Stereo Mix (What U Hear) with XLR to USB Input?

[JJ Says Nay]

Hey guys, I have a newbie question for you. I'm in the market for a microphone, something affordable but something crisp at the same time. But as well as sounding good, I want it to be able to function with my Stereo Mix. That is, when you can record your voice and sounds from your computer as well(music, game sound, etc.). I discovered that USB does not do this, and the only other type of microphone I've had so far is a 3.5mm jack input. The 3.5mm works just fine. But, to my surprise, it seems like there aren't really any condenser or dynamic microphones made with that input except for the occasional camcorder mic attachment. I could be wrong! I haven't researched that much into it yet but it just seems like the ones that keep popping up are XLR or USB.

My question is, if I get an XLR microphone and get a XLR to USB Mic Converter/Mic Preamp, will I be able to do as I described?

Also just as a bonus, if I do go with an XLR microphone. What, in your opinion, is an affordable/quality microphone and preamp?

Thanks so much!

 

[cobaltaudio]

basically your question comes down to budget.
how much do you want to spend?

if you don't want to spend anything, stick with the 3.5mm mic which will be pretty poor quality. These are designed for use with speech for skype / webchatting etc so low quality is fine for that purpose.
If you want to record vocalists, musicians etc then you need something higher quality and probably more expensive.

so at the cheaper end of things, have a look at the usb 'blue snowball' mic which would be fine for podcasting or recording spoken word, some hobbyists use it for recording other things, but it's not going to be of incredible quality.

beyond that, a shure SM58 or SM57 will be a huge step up, but yes they are 'xlr' microphones.

In terms of preamps, what you actually want to be looking for is a recording interface. They will come with an xlr input on one side and a usb connection on the other, and all the bits and pieces of hardware you need in the middle (including preamp). Have a look for a Lexicon Alpha which is about as cheap as they come.

If you want something a bit more flexible or high quality, then have a look for a recording interface here.

Finally, this might give you a few more pointers in general on recording at home.

I hope that at least some of that answers your question!!

 

[JJ Says Nay]

basically your question comes down to budget.
how much do you want to spend?

Thanks for your post and your suggestions.

But my main question was if I'd be able to have the functionality of recording my voice as well as, let's say music at the same time? Basically, whatever my computer hears, it records. USB cannot do this but 3.5mm jacks can. But I want to get a high quality microphone which are made with the XLR. I've never had an XLR microphone so I can't test to see if I can do it or not myself.

 

[arcadeko]

Thanks for your post and your suggestions.

But my main question was if I'd be able to have the functionality of recording my voice as well as, let's say music at the same time? Basically, whatever my computer hears, it records. USB cannot do this but 3.5mm jacks can. But I want to get a high quality microphone which are made with the XLR. I've never had an XLR microphone so I can't test to see if I can do it or not myself.

Having your computer record what it is playing through it's speakers as well as your mic input is not a function of the type of microphone you have. It is a function of the software you are using. It comes down to your audio interface/sound card/recording software (DAW).

I am pretty sure there is a way to record what your computer is playing through the speakers (although I have never had the need to do this) and there should be a way to add in a mic source as well. You could always record from a condenser and turn your computer speakers up so it gets the room as well as the speakers.

This is all academic though - if you really want good answers you need to describe what you are trying to do in detail instead of assuming you have already found the problem - cause I can tell you that the problem is most likely not the type of mic...

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Thanks for your post and your suggestions.

But my main question was if I'd be able to have the functionality of recording my voice as well as, let's say music at the same time? Basically, whatever my computer hears, it records. USB cannot do this but 3.5mm jacks can. But I want to get a high quality microphone which are made with the XLR. I've never had an XLR microphone so I can't test to see if I can do it or not myself.

What you are trying to do is not really like what people who record music need from their systems, so they don't generally understand or care much about it. Nothing personal.

You could connect a mic via XLR to a mic preamp, and the output of the preamp to the 3.5mm input. It might sound better than what you've got now, but then the limiting factor for sound quality would be the cheap sound card in your computer.

If, instead, you get an audio interface you may get the features and the quality you want. Perhaps a small mixer-interface would be the best bet. They generally only record the stereo mix from the board, which for your purposes might be just what you need.