Desktop mic.

[Fragil1ty]

I'm looking for a new desktop mic because of the fact that my current Samson Meteor mic is ****, it picks up sound from everywhere, my fans, my cooler etc.

So what's a good mic that will not have this issue?

No more than 100 GBP if possible.

[paicrai]

Aren't there some sort of mufflers for microphones that makes your microphone a whole lot less ****?
Don't know a whole lot on the topic of microphones but what I do know is that you should set up a bunch of big stuff to absorb sounds, and you can probably find some make-do things to cover the microphone a bit that you can speak through.

[CPTBadAss]

I've been recommended the Snowball microphone and the Zalman mic. I've never used either personally, I just use the mic in my webcam. But I know tjcaustin really likes his Snowball.

[Fragil1ty]

I've been recommended the Snowball microphone and the Zalman mic. I've never used either personally, I just use the mic in my webcam. But I know tjcaustin really likes his Snowball.

People recommend that Zalman mic all the time, crazzzzy!

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I use a Rock Band USB mic duct-taped to an old camera tripod. Works great, it sits right next to my computer and doesn't pick up on my fans & typing sounds at all.

Normally when I explain my mic setup to people on TeamSpeak they just laugh at me and tell me to get a headset. I feel like people here won't be quite as judgmental...

[Parak]

If you want to use a mic at a distance away from you, but not pick up much ambient sound, your only option is pretty much a long shotgun mic. However, shotgun mics kinda suck for indoor enviroments due to room reflections, so it's not a very widely used option. In general, any mic positioned further away from you is going to pick up surrounding noise even if it's a (hyper|super)cardioid pattern, owing to the aforementioned reflections as well as simple sound physics. So, I doubt your microphone is /crap/, but rather that you just need a better way of using it.

One typical option for many is to get a windscreen, shock mount, and articulating or regular microphone stand, and place the microphone close to your mouth (a few inches away at most). This allows to turn down overall gain, and since your voice will hopefully at that point be the strongest source of sound, combined with a cardioid pickup pattern, should eliminate a good portion of the background noise.

Another still is to get a proper headset microphone, such as a Shure WH30XLR. Same effect - capsule near mouth, cardioid, etc. On a budget, what some have done is grab a computer headset mic like a Labtec LVA7330 and velcro/glue it to their headphones. The sound quality won't be as good as the more expensive options, but it is cheaper.

Don't bother with anything with an omnidirectional pickup pattern, even if it's a headset. Also if you do replace your currect mic (try making it work for your needs first) USB connected stuff is okay, but a cheap phantom powered xlr mixer with an xlr mic will give you far more flexibility.

[cherpalla]

I have a Blue Snowball. It is USB-based and incredibly awesome.

Check out the reviews!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Microphone-Textured/dp/B000EOPQ7E

[LONGZILLA]

Waiting on the modmic 4.0, feature set is pretty much exactly what I've been looking for.

[BunnyLake]

I've been recommended the Snowball microphone and the Zalman mic. I've never used either personally, I just use the mic in my webcam. But I know tjcaustin really likes his Snowball.

avoid the snowball like the plague, but the blue yeti is very good

[demik]

I have a zalman and it's good for its price. But the clip recently broke on it. Thinking of getting the snowball and putting up a boom mic style set up as I have no room for a mic. Plus it looks cool.

[input]

Samson C03u - One of the best purchases I have ever brought, I don't really do any recording but it sounds really crisp.

[cherpalla]

I've been recommended the Snowball microphone and the Zalman mic. I've never used either personally, I just use the mic in my webcam. But I know tjcaustin really likes his Snowball.

avoid the snowball like the plague, but the blue yeti is very good

I disagree whole-heartedly. I love my Snowball and the quality is insanely high for less than $100. There is no feedback or background noise and I record in my bedroom.

Cher

[Fragil1ty]

It's rather strange as to why it picks up so much background noise as the mic is not even placed near the computer to begin with, I mean I have some space at the back of my desk where i place all the wires and what not, so I guess the noise is coming from there, but still, it's really aggravating because apart from this? The Samson Meteor Microphone is the best microphone that I've ever used, hands down.

/sigh.

Unfortunately the Snowball is too big for my set-up and it would not have a place on my desk unfortunately.

Pic below:

[IPT]

samson c01u

[Parak]

It's rather strange as to why it picks up so much background noise as the mic is not even placed near the computer to begin with, I mean I have some space at the back of my desk where i place all the wires and what not, so I guess the noise is coming from there, but still, it's really aggravating because apart from this?

It picks up so much background noise because it's far away from you, so you probably have the input level for it too high. Like I mentioned, in order for it to pick up your voice, it has no choice but to pick up unrelated noise as well. There's no shock mount so it picks up vibrations and other low frequencies from the desk. Try it out for yourself - turn off any mic boosts in windows settings, open up audacity, pick up the mic so that it's close to your mouth, and adjust levels to be the lowest that you can hear youself talking normally without clipping. Now in the recording playback, you shouldn't get anywhere near the amount of noise that you got before.

Again, these are pretty basic sound mechanics. Microphones are not magical and can only do so much by themselves; it's good to understand what's needed for clear recordings for a given circumstance and need.

[dorkvader]

I was looking into mics and will be getting an audio technica USB mic and a shock mount. soon.

[inteli722]

If you had about $50 more, I'd tell you to think about a cheap XLR-USB interface and grab a stage mic.

At that price point, though, I'd say one of Blue's USB mics is probably your best bet.

