The USB mic | An Inexpensive Way To Start Recording

Why is the USB mic such a controversial item? From the analog junkie to the digital geek, it seems that the mic is misunderstood for what it is. This misunderstanding can be many things to many people. These mics shine for what they are. Lets look at a few uses for these mics to clarify their position in the market.

The USB mic is the best solution for anyone wanting to get into recording on a small budget. Essentially what you have is a mic, a preamp, audio interface and a digital converter all in one. Keep in mind that this is not a substitution for something like a Neumann microphone into a Manely Preamp into a Apogee Rosetta AD/DA converter and finally into Logic Pro, all with a ball park price of $10,000 (don’t forget cables and accessories). That price alone could send someone into a state of depression and have them believe recording is out of their reach.

You could pick up a USB microphone like the Audio-Technica AT2020 USB mic for $149 or even a Blue Snowflake for $69. All you have to do with it is open your macbook, start Garageband (which started the whole home recording revolution), choose the mic and roll tape… in a digital manner of speaking. That is it. Cost to you… $69 bones. Of course, you have to look for a QUALITY USB mic.

A USB mic is worth having on your desk, ready at a seconds notice, to pick up that melody or riff in your head. There has been many times I have lost a great artistic moment because I had to go get the cables, the stand, the mic out of the locker, set it all up and then roll. Besides, the USB mic works great as a leave-on-desk podcasting mic (If you leave it plugged in on the desk, you are more apt to do more recording).

Another reason you may want to use one of these babies is for a live setting. Lets say your playing at a coffee house. Open the laptop, boot the DAW, plug in the USB mic and start recording. How about at a home group? You, the acoustic guitar and everyone singing. You could make a live recording of the worship to share. Come to think of it… In the time of Ole Timey Music they had one mic and mixed by placing the musicians close or far. They also etched the master at the same moment.

My final Thought:

The USB mic is the mother of budget setups and for some, it is the difference between recording or not. It was created for a specific market and really shines in that respect. Just steer clear of the gimmick mics.

SideChain:

Unfortunate as it may be, these mics will NOT work with Pro Tools. Digidesign has made sure that no audio interface of any kind will work in Pro Tools. This is my only beef with Pro Tools… Pro Tools is a proprietary, closed system and prohibits my creative freedom (those are two separate things). I would never say Pro Tools, the actual software, sucks because it doesn’t. It just doesn’t creatively flow with my artistic nature. It is a great DAW (hardware excluded(PTLE)) though.SideChain-post090407 (69)