USB Mic Suggestions

Soggasaurus · Post by **Soggasaurus** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:12 pm

Hey all, I've been screwing around with Garage Band recently using a usb-1/4 inch cable I picked up a while back. It's a good way to do basic stuff, but I'd love to be able to record my amp and pedal setup too. Does anyone have experience using Garage Band with a usb mic? Any recommendations for one that'll get good results and not leave me considerably more broke than I am now? Is there a better way to handle amp-into-computer recording than a usb mic? Your input is greatly appreciated!

Benmurray85 · Post by **Benmurray85** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:32 pm

In the long run you'd be better off with a semi decent mic and a USB interface. I don't have any real experience of USB mics but I'm sure you'll get better quality from even a budget dynamic mic

Soggasaurus · Post by **Soggasaurus** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:35 pm

Benmurray85 wrote:In the long run you'd be better off with a semi decent mic and a USB interface. I don't have any real experience of USB mics but I'm sure you'll get better quality from even a budget dynamic mic

So would something like an SM57 be a good starter mic? This is an area I know almost nothing about, but these seem to be go-to tools for lots of people.

Benmurray85 · Post by **Benmurray85** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 4:05 pm

Yeah it's the industry standard for a reason really!

But if you are just starting out and testing the water I'd even go with a budget version of the '57

This may get scoffed at but try a Behringer sm58 copy. I've gigged with one for years and it's perfectly serviceable

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 7:30 pm

we used to use a blue snowball for recording, i thought it sounded pretty nice. i think it was usb too.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:20 am

Just get a cheap usb interface and use any standard mic you want.

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 5:06 am

Sloan wrote:Just get a cheap usb interface and use any standard mic you want.

THIS.

I've used/owned the Blue Snowball before and it's alright for a bedroom podcast that's going to get squashed into a streamed signal anyway, but don't get any fanciful ideas of tracking anything "with life" above that. Acoustic guitars and sung vocals (with any range of dynamics) sounded absolutely horrible, and no amount of plugins made a difference.

An SM57 into a 15 year-old MOTU AD/DA unit tracking at 16bit/44.1khz sounded a squillion times better.

Soggasaurus · Post by **Soggasaurus** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:13 pm

ultratwin wrote:
Sloan wrote:Just get a cheap usb interface and use any standard mic you want.
THIS.

I've used/owned the Blue Snowball before and it's alright for a bedroom podcast that's going to get squashed into a streamed signal anyway, but don't get any fanciful ideas of tracking anything "with life" above that. Acoustic guitars and sung vocals (with any range of dynamics) sounded absolutely horrible, and no amount of plugins made a difference.

An SM57 into a 15 year-old MOTU AD/DA unit tracking at 16bit/44.1khz sounded a squillion times better.

That does seem to be my best option after the little bit of research I've done. One of my housemates has a ton of production gear he doesn't use since he's got shiny new toys to play with. I'll see if he's got a usb interface I can trade money or beer for and get my hands on an SM57 or similar mic.