Direct to computer microphone recommendations

[Gratefuliving]

Seeking some recommendations on a ~$300 microphone I can plug directly into my macbook. Primary use will be for skype lessons and recording videos for critique/ collaboration so (I think) I really just need it to be clear and capture dynamic range/ attack technique effectively. Thinking about it another way, I want to make sure I can hear my mistakes/ what I'm playing but it's not super important that it duplicates how it sounds to me in terms of tone and atmosphere.

I know very little about microphones, so if someone has opinions on whether $100 vs. $250 dollar mics for this purpose are a 'worthwhile' jump in quality that would be very helpful. I'd also be curious where the consensus (dangerous word on here I know) is that the 'quality' jumps are in relation to price.

[Arthur Blake]

This may not be the answer you seek... but I found the built in microphone with Audacity (free) does a surprisingly good job of recording guitar and voice on my MacBook Pro mid 2009, so if yours has a built in microphone, give it a try.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Gratefuliving

Seeking some recommendations on a ~$300 microphone I can plug directly into my macbook. Primary use will be for skype lessons and recording videos for critique/ collaboration so (I think) I really just need it to be clear and capture dynamic range/ attack technique effectively. Thinking about it another way, I want to make sure I can hear my mistakes/ what I'm playing but it's not super important that it duplicates how it sounds to me in terms of tone and atmosphere.

I know very little about microphones, so if someone has opinions on whether $100 vs. $250 dollar mics for this purpose are a 'worthwhile' jump in quality that would be very helpful. I'd also be curious where the consensus (dangerous word on here I know) is that the 'quality' jumps are in relation to price.

Hi Gl…
There are a ton of small interfaces in the sub-$100 range which allow one to plug in a condenser mic to your computer, (and provide phantom power for the mic), and most of them include a free version of software to accomplish the recording end of things.

If not, there are free recording programs like Audacity which are made for all computer platforms, and work great for it.

For what you are asking of it, there is likely no need to buy a $250 mic over a $150 one. The reliable Behringer B-2 is a large diaphragm mic which sounds better when singing/speaking is involved, and picks up guitars just fine. It comes with a suspension mount, a hard shell carrying case, and windscreen.

There are actually a lot of mics in that category and price range which perform well. I was impressed with the B-2 when I had an active studio and someone brought one in to compare with my high end mics. Of all the lower end mics I tried through my high end gear, the Behringer B-2 actually had a very pleasant tone, and three way pattern (Omni, cardioid and figure 8 if I remember right).

For your anticipated use, even the Behringer is overkill, but I suspect you may enjoy having a bit more quality and flexibility once you see how useful an interface/mic combo is. Though it is possible to plug mics directly in without an interface, the sound is not very good doing so, and probably not the quality you specified. And unless you are using a condenser mic which has internal batteries, you'd be limited to a dynamic mic.

A two channel interface would do nicely. Lexicon, M-Audio, Presonus, Focusrite, and ART all build small interfaces which would do nicely. Just make sure it has XLR inputs, volume control over the mic, 48V phantom power for mics, and USB output.

In that range you should expect to find an interface which has all those features and perhaps even simple mixing capability as a stand alone mixer apart from computer use (I own a little ART interface/mixer that has all that and it was $79)

Skype on a MacBook will give you choices as to the mic available.

I have a Logitech HD camera hooked to our Macs, and it has mics built in, and I can switch the audio input to those mics directly in Skype. I can switch to any audio source interfaced with the computer through the audio section in the System Prefs.

Hope this helps.

[MaurysMusic]

Originally Posted by Gratefuliving

Seeking some recommendations on a ~$300 microphone I can plug directly into my macbook. Primary use will be for skype lessons and recording videos for critique/ collaboration so (I think) I really just need it to be clear and capture dynamic range/ attack technique effectively. Thinking about it another way, I want to make sure I can hear my mistakes/ what I'm playing but it's not super important that it duplicates how it sounds to me in terms of tone and atmosphere.

I know very little about microphones, so if someone has opinions on whether $100 vs. $250 dollar mics for this purpose are a 'worthwhile' jump in quality that would be very helpful. I'd also be curious where the consensus (dangerous word on here I know) is that the 'quality' jumps are in relation to price.

I like the Rode NT5 and use one of these to connect it to my MacBook when I'm on a location and away from my studio.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=REG&A=details

[Vognell]

I've messed around with the Blue Yeti, and it will certainly capture your mistakes, with excruciating clarity. Should be good for skype and casual youtube vids. I'm not certain how it would work for serious recording, as I'm nowhere near the point of trying that myself. There are plenty of examples of the microphone in operation out there in youtube land.

[MikeBmusic]

This thread should be in the recording section of the forum - there are several similar threads there already.

Your choices:
USB Mic - advantage: one device to do it all, compatible with any computer with a USB port. Disadvantages: limited monitoring capability, cannot expand to use a differnet microphone in conjunction with it, USB mics have limited resale market.

