Floor microphone stand or desk arm stand?

i am newbie to Podcasting with Audacity, currently i’m still in building my studio.

i struggled if is it necessary to buy a blue yeti and what’s the best microphone stand? blue yeti is heavy so i have to prepare a good stand for it. I was thinking to chose this microphone arm stand, while after searching in the forum and i learnt that though floor standing boom stands can be awkward to position for desk use, but offer much better isolation from noises that originate from or on the desk (such as keyboard noises, putting down your coffee mug and so on). Is this true? because i thought desk arm would be much more convenient.

Could you please advice what’s your equipments? it’s just a hobby with limited budget, would love to hear your recommendation.

I use a reasonably good quality floor standing boom stand.
When using a heavy mic, it is advisable to not extend the boom fully. Additional weight can be added to the other end of the boom to help counterbalance the weight of the mic.

Another solution that I’ve seen work well is to suspend the “spider” (the microphone suspension mount) with three cords from hooks in the ceiling. Note that the hooks should be screwed into the ceiling joists and not just into plasterboard (although special plasterboard fixings could be used). The reason for three cords is so that the microphone does not swing or spin. The microphone should NOT be suspended by the microphone lead.

The stand doesn’t do noise isolation. That’s the job of the shock mount.

What’s your room like? That more than anything else will tell you what your sound is going to be like.
MBP_StarbucksStudioShoot-500w.jpg
You can’t see it in this pix, but the other end of that microphone boom has a 1L bleach bottle and piece of clothesline hanging from it to balance the microphone. That picture isn’t written up yet. Those are furniture moving pads and there’s one on the floor.

Yetis have some interesting features. You can’t ever get more than one USB cable away from the computer, you can’t go through a USB hub with anything else and you can’t extend the cable. How much noise does your computer make?

Apparently, there is a shock mount for a Yeti (scroll down).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&O=&Q=&ap=y&c3api=1876%2C{creative}%2C{keyword}&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_aPy0bmG1QIVgZR-Ch3tkghBEAYYByABEgIEpfD_BwE&is=REG&m=Y&sku=829490

Sometimes Yetis have USB noise problems and those are very difficult to solve.

Typical USB noise sound
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/USBMicrophoneWhineClip.mp3

Why did you pick the Yeti, or it was common and you’re just not sure yet?

If you have a quiet room, your choice of microphones goes way up.
Screen Shot 2017-07-13 at 7.36.58 AM.png
Koz

There is a Yeti-Pro which doesn’t have USB whine sound but it’s not a beginner microphone and it’s not cheap.

Describe your show.

You should stop building your studio until you discuss two points: Will you ever have one or more live human guests, will you want to interview somebody over Skype or Chat?

Koz

Turns out to be a 3L bottle.
CloroxMicStand-500w.jpg
Please note you can’t do this trick with an arm-style desk stand. You’re stuck with whatever the springs in the arm can handle. There’s other tricks as well. When I use it, the stand is by my left elbow—not across the desk—and the microphone is just left of my nose at Power Fist spacing.
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Koz

Hi Steve, thanks for your advice, i will add a “shock spider” in my list.

Rycote makes some good universal shock mounts that don’t happen to be spiders.
Screen Shot 2017-07-13 at 6.42.05 PM.png
They work just fine, but they don’t photograph as well. They do have the advantage that they don’t have rubber bands or shock bands to break, not that breakage happens all that often.

Koz

Hi Koz, thank you so much for your very detailed advice, you are a real professional and know a beginner. Yes, i just though Blue yeti is common and may be a must have. And i am thinking to put those gear in my bed room, to chat with my girlfriend and record, we live in different city, it would be a perfect gift when we are old. :smiley:

to chat with my girlfriend and record, we live in different city

That’s why I asked you about recording Skype or Chat. Audacity doesn’t work for that.

There are Windows applications designed to record Skype. Which chat application do you use?

Koz

Oh, i never realize this. I use Skype. lol, what an idiot. :blush:

I use Skype. lol, what an idiot.

Not yet. The way the services work, it’s perfectly logical that you should be able to make a few simple changes and it all just starts working. The worst thing ever is some podcasters do push a few buttons and everything does work just fine. They are celebrity unicorns. It doesn’t work for anybody else.

