David Airey

USB microphone recommendation

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by

David Airey
in

I’ve been looking for a good microphone (for video calls, podcasts, etc.).

Three desks out of these 20 (the ones belonging to Jeff Croft, Dan Mall, and Veerle Pieters) are seen with Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone.

Jeff Croft deskJeff Croft’s desk with Blue Yeti.

Looks a good shout. If you have a mic recommendation it’d be great to know.

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Update:
I went for the Yeti, and it’s obvious the sound is better than through the iMac’s standard mic. Definitely less echo from the hard floor and relatively sparse walls in my workspace.

Comments

14 responses to “USB microphone recommendation”

  1. nathan bowers Avatar
    nathan bowers

    Dan Benjamin’s podcasts consistently sound great. His recommendations: http://hivelogic.com/articles/podcasting-equipment-software-guide-2011/

    Reply
  2. Mike Samarzja Avatar
    Mike Samarzja

    My daughter the musician recommends trying the Shure website. Good quality, reasonable prices.

    Reply
  3. David Airey Avatar
    David Airey

    Brilliant. Thanks, Nathan, Mike.

    Reply
  4. Chris Spooner Avatar
    Chris Spooner

    I have only had experience with the Blue Snowball and Blue Yeti. After purchasing and taking back two Snowballs I wish I’d just gone for the Yeti to begin with.

    Don’t forget to pick up a pop filter too. Set the Gain to min and sit within a few inches to capture those nice podcast/radio style vocal tones.

    Reply
  5. Chris Lane Avatar
    Chris Lane

    As Chris above says, I’ve only heard terrible things about the Blue Snowball. Can’t really say anything beyond that though.

    Reply
  6. David Airey Avatar
    David Airey

    Good tip with the pop filter, Chris. Strange that the universal filter from Blue doesn’t fit the Yeti. Is that the one you picked up?

    I’ll avoid the Snowball, cheers guys.

    Reply
  7. Pedro Telles Avatar
    Pedro Telles

    I would look into the Rhode Podcaster or the AudioTechnica AT2020 as well. Have been quite happy with the latter on the XLR version.

    Another one seconding the pop filter which can be DIY´ed for a song (and some ladies´ stockings).

    Reply
  8. Paul Jireh Avatar
    Paul Jireh

    That’s a good looking workplace. With regards to the mic, don’t you want to consider a headphone with a built in microphone? I know a few headphones with built in microphones that are good quality. If I’m not mistaken, Skype has also their own that they sell for about $25.

    Reply
  9. Robert Augustin Avatar
    Robert Augustin

    If it doesn’t have to be a standalone mic, try the Logitech C920 webcam with integrated microphone: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-960-000767-C920-HD-Webcam/dp/B006A2Q81M/

    I do a lot of voice and video calls and this one has proven to be ideal for that. For example, you can have it mounted on top of your screen and still walk around in the room while talking.

    You can use the mic separately from the cam (cam off, mic on). The camera itself is 1080p HD with an great, crystal clear image quality – possibly the best webcam you can get these days (short of a professional camera setup).

    Reply
  10. Richard Avatar
    Richard

    I’ll second the Audio-Technica recommendation (which is only partly due to the fact that you’ll find me in their Tokyo office nearly every week doing some work).

    I’ve also used Sennheiser and Shure microphones, although not for podcasting, and liked both.

    Reply
  11. David Airey Avatar
    David Airey

    I’ve not chosen yet so good of you to comment. Richard, Pedro, looking into those now. Paul, I’d prefer to avoid headsets so I’m not on video wearing one. Robert, I find the iMac and MBP cams good enough, and have a DSLR with tripod for anything that might need higher quality. Chris replied on Twitter to my pop filter question. For those interested he uses one from Maplin. I hope the week’s started well, folks.

    Reply
  12. Pedro Telles Avatar
    Pedro Telles

    David,

    One thing is the popfilter the other the micscreen: http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_micscreen.htm

    While the popfilter is always recommended, getting a micscreen depends on the trade off between sound quality you are looking for/price and the noise of the environment where you are recording.

    Reply
  13. Joe Brown Avatar
    Joe Brown

    We use a Blue Yeti as well and have had good results.

    Reply
  14. David Brooks Avatar
    David Brooks

    I don’t use a USB mic, but I can speak highly for Shure’s overall quality. I’d check out the Shure PG42USB, or the Rode Podcaster like Pedro mentioned, Rode does some great work too. Just remember, these mics can be used for doing some really great recordings, or they can make things sound absolutely ridiculous, depending on how and where they’re setup. (They’re really live, so don’t set them next to your refrigerator, for example.) If you need any micing tips, feel free to send a message my way. Good luck!

    Reply

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