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I'm in need of a microphone for voice acting, and was wondering what my best options were for under $100. Right now the only ones I've looked at are the Blue Snowball and the Samson C01U. Any others that anybody would recommend?

I own the Blue Snowball and my only complaint about it is that it's USB powered and has no option for an XLR or 1/4" out. For the money (I picked mine up new for $50), it's a great mic. It's actually a decent mic for recording acoustic guitar and vocals (the song "A Child's Love" in my music thread in the Artist's Corner was recorded strictly with that mic).

I suppose it'd depend on your set up. Are you strictly looking for a USB mic? If not, you could look at an MXL 990 condenser mic. New, you can pick up that mic in a set with another condenser mic for $99. I've seen them used with a shockmount for $50. I think they sound pretty good for the money, but you'd need a mixing board/interface with phantom power in order to use it.

Along the lines of an MXL 990, I recently bought a Sterling Audio ST55 condenser mic for $90 that I think sounds really nice. If you'd like, when I get home tonight, I can record samples with each of the mics I've mentioned so that you can hear what they sound like. For the MXL 990 and the ST55, I use either an Alesis Multimix 8 Firewire board or an M-Audio Firewire 410. For the Snowball, i'd just record direct using USB.

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THAT

I've been looking for a good quality and stylish mic for years.

Yup. If you're doing voice work or anything that requires a decent bottom end but doesn't have too large of an SPL (ie, you aren't recording kick drum/transient sources), then a large diaphram condenser mic is what you want, especially for voice.. The Snowball is probably one of the best plug-and-go solutions out there, but you will probably want to move to something a little more high-end when you get some momentum going. I use a Behringer B2 Pro for everything I do because it has plenty of features (XLR, comes with shock mount/foam/case) and a decent price...but this was because I already had a decent preamp and great sound card to plug it into (which are things the Snowball won't need but 'pro' mics do). However, it did take some serious time for me to save up and acquire all of these pieces (and I still want to get a second mic to allow stereo recording), so it's not something you would jump into right off the bat.

More and more, it's looking like external audio interfaces are the way to go (since they can be exchanged between systems more easily), but though FireWire/IEEE1394 really is the way to go for audio, the lower price and ubiquity of USB are really choking FW out of the market.

--Patrick

I'd like that very much, KCWM, thanks!

I think I'm pretty much stuck with USB-only options for now though; my computer doesn't have decent sound card, just the standard on-board stuff it came with. I presently own no other audio recording gear and $100 is the absolute limit I can afford on this right now. It just has to be good enough for flash cartoons without sounding like I used a $5 microphone on my living room computer that Newgrounds cartoons typically sound like.

Shawnacy gave me some awesome quality for my short, it wouldn't be right if my end was anything less.

I looked at the website for Blue. I like the idea behind the eyeball, but it is not very well rated. I still want it more for a chat microphone than a webcam.

I actually just recently picked up the Eyeball webcam. From what I understand, the bad reviews are overwhelmingly from Mac users. Usually it's some kind of conflict with the built in iSight. Using Win7 64, I plugged it in and it worked fine, no problem.

I've only used it a couple times, but sound quality is pretty good. I'm getting a little more background noise than I expected, which might actually be my case fan, but I haven't bothered to try to isolate it yet. The video is pretty meh. You need a lot of light to get an acceptable frame rate/picture quality, although that's pretty common with cheap webcams.

One thing I do dislike about it is its stand design. It probably works fine on most LCD screens, but mine has a good bit of depth to it, which means I have to add a counterweight to the webcam if I want to keep it perched atop my monitor.

I need to find one that will cancel out the buzz from my AC unit, which is kinda close my office, and the buzz from case-fans etc.

Do they even make noise-canceling webcams? It'd probably be easier to just use a Bluetooth headset for a mic.

The eyeball was just cheaper on some websites than the snowflake, basically the same thing minus the webcam.

If you get an audio interface, you don't need a soundcard. The interface will work as your soundcard when you plug it in. I know you said that $100 was your absolute limit, but I wanted to show you this...

