I Need a Really Good, Really Cheap Mic

[livius drusus]

I want to record my parents' oral histories and the built-in mic on my laptop is not going to cut it. I think a stand-up mic (as opposed to headset or lapel) is probably best for my needs, and it should be stereo so question and answer are in two different channels. Any recommendations?

[thedoc]

Try Walmart.

[livius drusus]

I said good.

[Zehava]

NewEgg, USB microphones, etc.

I can't comment on the quality of any of those mics as I use headsets with built-in mics, but NewEgg has always been a good place for computer peripherals.

[Ymir's blood]

Mister Microphone - YouTube

[thedoc]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I said good.

Sorry, I thought you ment 'good enough'.

[Doctor X]

And here I thought you were looking for a reasonably priced Gaelic Irish gigolo. . . .

--J.D.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by thedoc

Sorry, I thought you ment 'good enough'.

No, I meant really good. I even wrote it in the title for people who can't be bothered to read posts.

[Demimonde]

Though I have not used one myself, I have heard that this logitech mic is a great bang for the buck.

[thedoc]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

No, I meant really good. I even wrote it in the title for people who can't be bothered to read posts.

I read it, I was just considering who wrote it.

[thedoc]

Two tin cans and some string?

[thedoc]

a Really Good, Really Cheap Mic - oxymoron - contradiction in terms.

[BrotherMan]

Try something from Sweetwater Sound. That link takes you directly to their cheapest USB microphones selection, which isn't great. But if you feel like splurging (it is for history, afterall), you can remove the Cheap Bastard filter and see what else is available. I link to them on account of quality and service, both of which are good.

[ceptimus]

You might want to consider two mono mics wired to the two channels rather than a stereo one. That way the mics can be placed in the optimum position for each speaker and you get better stereo separation so that it's easier to tweak the volume level for both channels to be the same when editing.

If you're using a PC, check if your mic input is stereo or mono. Some sound cards have a stereo line input, but a mono microphone input. This won't matter if you get a USB mic, but the mini-jack inputs (often pink color) work with the cheapest condenser mics and these mics are much cheaper than the USB ones.

If you have to use the line input to get stereo, you'll need an external microphone mixer/amplifier. These start at about $30. With cheap mics, you may want to go through an external mixer/amplifier anyway, as the volume level is often too low when using the mic input - even with the gain turned up to maximum.

An alternative might be to record to non-PC equipment (cassette recorder? video camera, even if you don't want the video?) and transfer to PC later. In my experience, audio cassette and video camera recorders often record better quality sound from mics than the cheap sound cards on PCs, this is particularly the case with desktop PCs where the noise from fans and hard drives tends to be picked up.

[ceptimus]

Ooh, I forgot to say, if you already have an external webcam, check that it doesn't have a mic built in - some of them are quite good. This is also true of ordinary cameras that can be connected and used as web cams. You may already own a microphone that's good enough for what you want - but one that's embedded in some other equipment!

[naturalist.atheist]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I want to record my parents' oral histories and the built-in mic on my laptop is not going to cut it. I think a stand-up mic (as opposed to headset or lapel) is probably best for my needs, and it should be stereo so question and answer are in two different channels. Any recommendations?

From time to time this place has some really good deals on audio equipment.

Microphones | Musician's Friend

You might want to consider purchasing a stand alone digital recorder and use an external mic.

This is a heck of a deal:

Audio-Technica M4000S 3-Pack Mic and Stand Kit | Musician's Friend

And this is a kit:

Behringer Podcastudio USB | Musician's Friend

Or you might like something that you can keep on the ready:

TASCAM DR-08 Linear PCM/MP3 Recorder | Musician's Friend

This unit is not too much and may be all you need:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-a...state-recorder

WalMart is selling the same thing for $102.00 so this is a pretty good deal.

Look around, they have all sorts of interesting stuff.

Oh, and if you get a mic, don't forget the windscreen. The problem with really good recording equipment is that it records everything in high fidelity, and there are some components of human speech that people don't care for.

[Kyuss Apollo]

I have an audio-technica I swear by for hi-fidelity audio/vocal recording. I bought it ages ago when I was in a band; it was like 120 back in the day. Something like that might be a bit overkill for what you are looking for though. That 3-pack N.A posted ^ looks like a good deal.

Shure mics are good quality too.

[livius drusus]

It's an incredible deal. It's more than I need, though, by a lot, both in quantity and in the dimensions of things (cable length, stand height). It's hard not to just go for it anyway at that price.

[naturalist.atheist]

The only problem with the mic kit is that you will need some sort of an interface to make use of those mikes. If you get an audio interface make sure it's firewire. USB2.0 is very laggy and has trouble with multi-mic recordings.

Something like this might get you off to a good start.

Phonic Firefly 302 Firewire Recording Package | Musician's Friend

Make sure your laptop has a firewire connection.

The only problem is its still a lot of gear to schlep around.

This will do a fine job and you can carry it around in a big pocket and record where there is no power and still use an external mic if you need to.

Roland R-05 WAVE/MP3 Recorder | Musician's Friend

There are lots of units like this.

[livius drusus]

Wow 96kHz recording on that Roland unit. I wasn't really considering getting a digital voice recorder because of the expense, but it's a lot more versatile and well-suited to my needs, more so than the mic alone.