Mic question

RafterGirl said:
Thanks to everyone for the USB Mic suggestions. I’ll take a look at Amazon & see what’s available. Big thanks to kohanmike for the Zoom settings info.

Another question. I’ll be plugged into my Roland AC-33 amp when I play. Mostly I’ll be playing an instrumental for church. Should I position the Mic more towards where the amp is in my office, or just in front of me while playing? I’ll be in my office, sitting in front of desktop computer.
Click to expand...

In that case you could just connect the line out from the amp, to an audio interface. This circumvents the whole microphone altogether.
You could use a simple one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Qingsun-Guit...keywords=Guitar+To+Usb&qid=1592155436&sr=8-14
 
kohanmike said:
I bought this a couple of weeks ago for $50 and it's been great with my Zoom sessions.


Neewer mic.jpg


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
Click to expand...

"Currently unavailable."
 
Update. I got a USB Mic from Amazon for $46. FiFine K669, condenser, cardioid mic with tripod stand. Tried it out just for chatting during Zoom church service this morning. If I can get my act together, I might try a song for open Mic on Wednesday with the Catskills uke group on Zoom.
 
RafterGirl said:
Thanks to everyone for the USB Mic suggestions. I’ll take a look at Amazon & see what’s available. Big thanks to kohanmike for the Zoom settings info.

Another question. I’ll be plugged into my Roland AC-33 amp when I play. Mostly I’ll be playing an instrumental for church. Should I position the Mic more towards where the amp is in my office, or just in front of me while playing? I’ll be in my office, sitting in front of desktop computer.
Click to expand...

Unless it's a silent electric ukulele, there is not much point in using an amp if you are broadcasting from a microphone from home.
With the instrument pointed to your mic, the people on the other end will hear you just fine!

However, if you specifically want to model your sound using the amp, then have the mic directly in front of the amp speaker.

Having the mic vaguely placed to pick up both your acoustic and amplified tone would not be ideal.
Generally if you are broadcasting (or recording) with a microphone at home, you want the microphone placed direct and close to the sound source.
Especially if you are using a condenser cardioid mic which is designed for "studio" settings
 
xommen said:
If you have a good regular microphone, a simple XLR to USB cable might be a solution.
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Microphone-T...ywords=xlr+to+usb+cable&qid=1591998627&sr=8-3

I have use similar ones in the past, before I got an 8 track recorder/interface.
Click to expand...

How good is a cable-only without an interface to balance and boost the mic signal though?
I see you upgraded to an interface that does the very thing.

I use one of these (Shure X2U)
https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/accessories/x2u-xlr-usb-interface

Very useful gadget to connect any XLR mic to USB.
 
RafterGirl said:
Update. I got a USB Mic from Amazon for $46. FiFine K669, condenser, cardioid mic with tripod stand. Tried it out just for chatting during Zoom church service this morning. If I can get my act together, I might try a song for open Mic on Wednesday with the Catskills uke group on Zoom.
Click to expand...

That will do the trick for anything you need to record/broadcast from a computer.
A simple USB microphone with built-in interface. Hope it works out well ! You may need to tweak some settings in the computer such as volume levels, etc.

If you record using a recording app like Audacity, one tip I would give is change the recording setting to "mono". It might be set as "stereo" by default.
Leaving it in stereo might cause some issues (in my case, it 'doubled' the input signal, causing distortion).
 
Update on my FiFine K669, condenser, cardioid USB Mic.

I've had this Mic for a little over a month and like it. I've used it for Zoom jams with my Catskills Ukulele friends, Zoom jams with my local Salt Lake Strummers uke group, and for Zoom church services. The feedback I've gotten has been very good. All have said it sounds clear, with good sound. When I sing & play, the Mic is in front of me. When I play instrumentals, I put the Mic on the corner of my office desk, aimed at my Roland AC-33 amp. Last Sunday I played an instrumental prelude for church that got very good reviews. We have about 20 minutes before the service starts as a time to log on and say hello to each other. I was just noodling around with instrumentals of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "Smile" to warm up a bit. I didn't realize that I wasn't muted. When I stopped playing & muted, everyone chimed in ......"don't stop, that's beautiful." I might try it again on Sunday. A little background music if people aren't in a chatty mood before church.

I have another tech question. I'm trying to get up the nerve to sit in my driveway in the evening to play. If I wanted to sing a little, my amp has an XLR Mic channel. Is there a cable that has a USB end that will connect my Mic USB end, and that has an XLR on the other end? All the one's I've seen on Amazon have a female USB end/XLR end, and I'd need a male USB end. Or, do I just need to spring for an actual vocal Mic & stand.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
RafterGirl said:
...
I have another tech question. I'm trying to get up the nerve to sit in my driveway in the evening to play. If I wanted to sing a little, my amp has an XLR Mic channel. Is there a cable that has a USB end that will connect my Mic USB end, and that has an XLR on the other end? All the one's I've seen on Amazon have a female USB end/XLR end, and I'd need a male USB end. Or, do I just need to spring for an actual vocal Mic & stand.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You can't use a simple cable with the right connectors because you need to convert that digital signal (in USB protocol) into an analog signal (in XLR level). The easiest solution is to get an XLR mic. Otherwise, you'll need something like a mixer that accepts computer output (where you'll plug your USB mic) and use the mixer's XLR output; this is way more complicated than what you want (also you may get lag).
 
RafterGirl said:
I have another tech question. I'm trying to get up the nerve to sit in my driveway in the evening to play. If I wanted to sing a little, my amp has an XLR Mic channel. Is there a cable that has a USB end that will connect my Mic USB end, and that has an XLR on the other end? All the one's I've seen on Amazon have a female USB end/XLR end, and I'd need a male USB end. Or, do I just need to spring for an actual vocal Mic & stand.

Thanks
Click to expand...

So you want to connect a USB microphone into an amplifier that accepts XLR input?

Generally speaking, that's not what USB microphones are designed for.. especially USB Condenser microphones.

You may need to invest in a regular XLR microphone designed for instrument and vocals, such as a Shure SM58 or SM57.
They are considered industry standards for amplifying vocals and instruments through an amp or PA system.

If they are too expensive, there are plenty of less expensive options, such as the Shure PGA48.



The way I get versatility is, I have a Shure X2U interface device that accepts XLR mics and converts it to USB output (for computer) when I want to record.
The mics themselves are regular XLR mics that I can also plug into amplifiers for performance using a XLR mic cable.
 
Last edited:
I was hoping that my USB Mic could do double duty, but it looks like I need a real deal XLR Mic. The Shure SM58 looks good. I'd probably invest in a boom mic stand as well. Now I just have to decide how much driveway playing and singing I'll actually do. Although a decent Mic and stand is always a good thing to have.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Blank Williams
Open mic question
Replies
4
Views
604
Ren_
Ren_
U
CONDENSER USB mic question
Replies
10
Views
1K
gokidd
G
SweetWaterBlue
Question about the Zoom H2 as USB mic with Audacity
Replies
1
Views
1K
SweetWaterBlue
SweetWaterBlue
Scottz
Washburn Romp mic - Question for electronics expert
Replies
5
Views
1K
elskeetro
E
spots
Mic question - I did search the archives
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
8890
8
Top Bottom