Audio recording equipment

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Helios_Multi TPoxygen11final

[Natator]

Hi all

I recently spent quite some time and effort researching recording equipment, which I knew absolutely nothing about before, for doing podcasts etc.

I ended up going for a desktop mic, a condensor mic. It turned up today and I am over the moon!!! I usually have all sorts of problems with what (I found) are termed "plosives", that P sound that can often trip up the little mics ... well, they are now a thing of the past for me My only surprise was that this setup is a lot larger than I thought from the pics, and heavyier, not that it matters, but it does give a really nice solid feel to things. I feel like a radio host

There were also two directions in mic format (probably not the right term) in that I could go for a USB mic, or a standard input type mic that you ran through a control box, with all sorts of knobs to turn to do mixing and stuff like that. My findings for that were that the ones with the little mixing panels would be great if you are trying to record your voice at the same time as an instrument but if you just want to record your voice then the USB was better.  Why? Well, I decided better as with all those knobs, and me not knowing about sound mixing, I was doubtless going to get things messed up as there were too many choices (no comments about playing with knobs, thank you

So, I ended up with a USB mic, on a desk stand, with a screen thing to protect it from the plosives and a shockmount. I couldn't find what I wanted in Australia (online at least, I admit I did not trapse through actual music stores) so ended up purchasing on eBay (Australian site) via a mob in the States called The Pro Audio Guys. Amazing service as a friend and I both wanted this setup. They gave me a discount for the double purchase and also combined shipping, they even had to put up a special eBay auction for it just for me with a special price. Yes, it's a small plug for them, I have no association with them at all, I am just saying I found them excellent to deal with in case someone finds themselves in the same position I was. I ended up paying US$150 for the whole setup which was the Mic and (at a guess) about $70 of the accessories (i.e. stand etc). Postage was then on top, but worked out pretty good as I split that with my friend. Not bad at all when the cheapest I could find the Mic in Australia was $189.   (Usually I hate buying overseas but had no choice here).

Oops, didn't mention the Mic .... it is a Samson C03U. One important thing about it, and doubtless other mics in this class, is it has 3 recording modes (which apparently make heaps of difference but I haven't actually tested it out ... 1) Recording from directly in front so it just catches your voice and ignores as much of the surrounding sounds as it can (perfect for a podcast)  2) It records from all directions around it (perfect for recording a room full of people) and 3) in a sort of figure-8 pattern (for recording you and a person you are interviewing).

So, if you are looking to buy an audio setup which will give you really great audio quality, at a price I admit but it is not horrendous compared to what you can spend, then I honestly could not recommend this mic any higher. I have attached a picture of the setup I got, except I also got one of those foam whatsits that sits on the mic. As I mentioned above, the actual thing is larger than I had imagined just by looking at the pics (though probably not if you know your way around audio equipment).

Just thought I'd maybe save some people some research, or at least add my thoughts to their research, if they go mic hunting.



Simon

[macgirvin]

I've heard nothing but accolades about the Samson CO3U from a variety of folks - so I think you've made a wise choice.

Even the best windscreen can't completely prevent the popping P's though. When I ran a music store one could always tell who the brofessionalz were becauze as zoon as they realized they were in a live room they inztinctively zubztituted B's for P's and softened their SSS's to z's.
    

[Natator]

I've heard nothing but accolades about the Samson CO3U from a variety of folks - so I think you've made a wise choice.

Even the best windscreen can't completely prevent the popping P's though. When I ran a music store one could always tell who the brofessionalz were becauze as zoon as they realized they were in a live room they inztinctively zubztituted B's for P's and softened their SSS's to z's.
    

I don't know the ins and outs, and certainly don't have a professionally tuned ear, but I do think the C03U is fantastic Ok, I admit it is the only time I have used a proper mic though

That is a really good tip on the P's and S's, thanks, I'll give that a try as I do have problems with both when I record ... hence needing a better mic as it has at least greatly reduced it. I too can sound like the brofessionalz

[johnlacey]

I must admit I hadn't really seen many examples of Condenser USB microphones, so this is quite interesting. My personal bias would've probably gone toward the Rode Podcaster (though it's worth noting that this is a dynamic microphone).

Is there anywhere on the proverbial interwebz that we can hear your microphone in action, Natator?

[Natator]

I must admit I hadn't really seen many examples of Condenser USB microphones, so this is quite interesting. My personal bias would've probably gone toward the Rode Podcaster (though it's worth noting that this is a dynamic microphone).

Is there anywhere on the proverbial interwebz that we can hear your microphone in action, Natator?

I nearly went for the Rode, it gets some great reviews. In the end the main reasons I went for the Samson were that the general consensus seemed to be that a condenser mic was the way to go, and as I didn't know anything about mics I went with the majority (as my research turned up at least) and also price. For considerably less than the Rode I got the mic and all the accessories. So, budget did influence my decision rather than going purely for the absolute best (not saying the Rode is better or not, as I honestly don't know).

I'm planning on doing a video today, obviously with audio, so I'll put up a link so you can hear it when it's done. All I can say for certain is that I feel it has given me really great quality, and it has made a huge difference over the headset mic I was using. It also does a great job of ignoring the background noise as I am not in a silent environment.

[janette]

I bought the Samson too. It is one of the best investments I've made.

I recall doing a video recording session with Michael Gleissner. The audio quality from the Samson microphone (which was beside me then) compared to the wireless mic plugged to each of us, was even better.