In the case of Skype/Windows, the Pamela suite has worked in the past.

http://www.pamela.biz/en/products/

Since you are recording simple conversations and not need to edit for a show or production, the cheapest (or free) version may be for you. The magic with Pamela is in the higher versions. They will record you on the left and the Skype connection on the right. This lets you apply filters or corrections to help one without affecting the other. Once you jam both voices onto one show, that’s the show. There is no taking it apart and fixing something later.

Koz

@Rocky.B The ATR 2100 is a great mic for beginners. It can be used via USB or XLR for soundboards/mixers/interfaces. It is dynamic and will record more of your voice and less of the background. It also plays well with Audacity. A desk stand or boom arm is a breeze with this mic as well.

Stay away from Skype for co-hosting or interviews. Their service is just too unpredictable. You are better off having someone record their side of the conversation even if it is done using their smart phone as the recorder. I answer emails all the time asking “How can I recover my audio from Skype”. My reply is simple. “You Can’t”. Without going into too much detail it is mostly due to compression and audio fade. You can’t recover whats not there. :wink:

Correct. Once you lose a Skype recording, it’s gone.

How should Rocky-B record his voice without interfering with Skype?

Koz

Without knowing what audio gear they have, it is hard to say. But I will try and answer if all he or she, (sorry Rocky) had was a PC and ATR 2100. Both parties can still use Skype to communicate but Host A → Rocky-B would record directly into Audacity using the 2100 and use a $20.00 USB or 1/8 jack headset to communicate via Skype. Host B would have the same set up for Skype but use their smartphone to record their side of the conversation. Host B sends their file to Rock-B and Audacity will do the rest. This can also be done via a landline or a free Google 800 number.

This is what most Professional Podcasters will do as they have already traveled down that road of getting to the post editing stage and then screaming at the top of the lungs as once again, the Skype recording is not fit for human consumption. I am not picking on Skype, this advice is really for any VOIP system.

Myself, I record straight into my Zoom H6 and use my landline to communicate with the other parties. If they are located outside of the USA then I will use my Free Conference Call website address for communicating purposes only. Honestly, I don’t use Skype at all. Been there & done that. I provide two PDF files for download. 1. How to use your smartphone as a digital recorder along with proper recording procedures. 2. My Dropbox upload link for their side of the audio once we are finished.

I can use eq to remove their room tone and make their voice fuller/fatter, gates, and noise reduction filters to clean up their audio, meters/analyzers to bring their audio to the proper playback level, however, like I mentioned before, I can not edit was is not there. That is my basic setup and for more advanced recording projects, most beginners would have a hard time trying to figure it out and I will leave that for another post/reply.

This can also be done via a landline or a free Google 800 number.

Because the call is for coordination only. Neither voice goes through it.

There was a poster who used this technique with multiple people in his podcast, but corralling multiple unskilled people into creating their own local recording is a bit of a Marching Cats problem. And it doesn’t work if you’re interviewing somebody important who doesn’t want to play with you.

I provide two PDF files for download. 1. How to use your smartphone as a digital recorder along with proper recording procedures.

What is that address exactly?

Koz

If you would like me to send you a copy for your use that is fine. I have no desire to do self-promotion within this forum. You asked me a simple question in your last post and I gave you a simple answer. It does not matter how anyone else may do it, it is simply how I do it.

I have no desire to do self-promotion within this forum.

Normally frowned on unless a forum elf asks you.

it is simply how I do it.

Exactly what we’re interested in. As we remind posters repeatedly, this is not a help desk it’s a forum. Users helping each other.

I did it this way with Music Memo in a reasonably quiet room.

I can give you part numbers for the mic stand and clip. The “sand bag” on the bottom out of the shot says “Miracle Grow” on it.

Any child born after 2013 knows how to use their parent’s smartphone

I scored an interview with the state Attorney General who happens to live next town over. She says I got a minute—tops—and was born significantly before 2013.

