So you've been wondering, should I start out with the USB microphone or should I
start out with an XLR microphone? Good Question. In this video I'll give you my
answer plus a bonus tip for beginners so stay tuned and I'll see you on the other side.
Yeah, so there's many types of microphones, right, and the price points
can go anywhere from, you know, like under a hundred dollars to thousands of
dollars. Microphones that you would find in a professional recording studio, yeah,
can go into the thousands. What's pictured here though, is a Samson Mic.
That one you can find for about 80 (USD). And the USB Mic thats pictured is a Blue Yeti
Mic and that one you can find for about about a 130 (USD),
sometimes it's a little bit less, sometimes a little bit more, you know, but
130 (USD) is a, that's a good ballpark figure. And even though there's like many many
different kinds of microphones, basically there's just two kinds of connectivity
for these mics. One is an XLR connector and the other is a USB connector.
Alright so here are the connectors, right, so with an XLR microphone you will typically
find a three prong connector. And with the USB mic, you'll find a USB connector.
That's the same kind of connection that you would find on your PC and or laptop.
So let's take a look at the XLR Mic setup. Okay, so the first
thing is, you know your recording software is going to be on your PC or
laptop. And in the audio field, recording software is referred to as a
DAW, which stands for Digital Audio Workstation. Now there's a number of
these out on the NET, there's a number that are sold commercially,
but that's just, you know, a whole other, you know, tutorial.
But what we can see with the XLR Mic is that a three prong connector is not
going to fit into a USB port, right. So that means, you know, we're gonna need
another piece of equipment to establish the connection from the microphone to
the recording software. So this extra piece of equipment is typically an AUDIO INTERFACE.
So you can see from the picture, the mics connect to the
front of the audio interface and then you connect the audio interface to your
PC or laptop with the USB cable. And so in that way, you know, you establish the
connectivity chain from your microphone to your recording software. Now an
Audio Interface does much more than just solve the connectivity issue, meaning
actually, it's kind of like a side feature, I mean the main purpose of the
Audio Interface is to improve the sound, so to speak, as it travels from your
microphone to your recording software. There's lots of tutorials out there on
YouTube that talk about Audio Interfaces. For this video we're just focusing on the connectivity.
So let's take a look at the USB connection. So you can see this,
you know, is just a whole lot simpler, right. The USB mic connects directly into
the USB port that is on your PC or laptop, so it's just, you know, very simple
direct connection, kind of plug-and-play and, you know, you're ready to go.
But, you know, you may be wondering what about this audio interface stuff,
how does that play into your USB microphone?
Well you see, the thing is about a USB Mic is that
it's more than just a microphone. It has the audio interface components, you know,
built in. So that's why there's no additional equipment required and you
can connect right up and you can start recording, you know, kind of immediately.
All right, so now a few words about these two setups. And as you can see with the
XLR setup you can record with more than one microphone,
however, you're gonna need an additional piece of equipment, namely this
Audio Interface. And you know, if you're new to this whole field of recording
like I was, you know, this means you'll need to do some research, get on a
learning curve and make another purchase decision. Now with the USB setup,
obviously, you'll just have one microphone to work with, but there is no
additional equipment, and you can start recording right away. So, what did I decide?
You know, inquiring minds would like to know...
Well, I went with the Blue Yeti. And you know, looking back, I think I went for the USB Mic because, as my
friends in the UK would say, I was "keen" on getting to make my first recording
and getting it published out on YouTube, just wanted to get going, didn't want to wait.
So I went for the Blue Yeti. So now the question is, did I make a good decision?
All right, what a cliffhanger. So did I make a good decision, you know, or not.
Well here are the takeaways. After about three months or so some creative juices
started flowing and I started thinking about recording with two microphones, right.
How would that sound? For example, have one microphone on the body of the
guitar and one microphone up on the neck? You know, may get a whole different sound.
Maybe do a vocal with guitar, with one mic on the vocal and one mic on the guitar, or
come think of it, maybe have somebody else do the vocal while I play the guitar.
Unfortunately, going with the USB Mic had limited my options, right. One
microphone. So I just didn't realize how quickly I would start thinking about
other ways to record. Now I do not have anything bad to say about the Blue Yeti, right.
Worked right out of the box, reliable, I was able to quickly record my
first guitar video, so no problem with the Blue Yeti. But here's the thing, if
you're starting out and you're passionate about recording your own
music, then go ahead and get an XLR microphone and Audio Interface. USB Mic, yeah it's a good mic,
but better suited for folks doing podcasts and/or voiceovers, okay. So with
that, time for the Bonus Tip. Hey come on in. Alright got it.
So you know, after a while I realized there was a real limit to how much I
could learn by diving into YouTube videos and reading articles. And getting
professionally trained, well that could run into maybe hundreds or thousands of dollars.
So I eventually checked out my local community college and sure enough
there were a couple of audio courses that they offer, they were very hands-on,
they were taught right in the college's recording studio, a lot of one-on-one
time with the sound engineer, was very beneficial, you know, so keep that in mind,
really good option, you know, really good affordable option, right. So now to the
close. Yeah, so please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and by all means leave a COMMENT, you know,
I'd love to know what your thoughts are, what other suggestions you might have
for future tutorials, would love to know. Yeah, and also please check out the links
below. I have been through a lot of these videos, the ones I've listed I found
particularly helpful, they were really well done and they may be helpful, you know, to you too.
So with that, we'll See You Next Time!
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