Record a live stream??

[markcrawford]

I have one decent condenser mic. I would like to use it to plug into my laptop and do a live stream on Facebook or YouTube. I know I need an xlr to USB cable right? If I have that, is it possible to use the camera on the laptop and then maybe run some type of verb to get a decent sound? This is not hi-tech...just want decent sound to record a live video. I could post it after I record it. Help if you can. By the way, I have a power supply for the mic. No worries there. Thanks, Mark

[Chipotle]

I didn't even realize that XLR-to-USB cables, with a cheap built-in A/D converter, even existed. I suppose one would do the job, although for $15 I'm not sure what kind of quality you'd get. The only one I see on Amazon I would personally trust, a Shure mini inline interface, runs $130. It's more an "adapter" than a cable proper.

Anyway, assuming you get one of these, and insert your phantom power supply appropriately, it could certainly work. Choose the condenser mic as the audio input, and the laptop camera for video.

This setup would not allow you to add reverb without other equipment or software. You'd either need a mixer or hardware effects box to run the mic through, or software on the computer like OBS where you could add a software plugin before sending on to stream. You'd also be adding the same reverb to everything (guitar and vocals) which may not give you the sound you want. Also, with only one mic you have to manually balance the guitar with vocals or other instruments by placement or playing technique which can be a challenge.

In the end, using the condenser mic will give you better sound quality than the laptop mic, but still may not get you the sound you're looking for without further investment. But maybe spring for one of those $15 cables and see what you get--cheap to find out!

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by markcrawford

I have one decent condenser mic. I would like to use it to plug into my laptop and do a live stream on Facebook or YouTube. I know I need an xlr to USB cable right? If I have that, is it possible to use the camera on the laptop and then maybe run some type of verb to get a decent sound? This is not hi-tech...just want decent sound to record a live video. I could post it after I record it. Help if you can. By the way, I have a power supply for the mic. No worries there. Thanks, Mark

Humm not quite clear , you say you have a power supply for the Mic BUT the question is will the power supplies output work going to the laptop USB in ??
I am only a little bit tech savvy (and I could be wrong) but I believe USB audio signal is digital data packets and a microphone audio signal is electronic mili volts ??

[Mobilemike]

You need an interface. Your condenser mic needs phantom power to operate and an XLR - USB cable will not provide that.

You should be able to set the audio input of whatever app or use to stream to your interface and then get the sound of the mic along with the video of your webcam. Doing anything else like adding reverb, EQIng, or compressing the signal adds a lot of complexity to the task and I don’t recommend it in your situation.

[Rudy4]

OP doesn't specify which mic they have, but says power requirements are covered.

There are several very capable condensers such as the AKG C-1000 and some of the Rode NT mics that have a battery compartment and work just fine with a 9 volt battery. Condenser mics don't always require phantom power to operate.

[Chipotle]

I'm guessing that OP might have a standalone phantom power box, like this or this. If that's the case, and you buy one of those XLR-to-USB cables or adapters and it does what it says, you could set it up like:

mic > phantom power supply > XLR-to-USB cable > PC

[markcrawford]

I have a Rolls 48v mic power box that powers the microphone. I use it with my old Boss BR64 (**** that old unit still sounds good to me). One mic would be good. I would throw a little verb on the mic to catch all and balance the guitar myself.

I suppose another way to do it would be just to run my mixer on the floor and use my PA...then just capture that. I thought it might be better to run direct. I am not looking for great...just bare bones t capture what I am doing. I have recorded a ton but have not done anything through my laptop. I figured it could not be but so hard. Thanks for the direction. M

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by markcrawford

I suppose another way to do it would be just to run my mixer on the floor and use my PA...then just capture that. I thought it might be better to run direct. I am not looking for great...just bare bones t capture what I am doing. I have recorded a ton but have not done anything through my laptop. I figured it could not be but so hard. Thanks for the direction. M

I think direct is better as well, no need for your PA. The piece you are currently missing is the analog-to-digital conversion to get your mic into the computer. In most cases this is done with an audio interface, which has a mic preamp to boost the level and the A/D converter to output the digital info. These can be had for as little as $50-60 (M-Audio M-Track Solo or Behringer U-Phoria UM2). Not only would an interface be a "known quantity" unlike those cables, you'd be sure you had enough gain with the mic preamps, and they provide phantom power so you wouldn't need to mess with the separate box. The interface will appear as a mic source in your streaming program. All that for not much more than a mystery XLR-to-USB cable.

[markcrawford]

wow..thanks for that. I recon I'll have to pick one up. Thanks again.

[GoPappy]

Instead of all the mental gymnastics to get from XLR to USB, why not just go buy a USB mic? You can get a Rode or Sennheiser for $100, or an Audio Technica for $80, or a Mackie for $50, at Sweetwater.