As someone whose technological skills are at the Computer 101 Remedial level, I would greatly appreciate any answers,opinions and/or assistance members of this forum can provide. I am a former DJ of a local radio station who is no longer able to continue in this capacity. However, i have be offered an opportunity to do a show online from my home. In the interest of full disclosure, the show is an oldies show (vocal group harmony aka doo wop) as I grew up in the 50’s.
This will require purchasing some equipment in order to make an audition CD with music and narration. In other words, submitting a copy of my show for consideration.
I have used Audacity extensively for cleaning up songs sent to me from vinyl recordings as I can eliminate drop and pickup sounds from the record player and moderating all of the songs for use on a CD. What I haven’t done is added narration. So, for anyone who done this I would appreciate your input. I need a microphone and it has been suggested that I purchase a Yeti Blue Pro. Has anyone used this mic with Audacity? If not, could you offer the name of a good option as sound quality is paramount. Do I need a mixer? If so, any models you have used successfully? Where can they be obtained?
Thank you for your time and cooperation. I welcome any suggestions or recommendations you might offer and look forward to your replies.
Les Taylor
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I’ve never used one, but I believe the Yeti is a fine microphone. You’ll also need a good quiet & “studio”, and some sound absorbsion wouldn’t hurt. The acoustics (and your voice ) are probably more important than the mic as long as the mic is of reasonable quality. You can always adjust the “character” of the sound with EQ.
I am a former DJ of a local radio station…
… the show is an oldies show (vocal group harmony aka doo wop) as I grew up in the 50’s.
This will require purchasing some equipment in order to make an audition CD with music and narration.
Just to be clear, the music is recorded right? No live music?
Here’s the issue - USB mics are no good for “live” real-time mixing. In general, you can only record from one device at a time. That also means that you cannot use two USB mics to record in stereo (at least not easily). So if you want to do your show in real-time and record it, that’s not what I’d recommend. However, if you want to record your announcing-narration and then mix it with music in post-production, a USB mic is great, and you won’t need a mixer… you can mix in software.
The convenience (and low cost) of a USB mic is very tempting. However, personally I’d probably choose a regular analog mic and a separate USB interface, because I’d have more flexibility to use the mic live with a mixer or in multi-mic recording, etc. And most microphones can last a lifetime, but you never know when USB is going to be replaced by something else. (I’m sure USB will be around in 5 years, but lots of people have mics that are 30-years old or more.)
Both Blue and Shure make good XLR-to-USB “adapters”, or there are all kinds of [u]USB audio interfaces[/u] with mic preamps & XLR connections. (If you get an analog “studio condenser”, make sure the interface provides the required phantom power.)
Of course, you don’t want to use a regular 'ol soundcard with a microphone. The built-in preamps are often low quality and it’s the wrong interface for a good recording/performance microphone (low-impedance balanced with an XLR connector). (The line-input on a soundcard is often acceptable for line-level sources.)
) are probably more important than the mic as long as the mic is of reasonable quality. You can always adjust the “character” of the sound with EQ.