[IvanIvanovich]

What do you do with it?
Personally... for things like gaming I would go with a headset or throat mic. The way they work it's pretty much impossible to pick up background noise and there is nothing to get in your eyeline like a desktop or boom mic set at a correct distance.
If doing something like recording, narration, voip (non game), then perhaps get something like a boom stand to use with your current mic. You could get a clamping type and put it about where your lamp or whatever that is and move it out of the way when not using it.

[ApocalypseMaow]

Antlion ModMic! Well... if you have headphone for it...
Blue Yeti otherwise.

[filphil]

I use a samson meteor mic while my brother uses the samson go mic.  There's a noticeable difference in clarity for about a $20 price difference.  My sister uses the blue snowflake and is similar in price to the gomic.

[LechnerDE]

I was looking into mics and will be getting an audio technica USB mic and a shock mount. soon.

Please post a little review here. Thank you!

[katushkin]

Looks like I'm going to be buying a Blue Yeti!

[Tarzan]

Looks like I'm going to be buying a Blue Yeti!

I hear good things about these microphones!  Please post your impressions once you've had a chance to try it out. 

[demik]

What do you do with it?
Personally... for things like gaming I would go with a headset or throat mic. The way they work it's pretty much impossible to pick up background noise and there is nothing to get in your eyeline like a desktop or boom mic set at a correct distance.
If doing something like recording, narration, voip (non game), then perhaps get something like a boom stand to use with your current mic. You could get a clamping type and put it about where your lamp or whatever that is and move it out of the way when not using it.

My buddy has a throat mic and it's a piece of ****

[IvanIvanovich]

You can get a piece of **** any kind of microphone. It's doesn't mean all of that type are bad. Throat mics are one of the types where you might have to pay more to get into the good tiers like those military grade.

[katushkin]

You can get a piece of **** any kind of microphone. It's doesn't mean all of that type are bad. Throat mics are one of the types where you might have to pay more to get into the good tiers like those military grade.

You can get a POS any kind of anything. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for, and if you pay **** all you get **** all.

[histevenhere]

I have the blue yeti, and the pop filter with it. Apparently, over skype, it has like little static from the air or something according to my friends. The sound quality is excellent however they claim that the sensitivity to the air is annoying.

[funkymeeba]

I personally use a Rode NT1-A as a desktop mic (among other things). I really like some of my percussions through (very inexpensive) Karma K-Micro bullet mics. I will give voice a run through those tomorrow evening. They may work out well for dirt cheap.

[n0rvig]

I really like my AntLion ModMic. Although Parak's XLR setup sounds amazing, yet probably too expensive.

[Rayne]

I've been recommended the Snowball microphone and the Zalman mic. I've never used either personally, I just use the mic in my webcam. But I know tjcaustin really likes his Snowball.

avoid the snowball like the plague, but the blue yeti is very good

I have to agree with bunny here.  When I had my Blue Snowball I could not get it to NOT pick up back round noises like case fans and my keyboard even when I tried to type quietly. I really didn't like it. A friend of mine just got a Blue Yeti and he really likes it, don't have any first hand experience with it tho.
I Just recently started using the Rode Podcaster and I LOVE it, but its pricey, especially with the shock mount and boom arm.

[zoolzoo]

ha, thats funny I came here to reccomend the Samson meteor. 

[funkymeeba]

If background noise getting picked up bothers you a lot, you can always grab a used compressor/gate box somewhere. I picked up a dbx 120XL for $50 at Guitar Center.

[katushkin]

Sorry, I'm going to resurrect yet another old thread, and ask some questions about the Blue Yeti.

I plan on getting one next month and was wondering, will I still get the most out of it with just my MOBO or should I get a sound card? Also, will I need a filter for it? I've read quite a few reviews saying you need some sort of filter to get rid of the background noise.

[blackbox]

Sorry, I'm going to resurrect yet another old thread, and ask some questions about the Blue Yeti.



I plan on getting one next month and was wondering, will I still get the most out of it with just my MOBO or should I get a sound card? Also, will I need a filter for it? I've read quite a few reviews saying you need some sort of filter to get rid of the background noise.

It uses USB. That means that it is a soundcard integrated in the mic. When you buy it you should read the manual and set the yeti in cardiod mode(to reduce background noise).

[katushkin]

It uses USB. That means that it is a soundcard integrated in the mic. When you buy it you should read the manual and set the yeti in cardiod mode(to reduce background noise).

Ohhhh, cool. There was me thinking it was over an audio jack.

Thanks.

[blackbox]

It uses USB. That means that it is a soundcard integrated in the mic. When you buy it you should read the manual and set the yeti in cardiod mode(to reduce background noise).

Ohhhh, cool. There was me thinking it was over an audio jack.

Thanks.

NP, it has an audio jack for your headphones so you could do realtime monitoring or use it as an output for your headphones:

It’s probably also worth mentioning that the Yeti’s headphone jack works in two ways. Normally it’s just a mic monitor, so you can listen to what you’re recording in real-time (as this audio signal never goes to the computer, you don’t encounter the USB lag issues mentioned above). Alternatively, you can use the Yeti as an audio out interface for your computer (just select it in your OS’s sound settings), and play all audio through the headphone port.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/08/11/blue_yeti_mic/

[katushkin]

Sounds awesome. I am definitely commiting to this then. Thanks for your help and the link.

[blackbox]

Sounds awesome. I am definitely commiting to this then. Thanks for your help and the link.

again,np. Let us hear what you think about it when you got it.