dave2010
26-03-2020, 09:22
We don’t seem to have a thread for microphones.
Does anyone out there have views on microphones?
OK - I can’t afford very expensive microphones, and of course many are now available quite cheaply, usually made in the Far East, but the quality may be variable. For example, look for ribbon mics. on Amazon, and you’ll probably find at least one review where the reviewer gives a mic maybe 5 stars, but out of the box it was DOA. In some of those, rather than send it back for a refund - which I would almost certainly have done - the new “owner” dismantled it and then put it back together. Presumably people who do that really do know what they’re doing - or maybe they are just clueless! The result - apparently - if nothing goes wrong can be fantastic - otherwise it may be £100 written off. Ouch!!
Basic microphones are usually dynamic (basically like a small loudspeaker in reverse - principle anyway) or condenser microphones, and may, or may not, have an inbuilt audio interface. Ones that do nowadays often have an inbuilt ADC and output to USB. Others output analogue signals, and need an external audio interface if digital recording is desired. Of course, it is possible to just feed an analogue signal direct into a pre-amp/amp, and not bother with digital.
Anyway, that’s got a thread started. Anyone else interested? Since we’re all on lock down I ordered a few mics to keep me amused, but delivery won’t be for a while. The first one to arrive may come next week, but the interface I’ll need to get it to work won’t arrive till after mid April.
Does anyone out there have views on microphones?
OK - I can’t afford very expensive microphones, and of course many are now available quite cheaply, usually made in the Far East, but the quality may be variable. For example, look for ribbon mics. on Amazon, and you’ll probably find at least one review where the reviewer gives a mic maybe 5 stars, but out of the box it was DOA. In some of those, rather than send it back for a refund - which I would almost certainly have done - the new “owner” dismantled it and then put it back together. Presumably people who do that really do know what they’re doing - or maybe they are just clueless! The result - apparently - if nothing goes wrong can be fantastic - otherwise it may be £100 written off. Ouch!!
Basic microphones are usually dynamic (basically like a small loudspeaker in reverse - principle anyway) or condenser microphones, and may, or may not, have an inbuilt audio interface. Ones that do nowadays often have an inbuilt ADC and output to USB. Others output analogue signals, and need an external audio interface if digital recording is desired. Of course, it is possible to just feed an analogue signal direct into a pre-amp/amp, and not bother with digital.
Anyway, that’s got a thread started. Anyone else interested? Since we’re all on lock down I ordered a few mics to keep me amused, but delivery won’t be for a while. The first one to arrive may come next week, but the interface I’ll need to get it to work won’t arrive till after mid April.