Looking for a USB mic

[Jeremy]

yea pretty straightforward question here. I am looking for a quality USB mic if such a thing exsists. I use my PC ( audacity,cakewalk) for recording my progress and making backing tracks for myself so studio quality isnt quite what i am looking for , but i would like something a little nicer sounding than my 7 dollar desktop mic. THanks in advance.

and if you have another cost effective way of using a normal mic with a PC that would also be of interest to me .

[Bob Minner]

Well, for goob basic USB recording, I use a Samson G Track mic. Here is the link:

http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1917&...

It works well with any recording program, and with an 1/8" input on the mic as well as a headphone input on the mic, it gives some great versatility. And it is affordable. Hope you dig it...

[Jeremy]

I appreciate it Bob , I saw the C01u when i did my initial search. Looks like the G-track has some added functionality.

[Hee Haw Jones]

Another option I recommend is the Tascam T2 recording pack. It costs $129 US from Amazon. It's a USB audio interface that lets you record two tracks at once directly onto your computer, and it comes with a Tascam T-78 condenser mic. I've been really happy with it. Easy to use and the sound quality is really good in my opinion. I use Audacity with it. I attached a sound file that I recorded with it. I'm still working on mic placement, so my Martin HD-28 comes out too boomy on the rhythm, but I've had good results lately backing off the mic.

My laptop is an old junker (Pentium 3 with 256mb ram) and I've had no latency issues with it, something that seems to plague a lot of people who use their computers for recording.

Good luck!

[Jeremy]

Thanks Hee Haw.

Hmm , I thought I had it worked out , now i have something else to consider. It seems like this product might be a little more versatile than the samsontech becasue I can use any mic with it. Both products are around the same price point. I need to study up on what the specifications mean so i can really compare the 2 mics.

The file you posted , that was recorded in audacity ?

Thanks again.

[Hee Haw Jones]

Yep it was recorded in audacity. I didn't "condense" or "normalize" the tracks before the final mixdown, so the quality isn't what it could be. I just learned how to do that on Audacity and it makes a significant improvement to the final sound.

I just attached the file to give an idea of what the Tascam TM-78 mic sounds like. Bear in mind I'm just dipping my toes in this whole recording world. It sure is a lot of fun though and I love learning more about it.

You can also just buy the USB interface and any microphone you like. The interface accepts two XLR mics or two 1/4" mics.