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Need Recommendation for Starter Mic and Pre-Amp

You got it! Some of the earlier sound cards (consumer grade) had a mic input, but it would not work with any mic you want in your studio. It expected a "computer mic" like you see in the stores for $10 - 20 dollars or on the low dollar head-sets. (By the way, some of those mics do a good job for the price you pay.)

You've got to get your mic output boosted up to a "line level input" which tends to be 40 dB or so above mic level.

If you can get a value, start even with some hand-me-down stuff and learn your way around your editing software. Experiment with your voice. See how good your ear is. If your budget is really tight, get a used Shure SM57 or SM58 at a music store. Get a preamp or mixer with an XLR input and a line level out and get started talking.

You can do work with those that will be acceptable for many small market stations, answering machine messages, in-store commercials for retailers and maybe some talking book type work. Then replace your components one at a time as you have the money.

Just sitting in the room, playing with your voice, moving the mic around to test for nasty reverb, nasty bass muddiness and other effects, and getting used to the idea of talking to yourself may be as important to getting started as is having the same equipment the super-stars of the business have.

I've got it figured out: I have about a $290 voice and I'm not sure I need a $1,200 mic and a $1,600 pre-amp to go with it. :)
 
Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:
You got it! Some of the earlier sound cards (consumer grade) had a mic input, but it would not work with any mic you want in your studio. It expected a "computer mic" like you see in the stores for $10 - 20 dollars or on the low dollar head-sets. (By the way, some of those mics do a good job for the price you pay.)

You've got to get your mic output boosted up to a "line level input" which tends to be 40 dB or so above mic level.

If you can get a value, start even with some hand-me-down stuff and learn your way around your editing software. Experiment with your voice. See how good your ear is. If your budget is really tight, get a used Shure SM57 or SM58 at a music store. Get a preamp or mixer with an XLR input and a line level out and get started talking.

You can do work with those that will be acceptable for many small market stations, answering machine messages, in-store commercials for retailers and maybe some talking book type work. Then replace your components one at a time as you have the money.

Just sitting in the room, playing with your voice, moving the mic around to test for nasty reverb, nasty bass muddiness and other effects, and getting used to the idea of talking to yourself may be as important to getting started as is having the same equipment the super-stars of the business have.

I've got it figured out: I have about a $290 voice and I'm not sure I need a $1,200 mic and a $1,600 pre-amp to go with it. :)
Click to expand...

I don't know if that was directed towards me, but that's a great post! I've been in radio for a long time, so I'm not a noob as far as voice work and editing goes. (I use Cool Edit Pro.) I've always used my station's equipment to do the occasional freelance job. It's just that lately I've been feeling the need to have a setup at home. That's where I'm completely inexperienced!

Funny how the opinion on USB is different from the opinion from the folks at VO-BB. Over there, people seem to think it's a perfectly acceptable choice.

The thing is, if I add a soundcard, that's going to be an extra $150 I'll have to add in to my budget. And when I say I'm on a tight budget, I mean tight. Waterproof tight.

So, that's why, at this point, a $50 MXL 990 and maybe $100-$150 USB preamp seems like a good way to go to me.

Do you guys think I'm just way off base?
 
My only concern w/PCI interface is internal conflicts in my new PC. Any of you guys have any problems with the install of your interfaces? With my luck I could see an issue.
 
Do you currently have a sound card in the computer?

Using my concept of getting a simple system going and then stepping up one piece at a time, why not use the built in sound card, even if it is one of those integrated into the motherboard sound thingys.

I bought a new computer last December. My M-Audio card is still in the old computer. I have been doing some work where I record using the built in card. At 44.1 and 16 bit it does a pretty good job. I recorded some stuff at 96k/24bit float. Thought it was great until I started some very close-up editing and found some really strange clicks and spikes. Though the card claims to be 96/24 capable, it has a nervous breakdown now and then at 96/24.

By the way, the Audiophile 24/96 typically sells for around $99 these days. (It was higher priced when introduced. I don't recall having any problems at 24/96 when using it.)
 
YEah, it's a Dell Vostro with some integrated 7.1 audio I think. I bought it spur of the moment cuz I got it half-price through a local on-line auction, but it's still "brand new," so I'm gun shy of popping it open already.

I actually debated trying the internal card first to see if it was halfway acceptable, but I pretty much discounted that option after hearing people say how noisy the stock cards are, as if they are a waste of time.
 
I actually debated trying the internal card first to see if it was halfway acceptable, but I pretty much discounted that option after hearing people say how noisy the stock cards are, as if they are a waste of time.
Click to expand...

This is NOT 1993!!! New cards may surprise you. What does it cost you to actually try out the internal card and maybe get on your way to learning. Take a CD player or any other source of sound, run a cord from the audio device to the input of your INTERNAL CARD and make some test recordings. Check out a talking book CD from the library. With spoken word you will be able to hear the noise between words if your internal card is that bad. If you have some kind of editing software that will display the wave form on screen, you can SEE and MEASURE the noise level between words and phrases. Maybe I can find time tonight to make a quick test recording and tell you what the noise level is on my e-Machines "stock card".

