High quality microphone

[lucassot]

Hey all
I'm looking for a new microphone as I am wanting to do some live commentary videos for YouTube. I am currently using a gamecom 367 headset which is great for audio. The mic on it is ok but it sounds too muffled for my liking. All my game sounds come through my speakers and only ventrilo through my headset when I record.

Taking that into consideration I don't really need high end thumping bass gaming headsets unless it has a crystal clear mic with it. Do you think I should get a stand alone mic or a cheapish headset that has a great mic attached to it? No specific price range. What do you guys use or recommend?

I got the Logitech h530 yesterday but returned it due to the mic being ultra sensitive picking up doors and footsteps from the other room, despite that it's meant to be noise-canceling. All settings were set to 0 as well lol. My mate uses it and his mic is crystal clear, I may have just got a dud.

Thanks.

[cyclobs]

shure mics -> any computer mic you'll ever buy..

but then they are vocal / instrument mics

[Marius]

For voiceovers, this is likely the best USB mic you can buy.

http://www.bluemic.com/yeti/

But you can't actually get a headset mic that sounds any good for voiceovers or proper mic stuff. If you actually want that you'll need to consider a lapel mic (start at around $600) with a mixer and preamp.

And about vocal/instrument mics... I'd stay away... unless you've got the budget to spend on mixers and preamps. They don't just plug straight into your computer.

But with a mic like the yeti you can get superb quality without that stuff.

[cyclobs]

don't need to spend $600 for a decent mic, it's not like he would want to hear a pin drop onto carpet..

$100 for a good vocal mic and you'd be set. one of these would sound pretty clear and should be able to plug direct into your soundcard

[Marius]

The $600 I was referring to was for a lapel mic, which is not a shure vocal mic. But if you want to do voiceovers and want to do it via headset, you'll need a lapel mic.

That's why you want a more solid mic that sits on your desktop, because lapel mics are **** expensive.

I still don't recommend vocal mics though as they don't have the same connection as computer soundcards - you can't just plug them straight in. And the Yeti is only about $200, and it has amazing reviews.

[cyclobs]

depends which connections you get, you can get the standard 3 1/2 (or whatever) plugs on one end and convert it to the tiny port unless you own an STX which you could just plug it staight in as is.

it's what i'm going to do when i get my instrument mic to do some cover songs

[Marius]

Well, here are some reviews of the Yeti.

http://www.bluemic.com/yeti/#/reviews/

Read them I guess.

You've still not convinced me on a plugging a vocal mic straight into a soundcard though... you can easily run into gain and interference problems.

[lucassot]

Yeah by the looks of it a stand alone mic is the way to go, $600 is a bit much . I'll have a look at that link when I get home and see what all the fuss is about. Will do some more research tonight. You guys heard much about the blue snowball?

[Marius]

Yeah, it's OK. But I still recommend the Yeti for sheer quality.

[cyclobs]

You've still not convinced me on a plugging a vocal mic straight into a soundcard though... you can easily run into gain and interference problems.

really depends on the sound card. onboard is going to do you **** because it's just horribly noisy ****. get a decent soundcard like my STX and you're crusing, i direct input my guitar into my soundcard and run software amps / effects off it easily.

at one point i actually set up an effects loop to my real amp using the software effects running through my STX

when i eventually get my mic i'll have to send you a link.


but seriously he doesn't need a dead silence mic for doing some voice over the top of games. any noise produced by a decent set up will be dround out by game sounds anyway. that plus having an directional mic would help cut out any echo from his speakers

[tranquil]

My brother has one of these USB condenser mics http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired ... index.html Think he paid around $150 for it early last year. It's perfect for voiceovers & whatnot, really good quality for the price imo.

[lucassot]

Yeah I dont expect dead silence. By high quality I meant something that doesn't hiss and fuzz loudly in the background. My current mic doesnt even do that it's just not clear enough. Plus as already mentioned there will be game audio during the videos too. As for my speakers they wont be an issue to interfere with recording.

I'll also check to see what some casters use. I will start to use what I got for now until I am completely convinced on a particular mic to buy. Still not home, when I am I'll check the links you guys have posted

[Marius]

Yeah by the looks of it a stand alone mic is the way to go, $600 is a bit much . I'll have a look at that link when I get home and see what all the fuss is about. Will do some more research tonight. You guys heard much about the blue snowball?

The Blue snowball is actually made by the same company as the Yeti - hence the snow motif in both.

The difference is it retails for much less, as it's their lower grade product. Think of the Yeti as the 'prosumer' product, while the Snowball is the 'consumer'.

I personally use the Samson G Track mic, and it's quite good as well. It's got a solid construction with some great features, and don't regret buying it, though reviews note the Yeti as having better sound quality, so that's what I recommend.

[lucassot]

Done some research on the Yeti. Like you mentioned, overwhelming amounts of positive reviews. The main drawback that a few have mentioned & that will affect me quite a lot is the amount of background noise it picks up. I got case fans nearby plus tv in the background etc. By the sounds of it the Yeti would pick all this up very easily, whereas a typical headphone mic wouldn't.

Maybe I need to settle for something in between. Gonna check out the Snowball now.

[Wyld]

I have a AKG CCS D55S plugged into a not amazing but not half bad mixer. It is *excellent*. USB is only one option.

I highly recommend you check the local pawn shops and check out a nice heavy and normal microphone.