Budget streaming mic (<£100) in untreated office with loud Pcs?

[FiftyTifty]

tl;dr - In the UK, office with 4 walls and a metal slidey cupboard-wall-door thing. Got 2 pcs that get loud because fans spin to keep them cool. Which mic what do?

For the deets, I have absolutely given up on this ModMic 4 I bought years ago. Trying to get a clean sound that doesn't have SssSsSsSibilance crisping through, noise screeching in, and not having clipping mud...I'm now at the point where I'll just spend more money that I can kind-of-sorta-maybe-afford to spend. I just want to record my Gaea tutorials without having to spend a year learning how to mix vocals to magic-ify a crappy mic in an untreated room.

Usual story, I'm poor and broke and a deaf dumb bling crippled mute who needs a decent mic for the money. There's already so many conflicting opinions, along with people just parroting some paid "influencer" puppet that I figured this would be the best place to ask.

I've got an audio interface that can take 6.35mm and XLR inputs, the Roland Duo Capture Ex. So hopefully that will remove whatever interference and ground noise vs the little tiny 3.5mm mic input my mod mic uses.

Edit: Oh right, forgot to say. The bang for buck from my googling about is either the Electro-Voice ND76 (£115), or the SE V7 (£75). But there's the whole dynamic vs cardiod vs other terms I don't understand.

 

[staticV3]

I'd strongly consider the Neat King Bee or Worker Bee.

Check out Podcastage on YouTube.

 

[LTig]

I would go for a headset microphone. The closer it is to your mouth the lower the gain, and hence the less noise it captures.

 

[DVDdoug]

The most popular type of mic used in studios is a "cardioid large diaphragm condenser".

There are also some popular USB "podcast mics". They don't work with a mixer and you can generally only use one USB input at a time.

But there's the whole dynamic vs cardiod

Two unrelated things.

Dynamic mics are made like speakers with a voice coil and magnet. Ribbon mics are "similar" but without a regular coil. Condenser mics have a variable capacitor pickup.

Dynamic & ribbon mics have weaker output than condensers. They are commonly used in PA systems, but in pro studios they are usually only used directly in front of a drum or loud guitar amplifier. Most audio interfaces are optimized for condensers.

There are a couple of very-popular dynamic mics (out of your price range) used for broadcast/podcast and some people use a Cloudlifter to boost the output. Or if you're in a radio station, you're plugged into a mixer or preamp with enough gain for a dynamic mic.

Studio condenser mics typically put-out 10-20 dB more signal. They have a built-in "head amp" and they use 48V phantom power, which is supplied from the interface or preamp. (Electret condenser "computer mics" get 5V power from the soundcard.)

A headset mic closer to your mouth also gives you a better acoustic signal-to-noise ratio. But, you need a good one for good sound.

"Cardioid" is a directional pick-up pattern. Most studio mics are directional. That helps to reduce background noise coming from all directions and it helps a little with room reflections. In live use, a directional mic helps to minimize feedback. The Shure SM57/58 are a dynamic cardioids, and they are the most popular stage microphones of all time. (Also sometimes used for drums & guitar in recoding studios.)

 

[FiftyTifty]

I'd strongly consider the Neat King Bee or Worker Bee.

Check out Podcastage on YouTube.

The reviews seem great, but the v2s have weird problems with vibration noise and are worse built? I can find the v1s for about 80 used.

I would go for a headset microphone. The closer it is to your mouth the lower the gain, and hence the less noise it captures.

The modmic is a headset microphone, and it picks up every ess and peh sound. Also picks up whenever I move my head slightly or the cable brushes against something.

The most popular type of mic used in studios is a "cardioid large diaphragm condenser".

There are also some popular USB "podcast mics". They don't work with a mixer and you can generally only use one USB input at a time.


Two unrelated things.

Dynamic mics are made like speakers with a voice coil and magnet. Ribbon mics are "similar" but without a regular coil. Condenser mics have a variable capacitor pickup.

Dynamic & ribbon mics have weaker output than condensers. They are commonly used in PA systems, but in pro studios they are usually only used directly in front of a drum or loud guitar amplifier. Most audio interfaces are optimized for condensers.

There are a couple of very-popular dynamic mics (out of your price range) used for broadcast/podcast and some people use a Cloudlifter to boost the output. Or if you're in a radio station, you're plugged into a mixer or preamp with enough gain for a dynamic mic.

Studio condenser mics typically put-out 10-20 dB more signal. They have a built-in "head amp" and they use 48V phantom power, which is supplied from the interface or preamp. (Electret condenser "computer mics" get 5V power from the soundcard.)

A headset mic closer to your mouth also gives you a better acoustic signal-to-noise ratio. But, you need a good one for good sound.

"Cardioid" is a directional pick-up pattern. Most studio mics are directional. That helps to reduce background noise coming from all directions and it helps a little with room reflections. In live use, a directional mic helps to minimize feedback. The Shure SM57/58 are a dynamic cardioids, and they are the most popular stage microphones of all time. (Also sometimes used for drums & guitar in recoding studios.)

Err, right. Assume I'm 12 years old. I have an untreated room, I'll have the mic on a stand next to my face, and my keyboard is a noisy one (but nice to type with!). Which one would you recommend for this?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Headset mic or a lavalier would be my suggestion.

 

[staticV3]

Headset mic or a lavalier would be my suggestion.

Lavalier microphones are almost always omnidirectional and can sound abhorrent in an untreated room.

OP has tried a headset mic (his ModMic) and it obviously didn't work out well, so I think its time to look elsewhere.

A friend of mine gets great voice quality in a ridiculously reverb-y office room using an SM7b, but that's way over budget.

He tried my Omni lav mic in the same space and it sounds awful.

I think the smartest thing would be to search for a cheaper, but similarly directional and noise rejecting mic as the Shure.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Maybe using gating dsp would help too. A foam isolation shield for the mic would also help.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Should have thought of this. Many say a Shure SM 58 is pretty close in general terms to the SM7b. The SM 58 response is very similar to the SM7b when the presence switch is on for the SM7b. The SM58 is only 4 db more sensitive. Both are cardioid patterns.

Goes for $99 in the USA, not sure about other parts of the world. The good thing is they are pretty common, and it is likely a second hand one could be found for less. Plus if it turns out not to be your final choice, you can sell it second hand to recoup what you paid.