Microphone

[deathneko11]

Hi guys, I am thinking about either upgrading my headset to get a better mic on it or just purchase a standard microphone.  I am interested in doing so for 2 reasons:

 

1.  voice acting

2.  for tutorial videos and let's play videos (I plan to do my first let's play series in the near future)

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?  I'm trying to balance budget and quality.  I am hoping to not break $60 U.S. dollars on this if possible.  I am clueless when it comes to microphone hardware so I am not sure what to look for :p

 

If it comes down to choosing between a good cheap mic and an expensive headset with a good mic, I think i would rather go the route of the standalone microphone though to be honest, since my current headset has a good sound quality to it.  Plenty of Bass and very comfortable to wear.  I am using the Plantronics Gamecom, which has a mic on it but the mic is crap.  No matter my audio settings I get a lot of white noise (though admittedly some of the white noise is likely due to my loud fans on my pc)

[MontyMM]

IMO, get a decent but not fancy desktop mic. Then, there's two crucial things that make the professional difference. One is the acoustics of the room - play around your house and garage! Number two is a pop screen - which you can make yourself with a coat hanger and a pair of stockings ! (Google for it) This simply stops plosive vocalisations causing booming effects.

[phazer11]

I've found that as a decent alternative to buying anything for now my phone makes a pretty damn good microphone compared to the one on my headset (which isn't bad) the tonal range on the bass capture on my headset mic leaves a lot to be desired (I sound like a chipmunk in my texture video in the staff area).

[deathneko11]

thinking about ordering this:

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102040

 

what do ya'll think? As far as I can tell my recording quality is not due to a bad microphone after all, but because i'm using my on board sound chip. So basically my mobo lacks the hardware for high quality recording :p

[z929669]

Get the external sound card and try the Logitech headset. It is plug & play and works very nicely. It runs about 60 bucks.

[deathneko11]

heh, welp I confess that I skimmed over some reviews for the one I linked. The features that are available for the card and the audio samples I heard are fantastic, so I went ahead and ordered. However if I have issues with it, I can return it if I have to so no worries for at least the first month or so.

 

I can't wait to put this baby on the rack. It will be crying oily tears by the time I get through with it.

 

z929669 Wrote

Get the external sound card and try the Logitech headset. It is plug & play and works very nicely. It runs about 60 bucks.

So what card are you talking about? Would you be so kind as to provide a link? and the headset I think I'll stick to what I have for certain, I decided to just use my current mic. I might look into fixing up a sleeve for it though to avoide popping noises.

[z929669]

NM, I just glanced at the card you are ordering and thought it was external ... looks like it is internal with a control bock that slips into one of your racks.

 

If you already have a mic, then just ignore my prev post :P

[phazer11]

Hmm... that might be part of the problem. I haven't tried recording the audio through my desktop since I used my laptop for my BETA texture videos since it has the SSD in it (I have another to pop in my desktop whenever I upgrade my Graphics card) Of course I never have had the kind of money to spend on a separate card. I try to buy the best mid-high to high range equipment (quality wise). For instance I bought a Sabertooth motherboard etc. I haven't seen the need for an external sound card in years since NVIDIA started including HDMI through the chipset on their cards. Maybe the audio chipset on the Sabertooth is a bit better than the one on my laptop. I still doubt it'll make a difference since there was a noticeable jump in tonal accuracy when I recorded through my cell phone than via my headset.

[z929669]

disabling internal soundcard (in the BIOS) and using an add-on frees up system resources, so it is a good idea to get a decent sound card. Hardware experts around here are likely able to go into the painful detail.

[phazer11]

Oh yeah I know I have the one on my desktop's motherboard disabled since I have all my audio running through the pretty decent sound controller NVIDIA has in their cards (you have to have an annoying mini-HDMI adapter but hey w/e) I was just saying it might be worth me enabling it to find out if it increased the ability of my microphone to capture my voice. I don't know if you watched my texture optimization video (and of it) but it was painful to listen to my voice was so squeaky (never has captured well on video cameras and such)

[deathneko11]

just wanted to say that I got that soundblaster card. Oh god, what an experience! It came with a nice little directional microphone too, my test voice recording was crystal clear with no editing. This has made my entire month I think.