USB microphones

[Phait]

What's the consensus on these? I don't have an audio interface, and am looking to track acoustic guitar and maybe vocals.

 

Here's a couple options within budget:

 

- http://www.audiomidi.com/181---USB-Studio-Condenser-Microphone-P10534.aspx

- http://www.audiomidi.com/440---USB-Large-Diaphragm-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone-P10536.aspx

 

Anything to avoid, suggestions - any drawbacks to USB mics?

[blue2blue]

Contrary to the marketing copy, these mics, impressive looking though the second is for a measly 90 bucks are NOT "...not only ideal for music applications, but for Podcasting, broadcast applications, for students and professionals creating audio files for websites or multimedia presentations."

 

Why?

 

Because neither appears to have a near zero or zero latency monitoring facility built in (or a LINE IN input) as some more full-featured USB mics do.

 

That means you can't monitor the input of the mic live, except through the computer and that will have a substantial delay which will make it impossible to listen to that monitor while performing. (You'll have to mute the incoming mic signal as you monitor everything else through the computer; if you need to hear yourself or an acoustic guitar, etc, you'll need to hang one earphone OFF your ear so you can hear your voice/guitar/etc as you record. Going direct with a guitar will impossible, of course. You'll need to mic an amp since these USB mics appear to have no LINE IN, either.)

 

That said, a USB mic can be really convenient. I had one for a while and sold it to a buddy who loves it. He uses it with his MacBook and Garageband.

 

But for me, the varying track misalignment (sometimes new tracks were around 25 ms behind existing tracks they should have line up with and sometimes as much as into the high 30 ms range... obviously not only something that had to be fixed, but which required recalibration of misalignment figures with ever session. I used my mic with Mackie's Tracktion which had a semi-automated track alignment ping loopback calibration utility built in. My pal claims he experiences no problems with his MacBook and the mic but I'm not so certain. This is the first time he's ever recorded on a computer (but he's done a lot of it, now, all in GB) even though, as he likes to point out, he once recorded (never released due to the proverbial label hangup) in the same Capitol Records studio as the Beatles.

[Anderton]

I just reviewed a ton of USB mics for an article in the August issue of EQ (but not the Apex ones) and was frankly quite surprised at how much they've gone up in quality lately (for a price, of course). For example, MXL has a stereo mic for several hundred bucks where the imaging was great - a nice companion to laptops. And sE Electronics has one with dual outs (USB and XLR), which is something all USB mics should have...

 

What you might consider is getting the CEntrance MicPort Pro, which is basically an XLR mic to USB converter. It costs $149 and comes with really low-latency ASIO drivers. That way you can use pretty much any mic in your collection. It also has zero-latency monitoring. MXL has something similar for $99.

[Phait]

Hmm...

 

For $149 for an XLR>USB converter, could I get a decent audio interface (just an XLR and a couple inputs, balanced)? I've been eyeing them in the $300 range, I want a good preamp. I'd go higher with Presonus stuff ($500 -/+).

[oldnewbie]

 

Hmm... For $149 for an XLR>USB converter, could I get a decent audio interface (just an XLR and a couple inputs, balanced)? I've been eyeing them in the $300 range, I want a good preamp. I'd go higher with Presonus stuff ($500 -/+).

 

 

Check out the Edirol FA-66 (firewire) audio interface. It's $279 and has decent pre-amps and "zero" latency direct monitoring. Has 2 XLR inputs.

[MikeRivers]

 

What you might consider is getting the CEntrance MicPort Pro, which is basically an XLR mic to USB converter. It costs $149 and comes with really low-latency ASIO drivers. That way you can use pretty much any mic in your collection. It also has zero-latency monitoring. MXL has something similar for $99.

 

CEntrance's original audio product was a multi-client driver that allowed PC users to do what Mac users can do with their OS and make one big ASIO device out of several different hardware interfaces. They no longer make that driver, but they carried the technology over to the MicPort. You can use the standard Windows driver, and if you install their driver, you can plug in several MicPorts and use them together.

[Anderton]

The main advantage of the MicPort Pro is the small size compared to a "conventional" interface.

[Phait]

That Edirol seems nice - a couple user reviews mention clicks/pops though. Had any such problems, oldnewbie?

[Frantag]

 

What you might consider is getting the CEntrance MicPort Pro, which is basically an XLR mic to USB converter. It costs $149 and comes with really low-latency ASIO drivers. That way you can use pretty much any mic in your collection. It also has zero-latency monitoring. MXL has something similar for $99.

 

 

I'll second that. This is that best deal around. Make any XLR mic USB. It's also pocket sized.

 

I purchased the Samson USB that has all the inputs and headphone outs. I use it sometimes for voice overs. I've also used it for acoustic guitar and micing a clean toned Fender Twin. It's adequate in a pinch but the MicPort is so much more versatile and is more transparent than the Samson for about 50 bucks more.

[Alndln2]

What you might consider is getting the CEntrance MicPort Pro, which is basically an XLR mic to USB converter. It costs $149 and comes with really low-latency ASIO drivers. That way you can use pretty much any mic in your collection. It also has zero-latency monitoring.

I wonder how that would work for Mic Pre's?

[Alndln2]

Scratch that idea, I'm now realizing that these things are preamps which is what I'm trying to avoid. I wonder if there's such a thing out there as a USB ad/da out there so you can get a high end mic pre directly into the digital path?

[MikeRivers]

 

I'm now realizing that these things are preamps which is what I'm trying to avoid. I wonder if there's such a thing out there as a USB ad/da out there so you can get a high end mic pre directly into the digital path?

 

You think that a preamp is something evil, to be avoided at all costs? All microphone elements need some amplification, and that's what a preamp is, whether it's a $2500 box or a chip inside a "USB mic."

 

The CEntrance MicPort Pro sounds pretty much like the preamp in a Mackie mixer - which means that it isn't a "colored" preamp, just reasonably quiet and clean. What's really as important as the preamp section is the A/D converter inside the USB mic. I don't know what chip they use, but I suspect that most if not all USB mics use the same one.

 

At least with the MicPort Pro and similar units, you have the option of choosing the mic. I've used mine with a Neumann KM84 and it sounds like a KM84 (yes, it provides 48V phantom power). If I use it with a Beyer M160, it sounds like an M160. You don't have that flexibility with an integrated USB mic.

 

By the way, I have a Samson C1U. I didn't buy it, it was a giveaway. My neighbor came over one day with a couple of cheap mics he had and asked how to connect them to his computer (he has an M-Audio Audiophile card). I explained that he needed a preamp or a mixer, and loaned him the Samson mic to play with. He thought it sounded fabulous. I think it sounds surprisingly good for a $39 mic, preamp, and A/D converter all in one case that feels really good in the hand.

 

If you want a really high quality mic with a digital output, there's only one that I know of, and that's the Neumann Solution D series, but it costs a little more than a Samson.