Koz

OK Koz since Kibler gave me the green light, you can view as well as download my pdf here. Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life. Now on to the rest of your post. Why do you feel you need to add a counter weight to a boom stand that is chocked up to eight inches supporting 12 ounces? It makes no sense. Is that the same set up you mentioned earlier in this thread that used a 3 lb Clorox bottle? Did you decide that miracle grow was safer than Clorox?

I am truly perplexed why you would even use this picture as it has nothing to do with the OPs original question. My comment was simply check out the ATR2100 that can be supported by the cheapest desk mount sold. Myself I use Rode for my desk mount drilled through 2 inches of oak. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PSA1Rode?product_id=PSA1Rode&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%2520-%2520Catch-All&adgroup=Catch-All&placement=google&adpos=1o1&creative=156936231009&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjw47bLBRBkEiwABh-PkWzlKJPT_THanMEigiPeEx79ZSP1rDo7TokDimphpIzjneEwdi4ZxhoC7goQAvD_BwE. My desk top stands are Proline that have a 16-inch reach with a 6-pound base. Mankind does not make a mic that can tip it over. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicStdDeskBm?product_id=MicStdDeskBm&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%2520-%2520Catch-All&adgroup=Catch-All&placement=google&adpos=1o3&creative=156936231009&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjw47bLBRBkEiwABh-PkS8hA8qauBI4HRVb5Y6snOc7CxJ1_goBEcC47N3qitAsXHk0K6FU3RoCPeQQAvD_BwE

As far as someone giving me a one min time frame for recording, I really could not tell you how I would react as it has never happened to me but I can honestly say that if it ever did, regardless of who they were or what they had to promote, nobody tells me how to do my job when I am the one in charge of the recording. That’s my job, not theirs. If they do not understand this, I simply bid them farwell as it will be my reputation on the line for the audio, not theirs. That’s the difference between an amateur and a Pro.

Any chance of getting a link to this 60 sec interview you had to do at the drop of a hat? I will be the first to say that this has now gone way off topic but it is do to answering your questions, not the OPs.

Did you decide that miracle grow was safer than Clorox?

It’s going to be so hard not to run with that.

The illustrations are a mish-mash of different theatrical shots. The Miracle Grow counterweight was from the first pass of that Moving Blanket shot with the laptop which was plain, sterile and not very attractive. The final of the Moving Blanket shot had the Clorox bottle. The Miracle Grow sack was otherwise engaged.

The shots are a festival of “Easter Eggs” and Movie Background Errors. The Moving Blanket shot has a spider shock mount on the microphone (intentional) whereas the closeup of Recommended Microphone Spacing doesn’t (unintentional). Many of the recommended setups have Apple Earbuds sitting in for headphones. They were handy and graphically attractive. Not, however, acoustically useful.

And etc.

I am the one in charge of the recording.

That makes you the Producer who gets to make decisions like that. If, however, you’re not the Producer your job is to provide a sound track. If you don’t, you might be working for someone else next time.

it has nothing to do with the OPs original question.

That’s one way to record my local voice while I’m coordinating the call on my landline. It leaves the desk free.

The thread brings up another problem. If the people at the other end are “normal,” the cellphone is the only thing they have. How do you split a local recording from coordinated communications? There is only one box.

I’ll look at that posting.

Koz

Cool look at that posting Koz! How can anyone who claims to have any experience at all, be so blind. As per your last sentence, “If the people at the other end are “normal,” the cellphone is the only thing they have. How do you split a local recording from coordinated communications? There is only one box”, I have already explained that process. If that is all they have then you move to plan b.

It seems that if any explanation that does NOT aline with the almighty KOZ, he will start the degrading process. I am done with this thred. If the OP comes back on and addresses me, I will answer them. Just so you know KOZ, I have no desire to interact with you in the future as it will only lead to argument that you have instagated. Someone with authority in this forum needs to reain this elf in!

By the way KOZ, where is that link to that 60 sec interview. Myself, I think you are full of hot air and the only ones you will ever get over on this forum is the ones walking in off the street with no recording knowledge what so ever. Again, what is the link to your 60 sec audio with the hot shot you mentioned earlier? For Gods sake, is everything an argument with you? If I could add you to the “Foe list” I would. Maybe the admin can change this setting!