Buy M-Audio Audio Buddy & 990/991 Package | Microphone Preamps | Musician's Friend

It's an M-Audio Audio Buddy and MXL 990/991 set (that I bought). It's $119 and if you can find it cheaper on the internet, a local guitar center near you should match the price. $119 is the cheapest I could find it. You might be able to get them to toss in an mic cable (normally runs $15).

My point of posting that is that you can normally find an MXL 990 on Craiglist for $50 and the Audio Buddy from $35-$60. The Audio Buddy isn't the best, but it's a good starting point.

I'll record those clips after I post this and post them shortly.

It occurred to me that in addition to a mic, it might be wise to get a pop filter. You can make one yourself for about $0.00-5.00, depending on materials at hand and how acceptably ghetto-looking you want it. Really all you need is some pantyhose and some sort of framework to attach it to. Or you could just shell out $20 and buy one.

demo of the Blue Snowball

I sound like an idiot and this took me 32 takes to get down. At the end, you can hear me hesitate. I'd been doing a couple of random voices but then thought, "wow...I'm going to sound like an idiot".

I haven't recorded the other two because my interface isn't allowing me to directly monitor it and so I can't hear what I'm doing or what the level is at. I'll work on those later.

Note that there is a difference between the EYEball and the SNOWball. The Snowball has no webcam and (probably) has a better microphone.

Also, you can do a lot to cut down on ambient room/machine noise by building yourself a little foam-or-towel-lined curtain around and behind the microphone while you speak. Speak with the mic in front of your mouth but aim your voice off to one side of the mic to minimize pop, use a homemade pop filter to eliminate the rest.

Also, I totally forgot someone here was looking for voice talent. Rats. If I get the chance I'll try and put together some technique demos in the next few days to demonstrate what I'm talking about and how much difference can be made just by adjusting your environment.

--Patrick

When I record, I often record off to the side. I have a $20 Sterling Audio pop filter from Guitar Center that does a pretty good job of filtering out the rest.

In my demo of the snowball, I was pretty close to it but don't recall hearing any major B's or P's.

I also figured out my direct monitoring issue and will record using the MXL after the Rangers/Yankees.

Thanks for the demo, K!

N00b question: reguarding the Audio Buddy and other preamps with 1/4" output, with my computer I would have to use a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter cord and plug it into the on board microphone input. Would this lower the quality or would it be the same as if I had a sound card with 1/4" input?

Man, I thought the audio buddy was a USB Preamp. I am really sorry. If you check your local craigslist, you should look at an m-audio fast track. I see them go for 35-50 on my local CL. I just checked and it DOES have a USB out. M-audio also puts out a unit called a mobilePRE, which I use to use frequently, that sometimes pop up for 50. I'll check this gear site I frequent to see if anyone I'd selling this stuff.

For the USB preamps, you will plug your mic into it and it will function as your soundcard when plugged in.

I'll get that mxl demobip tomorrow morning. Sorry that I'm an idiot regarding the audio buddy.

Edit: checked that site and there's not anything like I described. You might also check into a device called a zoom h2. It's a handheld recorder that records direct to an SD card. I have one of these and will record a demo of it. People on that site use them to record band practices/performances and, its portable. They run 100 used. In could probably part with mine.

If you do want a snowball, the pawnshop where I bought mine (it was new) had one last time I was in. I think it was 60. I'll check on it for you. If it IS there, you could paypal me the cash, I'll buy it, and mail it to you. Just a thought. Sorry if I'm scatterbrained. I woke up from medicated sleep and I'm posting from my phone.

Ok. I recorded an MXL 990 demo. On the previous take, when I raised my voice, she said that I sounded cartoony. Because she was laughing, it came through on the recording. So, I rerecorded it and got even more cartoony at the end. Hope you like this one.

KCWM said:

MXL 990 demo

Click to expand...

I like bacon too!

First Lady Puffinstuff;446712][QUOTE=KCWM said:

MXL 990 demo

Click to expand...

