Shopping for usb mic for violin

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shindb81

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Hi. I'm looking to buy a USB microphone for a home studio mainly for violin solo with occasional piano accompaniment.

Audio-Technica AT2020 USB is $101.93 at Amazon now, and I was thinking of buying it. Does this sound like a good buy? I can't spend any more than this. Is there anything better at this price?
Thanks.
 
Those are basically for podcasters (internet radio). You'll have problems monitoring and the analog>digital converter chips in usb mics aren't that great.

You REALLY want to get a real asio-driver'ed low latency interface and standard mic (actually the standard at2020 isn't a bad start).

Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)
 
Thanks for the ideas.
If I were to get this M-Audio Fast Track Pro, what microphone would you suggest?
 
shindb81 said:
Thanks for the ideas.
If I were to get this M-Audio Fast Track Pro, what microphone would you suggest?
Click to expand...

Let's back up a step and define your recording goal--documenting practice/lessons? If so, the USB mic works pretty well. Trying to make a quality recording? Then you need not only the interface but usually *two* microphones, because you will want to make a stereo recording.
 
If you're just documenting practice/lessons, a Zoom recorder or similar will probably work even better. No hassle of dealing with a computer at all. You just end up with audio files on a flash card, and if you want to do something with them later, go for it.

If your goal is recording, then yeah, a decent interface and a decent condenser mic or two, probably small diaphragm. I rather like Jon's little tube SDCs on violin, personally, but it doesn't look like he's building any at the moment.

As for whether you want stereo or not, that, too, depends on what your goal is. For solo stuff, yeah, definitely. If you're recording a track to blend into a rock mix, probably not. That said, I'm assuming you're probably more into the classical/solo side of things. :)
 
This is for auditions :)
Is there ANY decent mic under $100 that will work with the USB interface?

Behringer C2 Instrument Condenser Microphones <- This one's within my budget. Is it going to be too ridiculous?
 
Behringer C2 or samson CO2 for pair(s). Never used them myself. Factor in interface, cables, stand, and other accessories.

What sort of audition are they for? making all state in HS? Getting a timeslot at the local symphony's audition? Getting a gig, maybe some that pay down at the local pub(s)?

What instrument plays a role too. You wouldn't want to record a loud instrument with a mic with a low SPL threshold. Or soft instrument with a mic with a high noise floor.
 
It's actually for auditions to music performance grad schools.
I need to replace the audio that I'll be recording on my camcorder with a better mic, and I am under the impression that I have to increase my budget..

I see that Audio-Technica AT2041SP is a two-mic package. And it costs a little over $100 at ebay.
Would that be a good option to use both mics at once?
How about just plain AT2020 alone that's cheaper?
Thanks.
 
There are better-quality mics you can get that will connect directly to your camera. They might not be quite as good as a professional microphone, but they will be a lot better than the camera's onboard mic, and cheaper than any (stereo) USB solution. Sound Professionals carries a range of them.
 
Does the school have any recommendations for what to use to record with? I'm assuming that we've evolved past the old 80's style boom box tapes for auditions. They'll probably dictate everything else for you, like what pieces to play and other things.

The other issue with USB mics is that they generally require a PC to use in the first place. Which could add it's own noises to the mix. Fans, HDD I/O, and other sounds. You could always check with the faculty, they might know someone with gear that could help you out. Or something they have to loan out and other things. Do you want the gear for the one off, or continued interests.

There are many camcorder specific mics that do well enough in that $50 - $100 range. Noticeably better than what comes with the camcorder anyway. The main issue is disabling the AGC (auto gain control) and otherwise setting just the right levels on camcorder. IF your video device has such audio features.
 
Cool. I might look into mics that connect directly to my camcorder then, although USB wouldn't add much noise, since I'm using a nearly silent laptop.

I just have to put it into DVD, and of course there are standard required repertoires, but no other technical A/V specification.
I think my HDC-TM700 has level setting controls. It's supposed to have better audio than other camcorders somehow, but granted, it's not meant for performance recording.
$50-$100 on those sounds encouraging :)
 
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Has anyone know how the Rode VideoMic would compare with Sony ECM-MS908C?
They both have mostly positive but some mixed reviews that say the internal mic is better, so it's hard to decide.
And would anyone know how they'd compare to Audio-Technica AT2020 USB?
I want to go for whatever has the best sound quality.
 
shindb81 said:
I think my HDC-TM700 has level setting controls. It's supposed to have better audio than other camcorders somehow, but granted, it's not meant for performance recording.
$50-$100 on those sounds encouraging :)
Click to expand...

That's a nice camcorder. But it has a fan, so that has the potential to add noise. But it does have level controls. One advantage of mics that plug into your camcorder is that you can put some distance between the mic and the camcorder. So even if they are of the same quality, one is still better. The only caveat of sorts, is that your camcorder probably records the audio track in a highly compressed format like AAC, AC3, or MP3. So if you want super high end larger than life quality, ain't going to happen. Even with the greatest of mics. Good enough for an audition tape I suppose. But if you need to do some EQ and other edits, the quality isn't getting any better.
 
Thanks to all for the suggestions.
It's so hard to make up my mind though.
Yeah, I just learned about the fan noise. Never bothered me before with plain home video recording, but now that I pay attention, it's there.

I might end up with just the Audio-Technica AT2020 USB as I originally thought. Maybe I'll buy both that and a mount mic to compare.
 
You should take a look at the Blue Yeti USB mic which has four polar patterns, a mic gain control, a mute button, and a zero-latency headphone output. I don't think there's a shockmount available for it though and I don't think it comes with a case or bag of some sort. I don't know if it's good for vocals or instruments but I heard it was better than the Audio-Technica AT2020 USB. The XLR route would be a more worthwhile choice though but if you like travelling with your mic then USB would be better.
 
For that sort of thing, like I said, a good portable recorder like a Zoom or whatever is going to give you significantly better sound quality than *any* USB mic, and is something you might actually use for other things, too.

Basically, you record onto the thing, then you plug it into your computer by USB and copy the audio files off of it like it's a hard drive. Many of them can also be used as audio interfaces/USB mics, and do a heck of a lot better job of that than any traditional USB mic, too.

You can do better by spending a chunk of change, but you'd have to spend quite a bit more. I use an H4N myself for random little one-off recordings of piano.
 
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