NMD: Apogee HypeMic
 

I’ve been trying to simplify my music streaming and sharing setup. I have a nice interface from Focusrite with two channels that will do 24/196 recording. But it’s a lot to setup in the rec room with the boom stand, etc. every time I want to play some music. I don’t have a dedicated recording studio space.

I have a nice Shure MV88 iPad mic, but the new iPad I got has a different interface. So the sure is basically a useless toy.

I wanted to use a USB mic.

First I tried the Zoom H2N recorder in interface mode but it was mostly a disaster. The drivers would never pick it up right on my Windows 10 laptop and the bit depth and sampling rate were always messed up.

Next, I ordered a Blue Yeti X USB mic assuming that would be the answer. It wasn’t super expensive. It worked pretty well for two weeks and then just stopped working altogether. I boxed it back up for a return.

Then, I spent this weekend using a real Shure small diaphragm condensed into the interface and got a nice sound. But, again it’s a lot to haul around for a quick recording or session with a friend.

I decided to look into something else and reviewed all the USB mics on the market. Most would be just fine. I was shooting for 24/96 recording so it will last a few years.

I saw the Apogee HypeMic and was interested because it has an analog compression circuit before the A/D converter stage.

Wow! This thing sounds as good as the real deal mic with a full interface.

And it comes with a nice case and kit. Frankly, I thought it was expensive when I bought it. Now I think it’s a bargain. Hopefully it lasts a long time.

This is my first Apogee product. It’s made in the USA for those who care. It probably won’t be my last.

Cheers!

Looking forward to hearing how this works out for you. Are you using on vocals and guitar simultaneously or just guitar or? I had the original Apogee Mic and enjoyed using it for awhile.

Would love to hear a sample or two and get a description of your setup!

I found this nice video that I forgot to post:

https://youtu.be/uP_uQTtcpsI

I'd never heard of that product so I had to look it up. It's interesting. Is there a way to gauge how much compression your applying? I'm assuming you can see the gain level in your daw but I'm wondering how they keep the novice from overcompressing a track unless there's some kind of governor that only lets you go so far.

If it’s good enough for Bob Miner and his ‘36 D-18, it’s good enough for me. I plan to do the AGF Open mic this Saturday night and I’ll be using the single HypeMic for vocals and guitar.

It has three compression settings low, medium, and smash. Basically, you can’t screw it up. It’s all managed internally. Amazing piece of equipment.

Apogee makes excellent gear. I recently added an Apogee Rosetta 800 to my rack to give me extra channels for hardware sends and returns. That box has been around for nearly 20 years but it's still excellent.

Please forgive my ignorance here...what is the AGF Open Mic?

I’ll try and post a link. It’s a Facebook group that Scott started to give us some place to share our music during the pandemic. It’s been a good deal of fun. I think it’s in the Show and Tell.

Not to take this in a different direction...but I thought you could buy a cable to connect the lightning connector on the Shure to the Usb-c connector on the new iPad?

I think that’s maybe true. I’ll check it out. I have the original model so I’d need to rig something to hold it up. I kept it in the drawer. So maybe I can still get some use from it?

Thanks @martingitdave sounds like a nice thing. I don’t have Facebook but hopefully I can catch others using this hypemic elsewhere!

Not necessarily, you just need a female lightning -> usb-c male adaptor such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-USB-C-L...8267681&sr=8-3

Thanks for the information! I’ll be sure to check it out.

NMD: Apogee HypeMic
 

I’ve been using several options from the Shure Motive line. These also have compression (and EQ), but you have to set it from the app, and I expect it is digital. To use it outside the app, you have to set it from the app first.

The Apogee HypeMic has the advantage of being able to set all the parameters from controls of the mic itself.

It would be interesting to see how the two compare. The analog compression of the HypeMic is likely better. I’ve been very impressed with the sound of the Shure Motiv USB mics. I mainly use them with my Android phone.

One thing I’ve been doing lately is to augment the sound of my acoustic guitar with an acoustic amp. I play no-nails fingerstyle and my singing is quite a lot louder than my playing. Also, the amp allows me to augment the low frequencies of the guitar and add a little reverb. I just turn up the amp very little until the blend in the air with my voice is good.

I liked the Shure I was using and thought the app was well designed. I will admit that I really enjoy the simplicity of the Apogee analog compressor and controls.