What is the best USB microphone for recording vocals

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dgatwood said:
Not quite true. They finally released the USB Audio Class 2.0 spec, so now you can have a class-compliant device with more inputs. I don't know if anybody is actually building them yet, and I don't think Windows supports the 2.0 audio class with its built-in drivers, making it largely a moot point for most folks, but.... :D
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Which was kind of my point. USB 2.0 has been out what? The better part of a decade? And there's still not quite as much bandwidth there as firewire and USB 3.0 which is already in production IIRC.
 
musicnstuffz said:
Hello, I am looking for a USB microphone to record singing from classical to pop.
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I looked at this question very seriously several months ago and came away with the conclusion that if you are serious about recording a singing voice, there is no USB mic available. And there are other problems in using your PC/laptop as a recorder.

For example, you will have laptop/PC fan noise. And as others have noted, PC/laptops are not designed to convert analog sound to digital. A USB port cannot drive a good XLR mic, and the only way to capture a human singing voice is through a good XLR condensor microphone.

I opted finally to record the singing voice separately and to mix it (digitally) on my laptop.

If you want to record merely a speaking voice for a low res documentary, blog or a youtube video voiceover, then a USB mic may be good enough. But for singing, I wouldn't bother. It will sound cheap, particularly after the inevitable edits and permutations.
 
ok i just noticed how big of a noob i am at this.

As of now i have decided to get a microphone and an interface. So my noob question is, how do I record? as in, do i hook up the interface to a computer? if not, what "machine" do i use to do the recording?
 
ok being that it is illegal to not own a shure sm7b buy it and dont ask questions, as for interface, i have a basically new delta 66 and a tubepre(b/c you'll need a preamp too for the 66) all for 240$ but i shouldnt have posted that little bit of info here. :D
 
I would highly recommend a USB microphone for recording your voice overs and singing. ....................................Only if you talk/sing in digital code!....come to think of it that would be pretty cool.






:cool:
 
moresound said:
I would highly recommend a USB microphone for recording your voice overs and singing. ....................................Only if you talk/sing in digital code!....come to think of it that would be pretty cool.






:cool:
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lol....................................
 
Quote from Dgatwood:

"Ignoring the fact that it is based on older converter technology, the main reason I'd recommend against the MobilePre is that the phantom supply voltage is inadequate. That's an unfortunate side effect of the interface being solely powered by the USB port, as far as I can tell."

I don't think so. It's more a function of bad (and cheap) engineering. There are plenty of USB powered units that can deliver pretty damn close to a real 48v. Zoom offers a 24V/48V option, to save juice when using less critical mics. The C2000b, for instance, does fine with 16V, by spec, but the KM184 wants 48V or else. Line 6 UX-2 does fine. The Mobilepre is really just an obsolete, poorly designed, bottomfeeder interface.

Anyway, for that $500 budget, I'd probably buy a Line 6 UX-2 (on sale)

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=60669&Category=Audio_Interfaces

and a B.L.U.E. Bluebird:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41078&Category=Microphones

If you want to save some money for cables, headphones, etc. (You will need monitors but they are not really in the current budget), The V67 recommended above is not a bad choice:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=6458&Category=Microphones


How do you hook it up to the computer? By USB. The problem with USB mics is not that they use USB. The problem is that their Analog-to-Digital converters suck, and their preamps suck. It is worth noting that this probably doesn't apply quite so much to a Neumann Solution D- but that's an $8,000 or so digital mic, and I'm thinking that $7,900 and a few looney German engineers could improve the platform a bit.

The UX-2 comes with Ableton and Reason audio processing software, but many here swear by Reaper, which is dirt cheap on line.

Also note that there are very small mic to USB adaptors. Unfortunately, the cheaper ones don't give you a headphone jack like some USB mics do. Anyway, using an adaptor is a better choice than a USB mic when you want to go direct to USB, when you don't need real good audio quality (say remote podcasting). You can use the adaptor with *any* mic, so you are not saddled with a mic that can only plug into a computer, and has poor quality electronic components built in. Note also that the little USB adaptors don't have preamps or A-D conversion that's any better than the average USB mic, but at least, *you can disconnect them* Example:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=44712&Category=Audio_Interfaces

Best of luck-Richie
 
i reap a lot of from this thread , very useful for me . thanks!
 
Richard Monroe said:
I don't think so. It's more a function of bad (and cheap) engineering. There are plenty of USB powered units that can deliver pretty damn close to a real 48v.
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Fair enough. M-Audio seems to have a long history of cutting corners, judging from the problems I've seen.

That said, USB up through 2.0 only provides 500 mA and can be as low as 4.75V (5V +/- 5%) and still be in spec. 2.37W isn't really that much when you need at least 2 x 10 mA x 48V (almost a watt) just for the phantom power without taking into account conversion loss or providing power for the rest of the device.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but USB is rather stingy with power, at least when compared with FireWire, which in some hardware can provide up to 45W (depending on the machine), and typically provides at least 7W.
 
ok once again guys thanks for all the help
now im trying to decide between a
Line 6 POD Studio UX2 for $160
and
M-Audio Fast Track Pro for $125
now i know these prices dont seem that much different but remember I'm a broke college student. If the difference between the two are not noticeable then i would go with the cheaper one, but if the difference is significant, then i'll take the blow and go for the UX2.
advice?
 
The Line 6 comes with Pod Farm 2 and this has some famous mic preamps modeled as part of the software package. How good are they ? Not sure. You may want to search it on youtube I think some dude did a review of all the different vocal presets. The downside to the Pod Studio range is you have to have the unit plugged in to use the included software and you have to have the software running to use your onboard mic in skype or listen to youtube etc. A real pain in the ass if you ask me.

Also. I recommend the Studio Projects B1 microphone.

Very good reviews all over the net for the B1

The M-Audio Fast Track comes with a version of Protools if that appeals. It will include some plugins to hone your sound.

Personally. I think that Reaper is the future of DAWS ;) ..I have used them all ( Logic, Protools, Cubase etc ) and its just that easy to work with. And fast.
 
dintymoore said:
I don't know either of those units but I have used these and they sound great. The reverb that comes with it is worth the money alone, plus it comes with Cubase LE:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lexicon-Omega-D...125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5e46ad85

They sell for about $85 used on eBay all the time.
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Yeah, I looked into that and the web indicated that the plugin version of their famous verb is not up to scratch.

If you want a good and FREE reverb, you cant beat Epicverb . In fact, all the free plugins on that site are fantastic.
 
If you're hard set on USB, sound devices just announced it's updated USBpre2. A bit pricey near $600 to $700-ish USD. But you'd be hard pressed to beat it in terms of USB interfaces. And it can also be used as a stand alone field recorder, although powering it gets a little weird. And relative to their 702 and mixpre options cheap (for sound devices).

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm
 
Here you go KC, use my paypal account the pass word is .....NOT ON YOUR LIFE :D






:cool:
 
Sony Vocal Mic for dialog recording?

Hi, I just wanted to know if I should get the Sony FV420 Vocal Microphone for the use of dialog recording?
It's not just going to be talking into it like an interview but rather recording all kinds of voices high, low, screaming, shouting, and all kinds of craziness.
I ask if this Sony one is good enough for this purpose because it fits my price range and seems to be of very high quality for beginners such as myself.
Any pointers??
 
Yep...if you want to ask a question, click the New Thread button at the top of the page and ask....

The answer to your question is "it depends". What are you going to be doing with your recording. What's its purpose?
 
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