Kurdanak Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) Greetings, everyone! I am planning on getting into online broadcasting, but at the moment all I have is my built-in laptop mic. Granted, said laptop mic isn't that bad, but I'd like to invest in something more professional. Therefore, I'm in search of a quality, but still reasonable cheap, computer mic. Preferably one that is standalone (i.e. not connected to a headset), but I could possibly be convinced towards getting a headset. Anything goes, really, so give me your best shots. Looking forward to the replies! Edited October 25, 2014 by Kurdanak 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Alex Posted October 25, 2014 Administrators Share Posted October 25, 2014 I'm interested in what you find, I might have to get one as well. I'm more of a headset person, but I've yet to find a nice, cheap, comfortable headset with good sound and mic quality. Quote Is there a bug? Report It | Not understanding game mechanics? Ask About It | Got a good idea? Suggest ItForums Rules | Game Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenages Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) Greetings, everyone! I am planning on getting into online broadcasting, but at the moment all I have is my built-in laptop mic. Granted, said laptop mic isn't that bad, but I'd like to invest in something more professional. Therefore, I'm in search of a quality, but still reasonable cheap, computer mic. Preferably one that is standalone (i.e. not connected to a headset), but I could possibly be convinced towards getting a headset. Anything goes, really, so give me your best shots. Looking forward to the replies! What's your price range? At the lower end (sub 50 MSRP range) the headsets in that range really are pretty equivalent to the mics. I haven't looked at that price range in a while so I'm not sure what's out there, maybe someone has come out with something fantastic. For a cheaply priced, but still definitely quality mic, personally I recommend the Blue Snowball. It's an excellent mic, has 3 modes (uni directional, uni directional with lowered gain -- wonderful for noisy environments, and omni-directional, which is great if you want to record 2 or more people at the same table or whatever.) The biggest issue I had with the Snowball is it lacks a hardware mute button, so you have to mute it using whatever software you're using -- either by clicking mute or setting up a hotkey. (I used to have the snowball, now I use the either the Blue Yeti Pro when it's something serious and I'm willing to spend time in post production to perfect the show, or the blue nessie when I'm in a hurry and don't want to do post production on the performance and don't want to spend a lot of time setting up.) Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Microphone-Textured/dp/B000EOPQ7E Blue Website: http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/ You can usually find it for around 50, or even under 50 if you're willing to search. i.e. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Professional-USB-Condenser-Microphone-Bright-Orange-/331156567591?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Microphones&hash=item4d1a783627 One thing I would recommend picking up no matter what mic you end up getting is a pop filter. You can get them for sub $10, and they really do make a huge difference. The P and B sounds no longer song nearly as harsh, and the hissing from S sounds is eliminated. Blue also makes a stripped down version of the Snowball, the Snowball ICE. I wouldn't recommend it. It's usually only $10 or so less, and you lose sound quality as well as options. (ICE only has one mode - unidirectional. Loses the muted mode for loud environments and the omnidirectional mode.) Edited October 25, 2014 by Tenages 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan I Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I would recommend Blue Yeti Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenages Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I would recommend Blue Yeti Pro. If you're willing to step up to it's price range, definitely, but I got the feeling Kurdanak wanted to stay cheaper than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurdanak Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Thank you for your input, Tenages - I really appreciate it. How do the Blue Snowball and the Blue Nessie match up against each other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan I Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 If you're willing to step up to it's price range, definitely, but I got the feeling Kurdanak wanted to stay cheaper than that. Feeling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodo Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I use a couple Blue products. Yes, they are expensive... but sound quality is always important. If you are looking to seriously broadcast, don't cheap out. You'll regret it and end up getting something pricey in the end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naTia Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I personally just use a Logitech HD Webcam, and people say it sounds fine. It's not super high tech or professional, but it's fairly cheap and gets the job done. Like: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/hd-webcam-c310 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-hd-webcam-c270-black/9928354.p?id=1218196481203 Or the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webcam-Portable-Calling-Autofocus/dp/B004WO8HQ4/ref=dp_ob_title_ce Quote Resident DJ @ Club Orbis Founder of The Warehouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurdanak Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 (edited) As long as I don't get the mic that LF uses, I think whatever I get will be good enough. Edited November 4, 2014 by Kurdanak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenages Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 The Nessie is a little more convenient. It automatically does some audio processing to try and improve your audio quality. It's not as good as doing processing yourself in post-production, but on the other hand you don't have to do any work with it. And it does that on the fly, so you have the processed audio going out during your live broadcast. It also has an in-built pop filter, and in in-built shock mount, so you don't need to get those separately and set them up when you want to broadcast. But again, they aren't as good as a standalone pop filter and shock mount would be. Especially the shock mount. It really might as well not be there. The Nessie is also nice because it's built into a stand and the mic itself can be rotated to a number of different angles for optimal positioning. The Snowball on the other hand, has the 3 audio modes I mentioned before. The Nessie doesn't. So if you're doing your show from a noisy room, or want to interview someone across a table or something like that, the Snowball is heads and shoulders above the Nessie. Personally, I'd go with the Snowball. It gives you more options and the audio quality is close enough the Nessie you aren't really going to notice any difference on a live broadcast. For a recorded broadcast, you can obviously tweak the audio to your heart's content in post production.It's also cheaper. And if you're going to be recording any music, it's head and shoulders above the Nessie imho. The Nessie, in my view at least, is more of a supplementary microphone. It's nice when you're in a hurry, you don't want to set up your pop filter, and other equipment, the environment is quiet, and you know just gonna be talking into the microphone for a little bit and broadcasting it. The sort of situation where the built in audio processing is good enough, and you don't want to have to do anything other than plug and play. Then you use your other microphone for anything more serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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