To that end I’m going to give you a run through of my current setup, provide my thoughts on each of the bits of kit and look forward to how things will move forward (I hope) in the future.

Starting at the top of the stack with the mic. I’m currently recording using a Samson C01 condenser which I think provides a very good sound given its low price point. Now… I know that it’s not perfect, I know that there are audiophiles out there who will talk about various shortcomings, but the bottom line for me is, how does it sound? And for podcasts I think it sounds fine.

Also attached to the spider mount for the C01 is a Logitech Desktop PC mic, this has been stripped of its desktop base and is now held in place by the elastic shock mount straps which I’ve re-positioned so that the C01 remains central in its cradle. The Logitech mic is there to allow for the recording of phone conversations using either Skype or my Voiptalk softphone, my voice gets captured by the C01 for local recording and taken by the Logitech for transmission onwards for the caller.

The C01 is connected to an Alesis Multimix8 USB mixer which is a really nice bit of kit. I’m no connoisseur of mixing desks but, again, for the price this seems to do everything I want. When I started I was using the USB as the output and recording using Propaganda on the PC, but now I’ve moved on and I’m using Garageband on a new iMac.

Now, I know that the Mac has USB too and I did try this method of connectivity but for some reason when I plug the mixer in to the Mac, the Line Out in the Mac stop working. It’s as if, regardless of my desktop settings, the USB interface takes precedence. It’s no biggy really, as I now use the Main Mix out to the Mac’s Line In and record from there. The Mac’s Line Out is used to playback and connects to the 2-track In on the mixer, which I’ve switched to the headphones, not the mix. My only regret is that I didn’t have 3 months for-thought and buy the (albeit more expensive) Firewire version of the Multimix and I would ideally like to record each channel separately, but maybe I’ll upgrade at some point!

Hang on though.. multi channel! I’ve only talked about one mic so far… that’s hardly even deserving of a mixer at all! But no… remember the phone conversations? Well the output from my PC, carrying the voice of my caller is routed to one of the input channels of the mixer too. In practice that means that the far end of the conversation appears in my headphones and comes through the mix and my end of the conversation is dropped straight into the mix as well as going via the PC. Pretty neat I think!

So we’ve done Mic – check. Mixer – check. Recording platform – check. Telephony interaction – check. Aha.. headphones!
I’m using a pair of Sennheiser HD 201 headphones for monitoring and playback. They’re the circum-aural type, which I prefer and they are also quite cheap. (remember we’re doing this on a reasonably affordable budget if possible!). I would love to try a really decent set of studio headphones, just to see what the difference is, but for now, I’m actually very happy with the reproduction I’m getting with the 201’s so that’s something very much for the future.

There are a couple of other elements I’m considering, I would LOVE to try a vocal strip. My dream is to have a Symetrix 528E to play around with, the Aphex 230 or DBX 286a would be my second choice (and a more reasonable cost). I’ve spoken with a couple of folks who prefer to record straight and do the smoothing work with software and plug ins and I think that a pretty good approach to so I’m kind of torn.. I do like buttons and switches though and, again, it makes it LOOK like a studio! YES I know I’m shallow!
So that’s everything covered I think. If you’ve any ideas or comments on what I’ve got so far, please feel free to comment on this post. Until next time then.. Cheers!

J.

So I decided to pick up a couple of the most commonly talked about mic’s and put them up against my first buy, the Samson C01.

My test involves the back to back use of all four mic’s through the same mixer on the same settings to get a like-for-like picture. I used the Rudyard Kipling poem “If” as the medium for this test. I like it and it handily has four verses too.

The outcome has, I have to say, made me very happy. The Samson provides me with a good sound (there is a little clipping in the recording, but I wanted to keep everything set the same for the comparison!) and I think gives the nicest representation of my voice.

A good second place was the Shure SM57, I was using this one without any foam wind screen in place but avoided any significant noise as I was talking slightly sideways on to the face of the mic itself. The sound reproduction doesn’t seem quite as deep as the C01 but it’s not far away.

The SM58 comes in a close third. I was actually expecting a little more from this one, but I think that it takes some getting used too. I’ve heard examples (and actually had a play too) of the difference in the type of response you can get from this mic simply by moving closer in to it. It actually does sound really rich when you speak directly into it with you mouth almost touching the grill, but I don’t like that and prefer to be able to move around a little.

