09.03.07
Podcasting kit part 2 - Microphones and USB
In my last post I described my initial setup with the Altec Lansing head-set. Well after listening back to the fuzzy quality and finding out that the podcasting idea was a huge hit with Planet, I decided to start doing things a little more properly (at least in my head!).
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.
