we're flippant and abrasive. We're just having fun, having answered these questions - literally - hundreds of times. Stick around and you'll give in to the temptation to crack wise as well.

Welcome to HR. Stick around, it's a good community.
 
OK the guys that deride usb, work to supposed pro standards (comments indicate otherwise!!), which is questionable with usb(to do with noise and other factors that effect signal)...but for many hobbyists and home studio use, CAN be acceptable..what are expectations?...
The input on games sound cards were never intented for serious recording.. the input plug is usually a wee little jack... and they ARE VERY NOISEY (the sound cards)
{the AKG c12 mic mentioned is one old classic (still being cloned by others) and would be verily unhappy if plugged into said type of sound card...oh and so would the musicians engineer etc LOL},

Lets just put all this into perspective...some mics can cost well into the thousands of £, $ euro...and so do some pre amps..but it is a case of diminishing rerturns..you gotta pay expotentially more for little improvement and have the rest of the gear to appreciate it all ...but when it does all come together, we all come together..as it were!!

You are a fountain of knowlege my man and i appreciate the help. Well as i said im just using a mic to post youtube vids im only starting out so this is where i have chose to start. What im using at the moment is a built in webcam for the sound recording and its bloody awful so a half decent usb condenser mic would probably be a huge step up and will probably be more than enough to keep me happy. Here is one that caught my eye http://cgi.ebay.ie/Samson-C03U-USB-...s_MJ?hash=item439960ca73&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 what do you think of it is there anything that would turn you off buying it or would it serve my purpose well and also would i need to buy anything else for it if i bought it (ie. what kind of stand or other accesories
 
I guess even a samson USB mic should be ok for your use...but If I was to get Jesus involved in miracling a mic to you...Id aim a bit higher.

Id like to add than you should think of a Zoom H2 as a choice too....just because you can use it in the field away from your computer.
 
Toonertik -

You have the gist of the argument against USB mics, and you are offering sound advice to Nickeym1. Don't let the fact that we kid and poke fun discourage you from posting here, or give you the impression that we're flippant and abrasive. We're just having fun, having answered these questions - literally - hundreds of times. Stick around and you'll give in to the temptation to crack wise as well.

Welcome to HR. Stick around, it's a good community.

Its ok man i can take it :) i understand that theres probably thousands of people after asking these same questions i just could not find the answers i was looking sorry for the same boring questions
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top