New mic stuff

[Ru5h]

So basically, My mic has currently been screwing me around and i thought that it might be the placement, to the side, a decent distance away from me and it always auto-detects my sound and for some reason (No idea why) sets my mic volume quite low

 

Apart from that it is a good mic, its the blue snowball mic with a little stand, but i was wondering about  mounting it on something, like a boom arm that goes on the side of my desk or something (with a filter), but I don't know what I'm looking for and thought I could get some recommendations 

 

Thanks peeps 

[Emmien]

Look for a boom mic stand. You can get one that goes on the floor, or one which goes on the desk. The desk ones are much more expensive and harder to find. They are usually what are used in radio studios.

 

Normally, you would use a shock mount (Pictured with microphone below) with these stands. The shock mount suspends the microphone from several pieces of elastic, and stops vibrations being transferred from the desk and stand to the mic. But because of the shape of the Blue Snowball, I don't see how it is possible to shock mount it. Most condenser microphones are shaped like this 

Search for a "Desk boom mic stand" on Google. You should be able to find a desk mounted one. Remove "Desk" for a floor stand.

[Ru5h]

Wait so what is the difference between a condenser mic and a blue snowball? Like are they still usb connector? Are there huge differences in quality?

 

[anothertom]

There are two main types of microphone used, and some more esoteric which aren't worth mentioning if you aren't spending silly money.

 

The most common microphone design is a 'Dynamic' microphone. Dynamic microphones use a diaphragm to move a voice coil over a magnet, inducing a current in the coil which is the 'signal'. This is a very simple design and can be very rugged, an example of a dynamic mic is the SM58 or the KSM8 (which is slightly special).

 

A condenser microphone uses the principles of capacitance. A charge (usually 48V) is applied over the diaphragm which moves over a back-plate creating a magnetic field. As the diaphragm moves it changes this magnetic field, these changes create the 'signal'. Most condenser microphones need an external power supply to create the initial charge, this is known as a phantom power supply and for ease of use is integrated into the vast majority of sound desks on a channel by channel basis. An example of a condenser mic would be the Sennheiser e914 (a small diaphragm condenser) or the Shure KSM44A (a large diaphragm condenser).

 

The advantages of dynamic mics are the ruggedness, you don't need phantom power, cheap to produce. Disadvantages are the proximity effect, less flat frequency responses. Typically used for vocals, some instruments, mainly rhythm instruments (drums, bass guitar...). The KSM8 is special as it's design eliminates the proximity effect reducing the amount of EQ needed for a good sound. 

 

The advantages of Condenser mics are more sensitive, more accurate (flatter) frequency response. Disadvantages are the need for phantom power, cost of design/production and less durable. Typically used where better sound definition is needed i.e. melodic instruments, where multiple sources are being captured into the same mic (overhead/choir mics).

 

The blue snowball connects over USB, so you don't really need to worry about the type of mic as far as using it goes. Surprisingly the snowball uses a condenser capsule which would go through an on-board ADC before connecting to the computer. If you want to mount it on an arm, due to the shape you might not be able to find first hand mic clip, but a spring loaded clip might work well if you leave the stand connected to the mic and take the legs off the stand.

 

 

Don't think I've ever typed diaphragm so many times in my life, such a strange word to spell correctly.

[Ru5h]

So what you're saying is that my blue snowball isn't particularly easy to mount on an arm?

 

If not, what is? I've had it for a while and was thinking of upgrading and/or changing 

[anothertom]

10 minutes ago, Ru5h said:

So what you're saying is that my blue snowball isn't particularly easy to mount on an arm?

Pretty much, yes.

10 minutes ago, Ru5h said:

If not, what is? I've had it for a while and was thinking of upgrading and/or changing 

The Audio Technica AT2020USB+ is a popular usb microphone which comes with a suitable clip that would attach to a normal mic boom arm.

 

If you wanted to upgrade further, i'd suggest an audio interface and the non USB version of the AT2020 or the AT2035. but if you're just using for voice then the AT2020USB version will be fine.

 

PS. if you quote someone then they'll get a notification, if you don't then they won't know you replied.