Sorry to be a pain - but USB mics....

Luke Roberts

Sorry guys - I have tried looking through old posts, I'm sure somewhere there was a post about Snowballs but I can't find it! :'(

Anyways - I need a mic, and although I have someone who is willing to teach me about setting up my equipment, getting a mic and mixer, etc etc - I really for now just wanna go with a simple USB mic.

I have always been told the snowball is a great way to go - and would like to get one - I'm also not too fussed at this point about the specifics of the mic (i.e. different mics are better suited to different voices, etc) - but will I get at least a reasonable decent record with a snowball? I'm not after perfection here - just an okish towards pretty good record.

If someone could let me know that would be much appreciated

Cheers

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

Luke-
I have a Snowball, you can listen to my posts in the Demo of the Day thread. I think it is OKish. One thing I have found out for sure is that you must have a very good soundcard in the PC to use it. When I try it with my laptop, it is a disaster.

So I am thinking about getting a different setup for use with my laptop.

Freddie Molina · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007, 22:14 (GMT) Post subject:

Hey Luke,

Here are a couple of them:

http://voiceoversavvy.com/ftopic105-0-0-asc-.html

http://voiceoversavvy.com/viewtopic.php?t=214

Hope that helps

Maya Kuper · **Voice Seeker** Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 97

Don't forget about the Samson C01U. It looks (and picks you up) more like a studio condenser.

Does anyone else listen to Avi Melman's voiceover Podcast?
If so, you heard one of Avi's guests, Pat Fraley (hugely successful animation voiceover, of Ninja Turtles, Talespin, etc.) endorsing the C01U:

"In this day and age it's so easy to be able to record, and with pristine sound. For example, there's a microphone, it's made by Samson . . . the C01U . . . it's a condenser microphone, which means it's pretty good quality, and it plugs directly into your USB. You don't have a preamp, you don't have anything, you can go right into your computer. And there is software called Audacity. You can get the Mac version or the PC version. And if you have these three things (Samson C01U, Audacity, and a computer), you can get pristine sound . . . at home."
- Pat Fraley

The Snowball is cool too, but it's $100 while the C01U weighs in at $80. And the C01U fits a standard mic stand, and the Snowball does not--it just has its own little tripod stand.

Joe J Thomas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 16 Nov 2004 Posts: 1521

Great info, Maya.

I'd read a little about the Samson, but never heard much from other VO pros...

Thanks,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com

Maya Kuper · **Voice Seeker** Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 97

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

Maya-
I am not an expert, but I think the sound card is still required to process the audio.

I have an unbelievable difference between my PC with a good sound card and my laptop with a crummy one.

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007, 17:33 (GMT) Post subject: it could be other things

George,
it could be other things. On laptops, often the USB ports are shared, limiting bandwidth. It's also possible that your laptop has 1.1 USB ports instead of 2.0 Other factors such as startup items and processes, especially active virus checkers can severely affect your sound.
If you want to send me an unadulterated file of something you do on the laptop, I can attempt to analyze it to see what the potential problem might be. First, I would check to see if you have USB 2.0 or not.

You might also have driver conflict, out of date drivers or other software issues. Also, if your lap[top has a single drive and most likely a 4700 RPM drive or so, then that can be an issue. You probably have separate boot and data drives in your desktop. Finally, the sound card in your laptop is responsible for playback (not record) and you might want to email a file from your laptop to your desktop and see if it sounds better there.

--j.s.

Maya Kuper · **Voice Seeker** Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 97

Does a CD sound OK when you play it back on your laptop and listen in your headphones plugged into your laptop? Your laptop's headphone out port is part of its sound card.

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

CD sounds great!

I can identify several things in the noise when I record with it. One is the clicking of the hard drive every three seconds.

I think J.S. maybe on to something with the seek time.

Seems I was wrong about the sound card (sorry Maya).

I was planning on upgrading the laptop to work better with my Snowball. Now I am planning to upgrade my Mic and get a pre whatcyamacallit to plug in through the USB. Which is USB 2.0.

I am still trying to understand what each piece does and where I can get the most bang for my buck. I figure if I was going to spend a grand on a laptop, I can speand a grand on mic and other equipment. So far, I am hear?

So far I am hearing that the mic is the most important, so I am thinking 50% budget on that and rest on other equipment but I hate to buy anything that could become throw away stuff to soon.

Still appreciate other advice.

J.S. I can send you files if you want, but I think you nailed it on the HD seek time.

My thinking is I can then do stuff when traveling if I need to and in my studio I will have a significantly improved sound.

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007, 20:18 (GMT) Post subject: look at the Apogee mini-me

An incredible little "solution" might be the Apogee mini-me. It has incredible mic pres, incrdible digital converters and, 24 true phantom and enough giddyup to drive a ribbon mic, is small enought to put in a pocket (okay, a large pocket) for travelling, yet works great in a home studio or even a pr level studio. There is a USB version and a newer firewire version. I believe that you can often pick one up on eBay for under $800. (I did)

As for microphones, it's such a matter of preference and has a lot to do with vocal types, but also how you are confortable working a mic (some work very well off axis) and also what your environment is. I think for home studios you would probably best fair with some hypercardioid. You would have to work tight on the mic, but a large portion of background noise would be eliminated, thus making it suitable for road trips. Heil PR40 is a great mic, but has a wider field, so some room leaks in. I've used it on the road with the mini-me and I setup the recording situation with me moving the desk so that it faces the wall and then I take the bedspread and drape it in front of me. Sometimes doig this in that little closet alcove that most jotel rooms have. the bedspread gets draped over the clothes rod and I am inside the alcove facing the wall. You'd be surprised at how good it sounds.

Anyway, I'm big on that HeilPR40 microphone and I believe that Heil will let you test drive one. If you don't like it, return it within 30 days type of thing. (If you buy through approved dealer network).

I have recommended the mic to about 15 people and thus far no returns, but you never know. and they run about $350 with shockmount I think.

That would leave you with a great portable and home setup for $1,150 or so. One that sounds like it cost a lot more.

--j.s.

J.S. Gilbert · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007, 20:20 (GMT) Post subject: One more thing

One more thing George, you can get pretty fast firewire or USB 2.0 external hard rives in the 150 gig range for under $100. It might help considerably having one as a data drive for the laptop and you can also use it to shuttle large files, sessions or do backups onto.

Brice Lewis · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007, 14:48 (GMT) Post subject:

Another USB mic that I just read a great review on in Electronic Musician is the Rode Podcaster. It looks like the ElectroVoice mike that a lot of radio stations use. Another advantage to it is that it has a headphone jack and volume control built onto the mic, so you bypass latency problems monitoring while recording. A bit pricy (about $300 with pop screen at Sweetwater)

Vance Elderkin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 01 Nov 2005 Posts: 184

I have been using a Samson C01U for auditions, and it sounds terrific. I haven't quite been brave enough to try it for a final recording, but in a pinch I might need to sometime. I just leave it hooked up next to my computer, and I can do a demo in nothing-flat.

Heather Ruby · **Voice Talent** Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 188

Vance: I used a Neuman TLM for my demos in studio, but I'm using my Samson C01U for auditions and final edits for all V123 jobs. I plug directly into my Macbook and edit in Garageband which came loaded on the Mac originally. I do a little EQ in my Garageband with presets. The sound is excellent, according to my former radio/audio engineer guy that I go to for audio advice.