Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP

Subject: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: skipy
Date: 11 Mar 08 - 07:08 PM

A friend of mine (yeh!) wants to lay down a few songs into his / her computer (of course it's not me! I don't sing!) what microphone should he/she buy?

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: GUEST,Terp
Date: 11 Mar 08 - 07:23 PM

I use a Samson CO1U Studio condenser mic with free Audacity software off the WWW. It costs about $90 U.S., has a USB plug on it's line and makes pretty decent vocal and intrumental recordings. You can read more about it at Amazon or Zsounds.

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Mar 08 - 10:46 PM

You can get mic/headphone combinations that also allow you to monitor what you are singing. Quality varies with price.

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 12 Mar 08 - 03:49 AM

Aren't there latency issues using USB? Are these helped by having a separate soundcard rather than onboard sound?

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: GUEST,Acorn4
Date: 12 Mar 08 - 04:11 AM

The latency problem isn't such an issue these days. I use a Tascam US-122 audio interface which has vocal and instrument inputs, and a Shure SM87 mike. The US-122 has probably been superseded now, but it cost £175 when I bought it, and the mike £85. I use a program called "Cakewalk Home Studio" to record which cost just over £100. You'll also need a wave editor to do a proper job . I bought one from a company in the US called Blaze Audio(www.blazeaudio.com) which worked out at around £13.50.

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Sleepy Rosie
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 01:31 PM

Thought I'd refresh this, because I'm sorta interested in mebbe picking up a mike* and this thread didn't seem to aquire many responses intitially.

It's not an *essential* addition to all the other stuff (I seem to have aquired by vitual accident) by a long shot.
But birthday in the spring...

Oh yeah, err, mikes. What one? Under a £100 anyway, to use with sound recording software on PC.



*to go with my new funky H2 gizmo - that the soundcard and software combo isn't happy with - seems three is a crowd.

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Amos
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 01:59 PM

I use a couple of SHures which work very well for my amateur purposes.

A

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Austin P
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 02:40 PM

A few points from my own experience:

1. You should make sure it has a 3.5mm jack plug (or suitable adapter) to plug into your sound card.

2. Try and get a unidirectional one or one with a 'tele' setting which narrows the angle of pick up to avoid extraneous sounds being picked up from the side (i.e. the sound of your PC's fan, traffic etc.)

3. Record at the high definition 32-bit setting in your recording software. This helps with post-processing (if you want to do that) - e.g. mixing, adding reverb and so on. You can convert to 16-bit (CD standard) when you are happy with the result.

4. If your friend is playing and singing, do it straight, don't try laying down instrument and vocal tracks seperately. It's a world of pain.

I've never been happy with guitar pickups. I mainly play a Fylde and it doesn't sound the same through a pickup (or I've been using crap pickups!). I agree about Shure, even cheaper ones are very good. I have a Shure 588S unidirectional. You can pick second hand ones up on ebay for £20-30 (I bought Dave Swarbricks old one on Ebay but it hasn't improved my playing).

Cheap electret condenser Mics work well*, and turn up on car boot sales and so on regularly. I have Ross condenser Mic which cost £1 and works brilliantly.

Whatever you do DO NOT buy a Mic that has come from one of those cheap goodmans Karaoke machines. They are really awful.

AP

* Tip - always take spare batteries to Gigs. ;O)

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 03:14 PM

What does "latency" mean in this context? That's a word I haven't heard in connection with microphones. Sleepy Rosie and I both recently acquired Zoom Handy H2 recorders, which can also be used as USB microphones.
So, it would be helpful to know what "latency" is and how it might be a factor.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Austin P
Date: 17 Feb 09 - 03:28 PM

Joe:

Re my 'world of pain comment'

Latency refers to the time it takes to process the sound input and write it to the disk, OR read it from the disk and feed it to your headphones.

Analogue to digital conversion, (and vice versa), although very quick on modern computers, still takes time - and you will find that trying to record a second track on top of another (e.g. singing to a previously recorded 'backing track') results is them being ever so slightly out of synch. This is latency, or as we folkies call it, a right royal pain in the arse.

It was all easier in the days of reel-to-reel recording, which worked at the speed of light-ish. Apart from the hiss.

AP

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: GUEST,hanna
Date: 03 Jun 11 - 09:31 PM

i have a mic but how do i use it

Subject: RE: Tech: microphone to sing into computer-HELP
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Jun 11 - 12:54 AM

Hi, Hanna-
if the microphone has a miniature plug like a headset plug, you can plug it into the microphone jack of your computer. There's almost always a microphone jack in back, but many computers have a second jack on the front.
On Windows, click on the "Start" Button, and then select the Controp Pane. Click on the "sound" link, and then click on "sound." If there's an option that says "manage audio devices," click it and then select "recording devices." That page should allow you to set up and test your microphone.

With a working microphone, you can use Sound Recorder, Audacity (freeware download), or other sound programs to record from that microphone.

Hope that gives you the general idea.

-Joe Offer-