So, what does it cost you to find out how good or bad your card is? Maybe the cost of a patch cord.
 
What I could easily do is I guess buy a 1/4" to 1/8" TRS cable for a few bucks and go from my DBX right to my PC and see for myself how good or bad it is. Like I said, I automatically just discounted it since so many guys say, "don't even waste your time."

If you could still record a few files w/your stock card for our listening, that would be fantastic.
 
The issue with USB is bus power. If you have several USB devices, you'll draw all the power from the bus and kill your audio performance...You'll get stutters, skips, etc. That is the big downfall of USB. Wireless keyboard/mouse combos seem to be the worst offenders. If you don't have much plugged in that will draw juice, it might be worth a shot. The E-mu 0404 USB actually has very nice built-in preamps.

I would never recommend using an on-board card...Or even an upgraded consumer card. They just don't sound good. Even the quieter ones aren't very quiet, and none of them have a flat frequency response.

The Audiophile 2496 is a decent choice for $99...The E-mu 0404 sounds better, but again, is not as easy to set up.

With soundcards, you have to consider converter quality, conections and connector quality. On board soundcards have no professional connections, the connector quality is very low and the convert quality is bad. Step up to the $99 range and you get mid-grade connectors and converters, and sometimes good connection options. At the $150-180 range, you get superb converters, balanced I/O with S/PDIF and MIDI, and better connectors.

If you have a crappy soundcard, it doesn't matter how good the rest of your chain is.

Emmett
 
One investment you need to make if you go the USB route is to add a POWERED USB hub. That will resolve any issues with drawing too much power from the USB bus. A 4-port hub should run less than $30.00.

I have an MXL USB mic that sounds quite good with my voice once I found the "sweet spot". The advantage is that it is dead quiet compared to a standard mic/sound card interface, which gives you more options if you have a quiet studio space, or if you get close to the mic to up the signal-to-noise ration to suppress background noise.

Once again, mic selection is very much dependent on your voice, and your mic technique. The MXL works nicely for me. A Neumann may work better, but not $2K better until a lot more money comes hits my bank account.
 
Can I jump in quick? Stock sound cards are made more for playback than for recording. They work fine to reproduce sound of games, DVD audio, and assorted other online music sources and system sounds. They are not suited for professional recording applications. Sure there's nothing wrong with at least TRYING the stock card, but the original poster is striving to be competitive in a competitive arena, and wants to move to better overall technical sound, and truth is needs to do so in order to get work..and please clients..

His original scenario is fine..for budget sake..try the DBX assuming you already have it and it is a mic processor/preamp feeding the LINE input of a USB interface that provides a headphone output so while recording he can be heard in a headset. Then he can certainly use the stock soundcard for playback while editing..just assign the PLAYBACK to go thru the stock sound card and computer speakers..while assinging the RECORDING to be done thru the USB interface. An instant voice studio...but wait..there's more.

The onboard CD drive will serve as a source for music, effects etc..just choose the track you want to use and import it into the project..you can layer in a lot of effects and music as needed by using the "mix paste" feature in CE Pro..He will need to set levels of the backround music etc before he layers in the music effect etc..

The M-Audio line of USB audio interface boxes are fine, as are the Sound Devices, Edirol/Roland, and others. So far I have not had any issues with stuttering etc using the provided USB ports..although SirRox might have a good suggestion as to adding a powered USB port hub if this problem should arise.

Now as far as a mic goes..get as good as you can afford, and upgrade as the budget allows. Go ahead and get a good low impedance wired mic with XLR connectors to plug into the DBX box..and MXL does make some darn fine mics for virtually no money. And they are condensers to boot..He will do fine using mosly what he has..and with more work..more upgrading.

BUT he needs to be competitve, and a good source is really important..stock sound cards just weren't made to RECORD pro audio as they are made to playback PRO audio.
 
Yeah that might work..but again you are buying a "might work" item versus a "will work" item. There are a boatload of people out here that want the business, and are willing to spend even a small amount to gain a competitive edge..a real small amount..like under 350 bucks for everything (mic/soundcard/processor)..best to save up and use what you make from the radio station's room. But try the light pipe or whatever it is, and try the stock soundcard. We just got a whole new set of Dell Vostros for the PC studios..and the sound cards playback beautifully.have not tried the inputs..just slapped in our Delta 44's in all 6 of them.

BTW..NO VISTA!!
 
fwiw, I've been using the stock soundcard in my PC (Soundblaster Audigy something-or-other) to record v-o for the past 3 years and have never had a single complaint/problem. I've been running my Marshall MXL-2001 mic --> dbx 286a --> mackie 1202-vlz --> the tiny little line-in jack on said soundcard and recording into SoundForge... no glitches, no noticable noise, and I personally think my v-o that I record at home sounds better than when I record with the expensive ProTools system at work.

