Which mic?

kickingtone

New member
When I started singing I used cheap 1 pound headset mics. After a while I bought a cheapo entry level mic for 20 odd pounds.

The idea was to do progressive mic upgrades as my vocals improved, and learn to understand mics (what's good and what's bad) at the same time. But I don't know what this entry level mic is giving me. If anything, it sounds worse to me! What am I suppose to be looking for? What is it doing to justify the extra cost?... apart from not breaking if I accidentally stamp on it?

Here's what the 1 pound headset sounds like..







And here is the entry level mic..





 
It's subjective of course but I think the second mic sounds more suitable for music recording. I think your opinion might change if you compare them in a mix. (Sorry if one of those is a mix, I just compared the first file for each.)
 
I do find the sound of the first mic relatively "tinny", but the second mic seems to have poor response at higher frequency, imo. So both are very basic. In songs where I want the vocals to cut through a mix (rather than blend in), I just feel that the second mic will be worse. Anyway, experimenting with how they sound in a mix is a good idea. Thanks! I'll give it a try instead of guessing.
 
Bizarre!

I had been running Audacity and plugging in the $20 mic, and the sound was disappointing, as in the OP.

Well, I've just discovered that if I run Audacity, plug in the $2 mic, use it, then swap in the $20 mic, the £20 mic starts responding properly!

A driver/sound card compatibility issue?

I am guessing that what was causing the problem is that the $20 mic loads its own driver which doesn't sit well with the sound card, resulting in a poor recording. But using the $2 mic first, forces the default driver to load, which is compatible with the sound card!???

Anyway, YIPPEEEEE! It now sounds OK, and I can use it for practice.
 
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