Choice of microphone?

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Level 1

106 points

Choice of microphone?

Any advice on a cheap but good microphone to use to improve the recording quality from the built-in mic? I'll be recording lyrics and acoustic guitar, usually simultanously on to the same track.

I want to use it both in my iMac (G5) and my iBook (G4), so I presume it'll need to be USB as I can't see how else to plug it in to the iBook.

Trevor

IMac G5 and iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Posted on Jun 25, 2006 12:27 PM

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Answer 1

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Jun 25, 2006 12:34 PM in response to Trevor C

The first thing you need to do is define "cheap". One man's cheap is $20, another's may be under $200

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Answer 2

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 25, 2006 1:43 PM in response to HangTime

Good point. Ideally I wouldn't want to spend more than about £25 (not sure what that is in Dollars these days!) but if that's not realistic I recofnaise I might need to go over. I certainly couldn't justify over £50.

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Answer 3

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Jun 25, 2006 1:55 PM in response to Trevor C

If you were willing to go close to your upper limit, I've heard great things about the Samson Studio Condenser Mic with USB Output, it would be around £43

If price is more important than quality, the might think about the Logitech USB Desktop Microphone which is more around £11

Hope that helps --HangTime [Will Compute for Food] B-|>

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Answer 4

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 25, 2006 11:32 PM in response to HangTime

Thanks for your responses, Hangtime.

In the meantime, I've been reading a few other related threads. The Griffin iMic gets quite a few mentions as a possible solution, and I do have quite easy access to microphones used for by a local band. (By which I mean I could borrow them, not steal them!)

Would that be a sensible way to go? It looks like I can pick an iMic up for £30-£40.

Trevor

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Answer 5

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Jun 26, 2006 12:25 AM in response to Trevor C

I'm afraid I have to make this quick because I have a late recording session, but I'll try to make some points.

You can't plug a "pro" low impedance mic directly into an iMic without an impedance matching transformer (well, you "can" with an adaptor, but once you try you'll realize why you "can't"). And even then, you have no attenuation, so levels are difficult to control.

The folks I know, including myself, that have used an iMic also use(d) a mixing console, which is around another $30 US (example: Behringer UB502 Eurorack Mixer)

Personally I would not recommend the iMic without a console

For some background, the iMic has a High Impedance input (even though it DOES have a Mic-In, the impedance mismatch is a prob):

http://www.thehangtime.com/gb/gbfaq2.html#micline

Those are the facts. Now my opinion, from my experience:

I'd choose the iMic and a console with a pro mic over a USB Mic for the added control the mixer offers. I would definitely not try to use a pro mic by itself with an iMic. If you have audio experience, an iMic/Console combination can get really good results. Better equipment can get better results, but of course your engineering skills determine the real outcome.

Hope that doesn't muddy the waters even further. --Hang %-|>

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Answer 6

Jun 26, 2006 1:19 AM in response to HangTime

To add to this: There's a whole world between the Logitech and the Samson. I'm using the Samson to produce professional radio pieces, while the Logitech sounds slightly better than a telephone. Save on a dinner and get the better mic.

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Answer 7

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 26, 2006 1:41 AM in response to HangTime

Waters muddied! I'll continue to read your info and others...

Am I right to assume that a mixer such as the one you pointed out could go straight into the Line In socket on the iMac without the need for the iMic? (Of course I would need the iMic to use my iBook.)

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Answer 8

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 26, 2006 1:43 AM in response to Christoph Drösser

Christoph,

Yes, the Samson is looking promising. The reviews on Amazon suggested some problems getting it to work seamlessly on a mac. Any problems in your experience?

Trevor

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Answer 9

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Jun 26, 2006 7:41 AM in response to Trevor C

Am I right to assume that a mixer such as the one you
pointed out could go straight into the Line In socket
on the iMac without the need for the iMic? (Of course
I would need the iMic to use my iBook.)

You've got it.

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Answer 10

Jun 27, 2006 12:37 AM in response to Trevor C

Yes, the Samson is looking promising. The reviews on Amazon suggested some problems getting it to work seamlessly on a mac. Any problems in your experience?

It worked right out of the box. I had some problems with the gain level, since the control software for the built-in pre-amp doesn't work on my intel mac. And it keeps registering as a stereo device, although for all I know it's a mono microphone, so I always have to go for the Audio/Midi software to do the settings.

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Answer 11

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 27, 2006 9:26 AM in response to Christoph Drösser

Help!

I ordered the Samson and was astonished to find it arrived today. (Excellent service from the retailer.)

However, I rushed home to try it out and can't get the iMac to recognise it. I plug it in to the USB socket on the back of the iMac, and the LED on the mic flashes a couple of times then fades away. The mic is not listed in system profiler nor does it appear in the sound preferences panel. I've tried a restart with the mic plugged in: no change. I have someone coming here on Thursday evening who's hoping to do some recording and I really would like to get it up and running...

Trevor

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Answer 12

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Jun 27, 2006 9:31 AM in response to Trevor C

Hopefully Christoph will pass by soon with some first-hand info, but in the meantime the first thing I'd check is Audio MIDI Setup utility (Applications/Utilities/) to see if it shows up there

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Answer 13

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 27, 2006 9:36 AM in response to HangTime

Wow, Hangtime, that was a quick response!

I was just coming back to say I'd found that in another thread (and to apologise for not searching before asking!). I have a signal, but need to do some fine-tuning. Thanks for all your help so far (to both of you).

I may well be back...

Trevor

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Answer 14

Trevor C Author

Level 1

106 points

Jun 28, 2006 11:13 AM in response to Trevor C

Well, as I guessed I would be, I'm back. I guess this one's more for Christophe, with direct experience with this mic, but any advice from Hangtime or anyone else would be useful.

I've got the CO1U set up and can record, but have quite a nasty buzz/hum that I've managed to reduce a bit, but not very well. I've little idea about the technology behind sound recording and am baffled by the number of variables there are.

Could anyone talk me through how to get, say, a nice clear voice recording? (I'll tweak things for guitar/piano myself once I've got the basics in place.)

Here's how I'm set so far:

In Audio/Midi Setup, Default input is set as CO1U, and the settings are 44100.0 Hz and 2ch-16bit. Everything else seems to be grayed out. (Christophe, you mentioned selecting mono rather than stereo. How do I do this?)

In System Preferences> Sound, CO1U is selected and the input level shows any incoming sound. A note states "The selected device has no input controls".

I've installed Samson's Soft-pre, but can't yet work out what this does or how it would be best set. I've tried a few settings but can't detect any change (and I don't get any indictors showing it's picking up any signal).

In Garageband preferences, CO1U is selected as "Audio input".

The microphone is on a stand on the floor so shouldn't be picking up much in the way of vibrations.

As I say, and advice would be very gratefully recieved.

IMac G5 and iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

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Answer 15

Jul 7, 2006 1:23 PM in response to Trevor C

Trevor,

Are you using the iMac or the iBook to record? Most buzzes/hums are the result of no good electrical ground, or multiple ground sources. Unplug anything from the computer that is not needed for the recording session and test. If it is the iBook make sure you have the AC adaptor plugged in, and if you have the AC cable with 3 pins (2 blades and ground pin) use that. The system preferences and audio midi settings should not have anything to do with the noise, so if you're hearing the input from the mic, they are set correctly.

Try these steps and post back,

AppleGuy

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