I like bacon too![/QUOTE]

LOL. That was the first thing I ever said in that "voice". I thought it'd be funny to toss in there. When I did that last volume jump, my voice sounded off to me (you can hear me stumble over the word this a little as I caught myself) and just ran with it.

Jiarn said:

The best kind of microphone is the one you trade a car for. That's all I'm saying.

Click to expand...

While this might be true (I've used a mic worth $10k in a studio session before), it doesn't pertain to the OP's question at all. The best mic/setup for $100 is what he's looking for

Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

This was hastily done. I didn't get as close to the mic as I did on the others, so I ended up boosting the signal by 6db. It comes with a little stand and you begin recording by clicking the record button twice, hence the noise at the beginning. You can hear my wife playing Wii Bowling in the background.

I'm not nearly as familiar with the Zoom H2 as I am the others because it's not one I use frequently. Portability is nice, though the flexibility you get with it comes at the price of quality. It does have a lot of features though, and for $100, it's definitely a nice tool to have.

If you want something more specific, just let me know. I'll be happy to record whatever you want, as I doubt that a relatively monotone delivery is exactly what you're looking for. I tend to drone on when I'm making shit up on the spot.

PatrThom said:

If I get the chance I'll try and put together some technique demos in the next few days to demonstrate what I'm talking about and how much difference can be made just by adjusting your environment.

Click to expand...

I haven't forgotten about this. My audio computer barfed a HDD (I think it was just a bad write or a bad cable, not an actual device failure. The cables I am using are waaaay longer than spec*). Fortunately it was on a RAID0+1, so no data lost, but I've had to shuffle a lot of it around to make sure that everything is still mirrored and collapsed it to a simple RAID1 (which means 1/2 size as previous), so I'm a bit limited on what I can do right now until my new, dedicated backup arrives next week.

Also, my main Windows PC's MLB failed (this has all happened within the past 10 days or so, and the mobo mfr is out of business, lucky me), so my home productivity is down to about 20% of usual while I do the computer equivalent of living out of a trailer while my house gets rebuilt. Payday is Fri and NewEgg is open 24/7 (and I have spare PCs around here that I can throw together to bridge the gap), so we'll be back and running again soon, but for now consider me on injured reserve.

At least U-Verse only took 2 days to replace my failed DSL modem last week. Yeah, that died, too. Been a busy month.

--Patrick
*I think the cables are 24in as shipped by the RAID card mfr (I've been meaning to do something about that for ages, now I have incentive). Spec for IDE/ATA cables is 18in max. Any longer than that and your signal degrades enough to where there's a higher chance of transmission errors or outright failure. Keep that in mind if you burn DVDs to a drive that's at the top of a full-sized case and get a lot of errors. Thank goodness for SATA!

Update: PC might only be the PSU after all (cap failure). Let's hope!

KCWM;446778][QUOTE=Jiarn said:

The best kind of microphone is the one you trade a car for. That's all I'm saying.

Click to expand...

While this might be true (I've used a mic worth $10k in a studio session before), it doesn't pertain to the OP's question at all. The best mic/setup for $100 is what he's looking for [/QUOTE]

I think you missed Blues Brothers reference. :slywink:

Shegokigo;451055][QUOTE=KCWM;446778][QUOTE=Jiarn said:

The best kind of microphone is the one you trade a car for. That's all I'm saying.

Click to expand...

While this might be true (I've used a mic worth $10k in a studio session before), it doesn't pertain to the OP's question at all. The best mic/setup for $100 is what he's looking for [/QUOTE]

I think you missed Blues Brothers reference. :slywink:[/QUOTE]

I'm sure I did. I've never seen the movie.

The movie is worth it... If just to see all the Soul Performers.

I ordered the Snowball from amazon for about 60 bucks and got it today. Yayz!

http://dave-terry.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/mictest.mp3

The test was a quick set-up, I'm currently looking into rearranging my desk to minimize sound from the fan.

...and reduce the reverb from your large, flat walls also.

--Patrick