That said, I just ordered a Focusrite Saffire Firewire box because I'm going to start doing more extensive recording, but for a start-up situation I wouldn't completely discount on-board soundcards.
 
So let me ask this....how does anybody feel about this cable to go from the DBX
Click to expand...

Though it may sound like Jeff Lauremce and I are giving you opposite advice, we really aren't. The DBX thing may or may not work. Either way, immediaitely, a few weeks from now, a few months from now, it is a dead-end route.

I am a firm believer that you need to get SOMETHING functioning, even if it turns out to be the wrong thing. You have to be used to making recordings at home. You need to get used to worrying about how your family reacts to a person sitting in a room talking to themselves. (I am assuming you do not live alone.)

What will distinguish you from hundreds, maybe thousands of people wanting to get the same business you are out to get IS YOUR VOICE, your ability mold your voice to convey to another human being the message, the emotion in the script.

If you are on a tight, tight budget limit for your initial purchase, then consider some components that are not quite up to the quality level that Jeff and others have in their tool bag. Get your voice working and practicing.

Part of what we are dealing with here is the ego of the buyers. They will listen to your work very carefully. They probably have great playback systems and great monitor speakers and they can hear the very tiny difference between good recording equipment and really great recording equipment. But by the time they put it on the air and run it through their systems and all of today processing chain that stations use, what comes out of the consumer radio receiver will not reveal whether you are using the DBX USB thingy, the stock consumer sound card or the $1,400 digigram sound card.

BUT, the listener, even on a trash radio received can distinguish your delivery, your pacing, your expression from some other announcer who hasn't trained himself/herself in the art of the human voice. One way or another, you need to get going..... with something.

Your daily dream has to be: some day, some how, I am going to be so good, and have such good equipment I am going to be in competition with Jeff Laurence for a job, and I'm going to get the order.

I suspect both Jeff and I are saying: Go get'em, Tiger!
 
I'm a firm believer in spending as much as you can afford. But ONLY as much as you can afford. You'll save yourself money in the long-run if you invest more up-front. I've been there and I can tell you that upgrades are much nicer when you WANT to make them, rather than when you NEED to make them. IMO, it's better to save for a few extra weeks and get something that will last, than it is to rush in and get something that will need to be replaced immediately. Certainly though, there's no harm in trying your on-board card. But don't expenct much.

I will say that if my E-mu blew up tomorrow, I'd drop back to the stock card to get my work done until a replacement arrived.

Emmett
 
bobbybooey said:
fwiw, I've been using the stock soundcard in my PC (Soundblaster Audigy something-or-other) to record v-o for the past 3 years and have never had a single complaint/problem. I've been running my Marshall MXL-2001 mic --> dbx 286a --> mackie 1202-vlz --> the tiny little line-in jack on said soundcard and recording into SoundForge... no glitches, no noticable noise, and I personally think my v-o that I record at home sounds better than when I record with the expensive ProTools system at work.

That said, I just ordered a Focusrite Saffire Firewire box because I'm going to start doing more extensive recording, but for a start-up situation I wouldn't completely discount on-board soundcards.
Click to expand...

Bobby....sent you a PM.
 
marketweis said:
bobbybooey said:
fwiw, I've been using the stock soundcard in my PC (Soundblaster Audigy something-or-other) to record v-o for the past 3 years and have never had a single complaint/problem. I've been running my Marshall MXL-2001 mic --> dbx 286a --> mackie 1202-vlz --> the tiny little line-in jack on said soundcard and recording into SoundForge... no glitches, no noticable noise, and I personally think my v-o that I record at home sounds better than when I record with the expensive ProTools system at work.

That said, I just ordered a Focusrite Saffire Firewire box because I'm going to start doing more extensive recording, but for a start-up situation I wouldn't completely discount on-board soundcards.
Click to expand...

Bobby....sent you a PM.
Click to expand...

Just replied to it.

Also, one thing to consider is whether or not you need "pristine" audio initially... local agencies oftentimes are pretty clueless when it comes to sound... how many times have you been asked to dub in a spot from a 64kbps mp3 that the agency just forwarded along? ;D

Once you get a little more established, an upgrade might be more of a necessity, but like Goat Rodeo said, the best thing for a beginner is to get experience/practice with what you have... if you can sound good with a low-budget set-up, imagine how good you'll sound once you're really up and running!
 
Man this is all really really good stuff! You guys are right on target..and the poster that mentioned "just getting used to doing it" mad more sense to me than anything..also they are all right..most agencies listen to the content, and not the quality..all too tru.
 
Yes, we all need to remember that good gear doesn't make anyone sound good. It allows you to sound your best!

Emmett
 
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