Standard mic (dynamic or condensor) plus an audio interface. Advantages: mic can be used for recording or live use, can use different mics at same time - multiple mics (depends on interface); better monitoring capability; most interfaces come with a limited-edition recording software.

For your description, I'd recommend a decent 2-channel interface like the Scarlett 2i2 or the Steinberg UR22 plus a $150 condensor mic.

[Aaron Smith]

Apogee Mic. Relatively cheap, great sound, plug and play with a computer, Iphone or Ipad.

[Toby Walker]

I like this one a great deal. It's the Blue Yeti USB microphone. You can adjust the gain and the polar patterns, making it fairly versatile. It's also a little over a hundred bucks.



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=REG&A=details

[Guitar Hack]

Like you I have spend a lot of time trying to find a decent mic. In the end I found that a cheap mic sent to Michael Joly for modification does a great job of turning mediocre mics into gems.

The first time I had one done I was amazed that i could turn the mic all the way up and not hear hiss, crackle and pop. I heard dead silence unless I was making a sound. You can get amazing quality for a fraction of the cost.

You can take an MXL 990 which you can pick up on Craigslist for a song and send it to Michael Joly and he replaces the cheap Chinese electronics with high quality components and replaces the sound capsule with ones made to his specifications.

The next step is using a good computer interface. Focusrite is probably your best bet as they have highly regarded mic preamps.

I found you can record and not do anything to your guitar track and it sounds great as it is.

You will find a lot of opinions here on cheap mics. A good computer recording program that's easy to use is either Garageband for apple or Mixcraft 7 for Windows based computers. Yes you can get the absolute best out there ie. Pro-Tools and the like but you need a sound engineering degree to make them work properly. Most of us don't have that.

[DesolationAngel]

Originally Posted by Aaron Smith

Apogee Mic. Relatively cheap, great sound, plug and play with a computer, Iphone or Ipad.

+1 for the Apogee Mic, hard to beat.

[pszy22]

Let me start off by saying I'm a totally non-professional hack that plays around only to entertain myself. I originally played around using a mic, thru a preamp into my pc via Audacity. I didn't have a whole lot invested (well under $100) and it worked ok for my purposes. The only downside, it took a while to set up and break down.

I ended up buying one of these, I was amazed how good it sounds and the ease of use. Works much better for my purposes than my old setup. These were on sale a while back for $49, less a $20 rebate. For me, a bargain at twice the prices. Of course, don't know how well it would work for you.

[ChuckS]

I agree with getting something like the Scarlett 2i2 for an interface (I use the Scarlett 6i6) and a condenser mic. You might want to consider the ADK A6 (online for $169 with rigid mount or $229 with shock mount/cable/pop filter/metal case). If you do consider the A6 I may be putting one up for sale (with shock mount/cable/pop filter/metal case); I have two and don't use them often.

[Vognell]

Originally Posted by pszy22

Let me start off by saying I'm a totally non-professional hack that plays around only to entertain myself. I originally played around using a mic, thru a preamp into my pc via Audacity. I didn't have a whole lot invested (well under $100) and it worked ok for my purposes. The only downside, it took a while to set up and break down.

I ended up buying one of these, I was amazed how good it sounds and the ease of use. Works much better for my purposes than my old setup. These were on sale a while back for $49, less a $20 rebate. For me, a bargain at twice the prices. Of course, don't know how well it would work for you.

+1. These things are great, portable, and can be found super cheap

[JohnDWilliams]

Originally Posted by Guitar Hack

Like you I have spend a lot of time trying to find a decent mic. In the end I found that a cheap mic sent to Michael Joly for modification does a great job of turning mediocre mics into gems.

The first time I had one done I was amazed that i could turn the mic all the way up and not hear hiss, crackle and pop. I heard dead silence unless I was making a sound. You can get amazing quality for a fraction of the cost.

You can take an MXL 990 which you can pick up on Craigslist for a song and send it to Michael Joly and he replaces the cheap Chinese electronics with high quality components and replaces the sound capsule with ones made to his specifications.

The next step is using a good computer interface. Focusrite is probably your best bet as they have highly regarded mic preamps.

I found you can record and not do anything to your guitar track and it sounds great as it is.

You will find a lot of opinions here on cheap mics. A good computer recording program that's easy to use is either Garageband for apple or Mixcraft 7 for Windows based computers. Yes you can get the absolute best out there ie. Pro-Tools and the like but you need a sound engineering degree to make them work properly. Most of us don't have that.

If you can solder you can go to Microphone-Parts.com and get the parts to do the mod yourself. I put a new capsule (K47) into an MXL 990 USB and, directly into a laptop, it's a great portable setup.

Blue also makes the Spark Digital which will plug into an iOS device or into a USB port.