Comments | podfic_tips: Wondering about a good mic for reading

smirkingcat in podfic_tips

Wondering about a good mic for reading

Mar 01, 2018 11:32

so i am trying to get pac into podficing again but my internal mic is not doing me any good- doe you lovely people have any hints or tips for mics and which are good but not too price-y? you can also go high price so that i can see what is best out there and figure out where to get it ( Read more... )

suggestion, microphones

Comments 7

xancredible March 1 2018, 19:26:11 UTC

I can't help with the specific microphone rec, but one thing I would keep an eye on, if it's not a USB microphone that you're going to buy, is that your computer or laptop has the right outlets.

My current laptop has no outlet for microphones and I had to get an adapter to use the headphone outlet instead - this has severely impacted the quality of the recording! I've now switched to recording on an older laptop that has the proper outlet for microphones and the quality is much better. I didn't think it would make that big of a difference but it really, REALLY does.

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smirkingcat March 2 2018, 09:37:42 UTC

thanks for the tip! and yes that really is a thing to consider- though i might go with the usb mic so that i wouldnt run into that problem !
also if that is your pc it is very clean!

paraka March 2 2018, 01:46:16 UTC

Podfic fandom's favourite mic is the Blue Snowball. I honestly couldn't even begin to list the number of podficcers who use this mic. It's actually the mic pictured in the art for this comm, it's so ubiquitous with podficcers. It's one of those good bang for your buck mics. It has a good quality for recording, and is around $50-60 USD, so is affordable for most who decide they want to actually invest in a mic.

Blue also has upgraded models like the Yeti, and others that seem designed specifically for podcasters, so have the kind of sound quality/controls podficcers actually care about. I have a Yeti in the house and use it to record Auralphonic on.

The other popular mic if you want to make even more of an investment, is the Zoom Handy H2 (now the H2N). This is the mic I use for my podfic, though if I'm being honest I don't know if the sound quality is that much better than, say, the Yeti. The biggest difference the Zoom has is that it's meant to be a portable mic, so you don't need to attach it to a computer to record and if you ( ... )

smirkingcat March 2 2018, 09:34:48 UTC

thank you so much for the recs!
that helped loads
also i might do a stupid thing and by a mic based on the colour because the yeti comes in TEAL!
or i might do the sensible thing XD"""
we will have to wait and see
but thank you so much for telling me this!
i am getting all excited for getting back into podficing !

smirkingcat March 3 2018, 07:58:59 UTC

sorry for bothering you again but i please have another question
because of course i didnt think about it in my reply because there was a teal mic
pop-filter- is it needed with either of the blue mics?
like i am a native german speaker so my "p"s and "t"s are really hard - would a pop-filter make that better?

paraka March 5 2018, 23:42:39 UTC

Both the Yeti and the Snowball are pedestal mics so you have them placed in front of you and can sit back a foot or more away and it'll pick you up just fine. I find that splosives happen most often when you hold the mic close to your face (at least, that's the only time I've noticed it for me).

That said, I have a pop screen? But that was because I bought a mic stand and record with the mic closer to my face with it, I don't think I used one when I just sat it on the table in front of me? If you find you do need a pop screen, a lot of people simply put a sock over the mic. Or jury rig something with a wire hanger and nylons, though getting a real pop screen isn't that expensive if you want to go that route.

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