Heya! So I'm trying to buy a good new microphone for singing. Well, covers of music in general, and I've seen a few good ones online. I'm not really well versed in this type of stuff though, so I wanted to find a second opinion. My price range is pretty much anything less than $150, so please recommend me your best picks! The one I'm currently looking at, if you're wondering: Spoiler: Blue Yeti USB Microphone https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Yeti-USB-Microphone-Silver/dp/B002VA464S
Blue Yeti is good for the cost. If you wanted to spend more, you can do a lot better, though. Will you be posting videos to Youtube, or are you looking for studio quality audio from your mic?
I'm looking for as close to studio quality as possible, but I don't want to spend too much, since it's more of a hobby than anything. So yeah, more like YouTube quality stuff.
Not a pro in this area but I'll put in my two cents. Blue Yeti is like standard basic for a mic. It's quite sensitive to background sounds and stuff. Recommend getting a pop filter with that mic (or any mic really). I have an AT2020USB for like 8 years now and it's very durable. Like the Yeti, it can pick up like my refigerator in the background or the heat turning on. In my opinion, the AT2020 sounds more crisp and a bit more studio quality than the Yeti. But it's also quite sensitive to "s" sounds. You can change the directionality of the mic with the Yeti, whereas the AT2020 you can't. And when you feel like it's time for an upgrade and don't mind spending a more than $150 (unless it's used), I recommend the Rode NT1-A bundle with shock mount, pop filter, and stand. Does require a phantom power to work and it's also not a USB, so you'll need a XLR to USB adapter. However, sound quality is sooooooo gooooood if it's not counterfeit or a faulty product. Fret not, B&H Photo and Video sells the mic set with a USB adapter which ALSO doubles as a phantom power for easy setup with your computer (for $330).
The issue with most mics that are better than the Blue Yeti is that you'll need a cheap mixing board or something similar that can supply phantom power to the mic. Even cheap boards run over $100. Add a $50 mic to that, and you'll have much better recording quality than you'd get with the Yeti, albeit for more than $150 when you include the cost of a stand and cables. It might be worth starting out with the Blue Yeti. Then, if you want to improve your recording quality down the line, you can make a larger investment in something better. Here's a video from LinusTechTips. Skip ahead to around 4:30 minutes into the video, and he'll go over a decent starter XLR setup for around $50, minus a stand and cables.
I am using Rode NT 2000, and looking for help for the best setting, related to the mic and the Audacity software. thanks
Hi. Just note that this is advice from a non-professional. There is no "best" setting. You wouldn't use the same settings for a female singer on a male singer, right? The settings will vary from person to person, room to room, instrument to instrument, project to project. Play with the knobs and find the one that best suits your voice (or whatever you're recording) and room. Audacity, the default setting should work just fine. Just adjust the recording input device and playback device to whatever you're using. Record/export in uncompressed files like WAV to prevent quality loss. If you have any other questions regarding Audacity, you're better off asking at the Audacity team's forums instead of here. For recording questions, Sound on Sound forums or recording.org.