USB microphones, any good?

krafter · Post by **krafter** » Sat May 30, 2009 3:49 pm

I'm in the market for a USB mic, i think this would be useful instead of having to get a mixing desk, usb converter jobby and a mic on top of that.

Firstly, are they actually any good? i've read a few reviews and they seem to be positive in terms of quality, and are there any models people can reccomend/had any experience with? I'm looking to spend under £100

Thanks

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Sat May 30, 2009 3:55 pm

depends on what you want to do with it; if you're recording anything that's meant to stand on its own in terms of fidelity (crushing live drums, a really smooth cello solo, etc) then no... i personally wouldn't think it's up to the task.

if you want to record found sound, audio snippets, little vocal bits then absolutely--- spend that little bit of change and get to work!

r · Post by r » Sat May 30, 2009 3:58 pm

if you want to use a mic like it should be used... no

people who make this kinda crap must die.... they only want your money.

krafter · Post by **krafter** » Sat May 30, 2009 4:01 pm

I'll mostly likely be using it for small snipets, maybe a bit of vocal, bit of guitar. If they aren't really up to the job, would a SM57 do the job? In my experience they have always been excellent for me.

j-sh · Post by **j-sh** » Sat May 30, 2009 5:56 pm

I've got one from Samson the Co1u
In most things you get what you pay for, and its true for this mic too
It's actually got a pretty nice sound, I would say the quality is perfect for recording stuff to put in electronic tracks whether they be dubstep or whatever. Like found sounds, little guitar riffs, noises or whatever

But yeh, if you're using it for actually recording stuff to stand alone its probably not gunna do the job

bass hertz · Post by **bass hertz** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:59 pm

rusko used thema lot for vocal snippets. of course heavy tweeks afterwards.

macc · Post by **macc** » Sun May 31, 2009 12:32 am

That little samson is alright from what I remember

krafter · Post by **krafter** » Sun May 31, 2009 9:49 am

Yeah i was looking at this samson model: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samson-CO1U-Stu ... 234&sr=8-4

Thanks for all the advice

subindex · Post by **subindex** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:14 pm

its fine 4 recording in but you cant monitor out speakers as recording without latency in ableton im fucking confused]\

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:26 pm

there's a decent akg for vocals if i recall

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:33 pm

Most decent audio interfaces have mic inputs, phantom power even a lot of them. So why bother? You don't have a decent audio interface? I would say that should be your priority then.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:38 pm

yea def what i advise daily
hell just upsold someone yesterday bout to get a cheap usb mic to a sm58 and a direct usb mic interface since didnt wanna chip extra 20 for a decent interface with clr in

d16 · Post by **d16** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:57 pm

I myself own A Samson G-track.

Without any EQ'ing etc, it sounds quite dull.
Here I made a comp. between dry and wet:
http://www.mediafire.com/?0tedfdth1rr
1st part is raw from the mic,
2nd part is with EQ, Compressor and very light reverb.
Might not notice a lot but in a mix it'll make the diffrence between having your vocals put away deep in the mix,
Or making it come out like it really belongs there.[/img]

wormcode · Post by **wormcode** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:21 am

I have used a couple for simple stuff, I wouldn't recommend them for "serious" recording, but they are great for what they are. I have even used one to record a live set when we didn't have enough cables/outputs one time, and also as a kind of experiment. It didn't turn out great, but it wasn't totally horrible either.. the frequencies obviously didn't translate well, but apart from that it was listenable.

Honestly for the price some of them cost it's better to just get an actual XLR type mic & pop filter etc IMO, especially if you want to do more "serious" recording such as a singer. If you just want to say shit into the mic and record the odd noise now and again though they are more than adequate. If you don't have a mixer, phantom power or XLR inputs there are also XLR > USB converters that work as a power source and amp, they work decently well.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:17 am

man i just hate how bulky the snowball is
prolly with a pop filter would be aight for vox
anad as far as needing phantom power i assume you guys are talking condensers yes?

d16 · Post by **d16** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:49 am

Deadly Habit wrote:man i just hate how bulky the snowball is
prolly with a pop filter would be aight for vox
anad as far as needing phantom power i assume you guys are talking condensers yes?

Yep.
What I like about USB mic's tho,
Is that you don't need Phantom power.
It pulls it straight from the USB.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:12 am

yea but same cost dynamic just need a decent preamp

d16 · Post by **d16** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:41 am

Deadly Habit wrote:yea but same cost dynamic just need a decent preamp

The audio quality between Condenser and Dynamic mics isn't HUGE.
But it really is noticeable.

wormcode · Post by **wormcode** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:29 am

Deadly Habit wrote:man i just hate how bulky the snowball is
prolly with a pop filter would be aight for vox
anad as far as needing phantom power i assume you guys are talking condensers yes?

Yeah man it's ugly as fuck. It's pretty handy for what it is though like I said, way better than one of those long skinny ones that come with computers anyway. Their other mics are more attractive though I think, like their condensers:

I think that one looks pretty nice, but i'm not sure about the quality. I have read they have won some awards for their mics, but I think if I were going to spend hundreds on a mic I would probably go with a classic trusted brand.

dots · Post by **dots** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:30 pm

Krafter wrote:I'm in the market for a USB mic, i think this would be useful instead of having to get a mixing desk, usb converter jobby and a mic on top of that.

Firstly, are they actually any good? i've read a few reviews and they seem to be positive in terms of quality, and are there any models people can reccomend/had any experience with? I'm looking to spend under £100

Thanks

rusko uses a usb mic

USB microphones, any good?

USB microphones, any good?

Re: USB microphones, any good?

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