What microphones do you use?

I am curious to ask, what microphones do you use for podcasting and do you recommend same ones for online streaming?

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I’m using two Behringer XM8500 for my interviews. I have a M-Audio AIR|6 interface and it run very well. And you?

I don’t know that it’s possible to get a meaningful answer. For at-home productions I use sound recorders not connected to a computer.

For streaming, you’re stuck with a computer connected microphone and all the problems it can have.

How noisy is your room? That can make a big difference in the microphones you can use. If you have a dead-quiet room with no echoes, most microphones and recorders can work pretty well.

Are you going to do interviews? Interviews in a noisy room?

I produced a workable voice track with my iPhone in the garage at night.

What’s your budget?

Koz

I use a Shure PGA27 with a Scarlet Focusrite USB interface and have dug it so far.

I’m using “not total basic” microphone Trust (don’t know the model because it has no sticker on the the body :slight_smile: ). It has small tripod, long cable and classic 3.5 jack. I also bought foam cover for noise reduction.

From my experience, when you plan to produce the podcast:

  1. Buy good mic
  2. Buy good chair you sit on. Alias it is necessary to have a chair that does not creak. It looks bad when you have recorded sounds of creaking chair every-time you move :slight_smile:
  1. Buy good chair you sit on. Alias it is necessary to have a chair that does not creak. It looks bad when you have recorded sounds of creaking chair every-time you move > :slight_smile:

Had a good laugh about that one, yep, very often forgotten about.
There is a small, local radio station that I often listen to, they play great 80’s music , but my goodness, the presenters chair,
creaks and squeaks worse than a rusty spring on a trampoline.

They refuse to get rid of it, dunno if it’s a budget thing or some kind of weird sentimental attachment. :smiley:

weird sentimental attachment.

“Johnny E. was using that chair when he put the station on the air in 1935. It’s the second console and the fourth microphone, but it’s the only chair.”

There’s another possibility. “I can’t steal the music with all that noise in the background.”

That show comes from the General Manager’s office. You tell him he needs a new chair.

“Back Alley Disks” is holding a raffle. The winner gets Alvin’s chair.

Offer to buy them a new one. Take up a collection.

Offer to fix it.

Koz

Koz wrote:

“Johnny E. was using that chair when he put the station on the air in 1935. It’s the second console and the fourth microphone, but it’s the only chair.”

I think you nailed it right there.

Judging by the sounds that chair makes, it well past it’s expiry date and a good replacement will be rather costly.
Your suggestions did give me an idea though, will contact the supplier of our studio furniture and see if they will donate one
in return for a few on air “plugs”.

It’s a win-win-win situation if it works out.
They get a new chair, the supplier gets some advertising and the listener’s suffering will come to an end.

What ones do you use? The problem I have is that even with 36 db amplification set in windows I get very low noise with a microphone even though it is allegedly a good mic and cost about 100 bucks (though it’s very old now). It’s a sony fv6-20. I am not sure if I need a new mic that preamplifies it, a new sound card that does a better job, or else something else. But if I can get a stand alone recorder that works well that would be great too.

I have a camera for recording too but it’s absolutely awful in sound quality. My room is pretty quiet, but if I amplify the recording sound in audacity then the sound gets amplified too and it’s a giant mess.

I would be recommending recording work on your iPhone—I have several very nice voice recordings that way. This is a restaurant interview recording. Just the iPhone.

https://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/Interview-Cafe-SampleClip.mp3

Apple has made it very difficult now to move sound tracks from the iPhone to anything else. Not joshing. I subscribe to a non-Apple app to do this. It used to be just plug the phone in, open up iTunes and drag files around. Not any more.

I use the camera on my phone constantly and simply drag pictures back and forth to a Mac as needed. Not the sound files.

Anyway, that does work if you can figure out post production file management.

Next up is my Olympus WS-823, It’s a tiny personal recorder. The quality is just OK, but if you need a non-obvious field recording, that’s not a bad way to do it. It will produce perfect quality, stereo WAV sound files. Stay away from MP3 files for production recording.

For the Good Stuff, I use a Zoom H1n.

It works very well. I can plug stereo wired headphones in for real time monitoring. You can plug it into the wall for power instead of batteries. I calculated my 32GB memory chip would support something like 50 hours of stereo recording.

When used stand-alone, it does not have any of the thousands of computer problems that appear on the forum.

“How come my voice tracks have noises and sound like I recorded in a milk jug?”

The first time you say the words “I have two hosts” or “I’m going to record an interview on Zoom,” you graduate to advanced recording techniques and kit. That’s no longer simple recording.

Koz

Thanks I will look at those. So frustrating to have these issues.

Dig in the instructions and setups and make sure whatever you get can produce WAV sound files. MP3 files have sound damage and every time you make an MP3 from an MP3, the damage gets worse. MP3 was designed as an end product. Make an MP3 and listen to it, Full Stop. Not make an MP3 and then apply these effects or filters.

I know you’re going to ask me how come ACX requires audiobook production to be submitted in MP3. That’s a business decision, not electronic or acoustic. They have to store all those books and it’s cheaper in MP3. Also, they require submission in 192 quality and particularly in Mono, that’s nose-bleed high quality and they can get away with a lot of tricks before anybody hears any damage.

Koz

Way late I know but sounds like you need an in-line preamp on what sounds like a dynamic mic. They have low output and most need a preamp like a fethead or dynamite or Klark Teknik has a cheap one.