My girlfriend wants a cheap mic to record singing vocals, we want to go straight into my Macbook Pro. We'll probably get a dynamic hand-held, but there are different options: some have USB output, some are XLR. Would my macbook pro accept the signal given through the USB ones or is there some special software/hardware needed? And if we go with XLR, can one get a XLR to mini-jack convertor? And would that degrade the quality?
Microphone question
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Microphone question If you're going straight into a computer go with a usb one. An XLR mic required phantom power to give it any kind of gain.
The downside of the USB mics is they're more than likely a total heap for crap.
Personally I'd go for a decent XLR mic, Shure Mics are totally reliable solid mics with excellent clarity, anything £50+ is pretty good really.
Then you'll need to get a USB/Firewire audio interface with phantom power. I've got a TerraTec Phase X24fw firewire interface and it really it the dogs danglies.
The downside of the USB mics is they're more than likely a total heap for crap.
Personally I'd go for a decent XLR mic, Shure Mics are totally reliable solid mics with excellent clarity, anything £50+ is pretty good really.
Then you'll need to get a USB/Firewire audio interface with phantom power. I've got a TerraTec Phase X24fw firewire interface and it really it the dogs danglies.
Never ever buy or even think of an USB mic. Their sound crackles and pops, even if non musically trained people don't notice that. Mics must be using the audio plug.
What everyone else said.
XLR FTW.
I've used a Tascam US-122L with great success. XLR plugs straight in.
XLR FTW.
I've used a Tascam US-122L with great success. XLR plugs straight in.
Cheers chaps, useful info there...
Get one of these:
http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1810&brandID=2
Highly recommended product in all the music magazines I buy. Very cheap (£40 or less) and apparently the quality is excellent.
http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1810&brandID=2
Highly recommended product in all the music magazines I buy. Very cheap (£40 or less) and apparently the quality is excellent.
Hey, I work as a music producer so I think I can give some info:
XLR mics: they only need phantom power if they have condenser architecture. Regular pro microphones use XLR connection becouse it gives balanced signal and avoild interferences. XLR is the way to go if you want a pro-like configuration. You may also need a pre-amp AD/DA conversor for the audio signal. The best combination (price-quality) for this issue is:
M-Audio firewire solo:
http://www.maudio.co.uk/products/en_gb/FireWireSolo-main.html
and a shure SM-58 microphone, wich is the standard in industry
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM58-CN_content
Anyway, a condenser microphone will give better results for recording, but they are not suitable for live performance.
Take in consideration that the line signal standard is 0.7volts and a dynamic microphone works in milivolts, so if you don't get a decent pre-amp, you'll get a very low working gain, and a bad noise-signal releation. The M-Audio interface I recomend you have a very good pre-amp. And it can work with ProTools or Samplitude.
XLR mics: they only need phantom power if they have condenser architecture. Regular pro microphones use XLR connection becouse it gives balanced signal and avoild interferences. XLR is the way to go if you want a pro-like configuration. You may also need a pre-amp AD/DA conversor for the audio signal. The best combination (price-quality) for this issue is:
M-Audio firewire solo:
http://www.maudio.co.uk/products/en_gb/FireWireSolo-main.html
and a shure SM-58 microphone, wich is the standard in industry
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM58-CN_content
Anyway, a condenser microphone will give better results for recording, but they are not suitable for live performance.
Take in consideration that the line signal standard is 0.7volts and a dynamic microphone works in milivolts, so if you don't get a decent pre-amp, you'll get a very low working gain, and a bad noise-signal releation. The M-Audio interface I recomend you have a very good pre-amp. And it can work with ProTools or Samplitude.
Mostly as Ziggy said.
[random info]
XLR mics have much reduced noise due to how they are cabled.
they send the signal twice, inverted over two wires.
Noise can be removed from the signal because L-R = Noise.
Providing its cabled up properly, the XLR mic of any kind will work best.
[/random info]
[random info]
XLR mics have much reduced noise due to how they are cabled.
they send the signal twice, inverted over two wires.
Noise can be removed from the signal because L-R = Noise.
Providing its cabled up properly, the XLR mic of any kind will work best.
[/random info]