The Sennheiser came WAY down. I realise that the model is an old one but given what I know it cost at the time I was expecting something a lot better. I sound like I have a bad dose of the flu! There is no depth at all and it’d take a conscious effort to actually spend any time listening to it. It’s going back into it’s back and will only come out if I have to do bingo calling!

I’m happy with the outcome of my little experiment. It has, of course, led to me identifying a further requirement… I need a vocal strip to sort out some of the background noise and hiss! Ah well, here’s to hoping that the Aphex/DBX/Symetrix fairy smiles down on me!

J.

Features:

• W-XY mic patterns with 4 mic capsules and signal processing allows Front 90° cardioid, Rear 120° cardioid and 360° polar patterns
• Built-in USB 2.0 interface
• Records in WAV 96kHz/48kHz/44.1kHz at 16-bit or 24-bit, MP3 to 320kbps and Variable Bit Rate (VBR) data formats
• Time Stamp and Track Marker functions in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF)
• 512MB SD memory card included
• Accommodates up to 4GB SD memory cards
• Auto Gain Control (AGC) for pristine recordings
• Auto Start function means you’re always ready to record
• Low-cut filter eliminates wind noise
• On-board chromatic Guitar/Bass tuner

I’ve actually gone and purchased a 4GB SD-HC card to use in the unit, becuse I’m going to be recording interviews I’m going to use the 4 channel feature; me on the front mics and my subjects on the rear. The 4 channel feature actually creates 2 x stereo WAV files, one from each mic set (F/R) and so requires twice the storage for the same amount of audio time, hence the larger capacity SD card.

I’ve done a little playing around and I have to say I’m impressed. The audio quality is very good. What it’ll be like out in the field I’m not sure but the signs are positive so far.

J.

My first purchase then was to be a ‘proper’ microphone. After a little searching around I decided that a USB mic would be perfect for my needs. No pre-amp or phantom power requirements, plug and play functionality simple! I went for the Samson C01U Studio condenser and got it in a ‘podcasting kit’ from Dolphin Music. This gave me everything I thought I needed, the mic, the spider mount (I still think this is VERY cool!) and a sturdy desk stan, pus a nice case to keep it all in. I actually got a ‘B’ grade package which had been returned but was in excellent condition, and was a bargain price too.

I was very happy with my new kit and couldn’t wait to record my next ‘cast. It was then I discovered that this mic provides a left channel only feed via it’s USB interface. This was a little frustrating as the software I was using didn’t support balancing the input over both channels, or mirroring it in the mix. BAH! The solution was to record everything on the left channel, mix it down with the bed into a stereo WAV file and then encode this down to a mono MP3 file, not ideal but as I’m only talking on the casts it’s good enough.

The Samson mic provides a really good sound and I’m very happy with everything I’ve got from it so far. I did invest in a boom mic stand and a pop filter too though, the former the help with my vocal projection and the latter because the plosives were just a little harsh.

Next time… My current kit and future plans.

The first kit I used was my PC and an Altec Lansing all-in-one headset thing. Software was initially the free utility from Wildvoice, but I got a little frustrated with that after I managed to delete everything I’d recorded, so I did some searching around and a copy of Propaganda instead, which I’ve continued to use up until very recently.

The audio quality is not bad with this set up, but not great. I’m actually tempted to go back and re-record this particular one but it also reminds me of how much better I’m getting nowadays.

The quality of the voice is pretty much down to the quality of the microhone in the headset itself and the requirements for it to be all but touching ones lips in order to be effective (they are designed this way of course), there is a lack of crispness to the tones and everything seems to be a little.. well foggy sounding. Having said that.. I’ve listened to quite a few podcasts which were, let’s say less than fantastic in their overall sound so there’s probably a lot to be said for this type of cheap, entry-level set up to get you sound out there!
The headphones are supra-aural but are a decent enough size so that, for me at least – being a circumaural fan, they did an effective job of delivering the sound and comfort I wanted.

Next time… a new microphone (or two!)

There’ll be updates on the kit I’m using and I’ll probably add some reviews to the Silesti Podcasts too.