Episode 6
Finding the Perfect Mic Without Breaking the Bank
Scott and Kevin dive into the essential topic of microphones for podcasting, emphasizing that the right microphone can significantly impact sound quality. They recommend starting with a dynamic cardioid microphone, ideally in the $100 to $200 range, to balance performance and budget. The duo breaks down the different types of microphones, including dynamic and condenser options, explaining how each functions and their suitability for various recording environments. Listeners will benefit from Scott's personal experiences with different mics, including the Samsung Q2U and the Rode PodMic USB, providing practical insights into the choices available. With a playful tone, they encourage aspiring podcasters not to get bogged down in the details but to start recording with whatever equipment they have, as the conversation quality is what truly matters.
Takeaways:
- Investing in a decent microphone is worth it as it directly impacts sound quality.
- Most beginner podcasters should opt for a dynamic cardioid microphone under $200.
- The Rode Podmic USB offers flexibility with both USB and XLR connections.
- Microphones like the Shure SM7B are popular but may be overkill for most podcasters.
- Don't get overwhelmed by equipment; starting with basic gear is perfectly acceptable.
- Post-production software can significantly improve audio quality, even from low-end microphones.
Mics mentioned in this episode:
Mics used in this episode
Scott: Samsung Q2U
Kevin: Sure MV88
Transcript
Okay, so do you want me to say hello and welcome back, or do you.
Scott:Or do you want to say that?
Kevin:Yeah.
Kevin:I mean, you've been saying it.
Kevin:You should do it.
Scott:Okay.
Kevin:Welcome to the idiot's guide to podcasting.
Scott:Hello.
Scott:As Kevin and I were just saying.
Scott:And welcome back.
Scott:Maybe that's our intro.
Scott:Hello and welcome back.
Kevin:There it is.
Scott:This is the idiots guide to podcasting.
Scott:And it's because you have two brothers, arguably two idiots, talking about learning about podcasting.
Scott:My name is Scott.
Scott:I've got a smidge of experience just because I've been trying it and learning along the way for the past couple years.
Scott:And I'm here with my brother, Kevin.
Kevin:Zero experience.
Scott:Zero experience.
Scott:So a little bit of experience.
Scott:And I listen to, like, podcasts about podcasting.
Scott:So I'm actually, like.
Scott:I like learning about all of that stuff, actually, I'm interviewing two book authors next week, which should be interesting.
Scott:I don't know.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott:So we've started having book publishers reach out to us.
Scott:Some of them very random books.
Scott:We got one in the mail today, finally.
Scott:And it is like, I'm not gonna name the name of the book, but it's a weird one.
Scott:I don't think we're gonna review or interview this.
Scott:This author.
Scott:It's an interesting one.
Scott:There's a couple coming up, though, that.
Scott:That.
Scott:That.
Scott:I'm curious to talk to these folks because the books are interesting.
Scott:I don't think I would read them because I'm not the history person.
Scott:Jen is.
Scott:But so that's kind of fun.
Scott:So we.
Scott:I've been learning there, and I'll learn kind of like, one of the things I want to do through this stuff is learn how to be a better interviewer and learn how to tell good stories and be a good host and stuff like that.
Scott:So, kev, today we're talking about microphones and quick version up front.
Scott:I would say if any piece of gear for podcasting, the microphone would be one.
Scott:If I was to go back, it would be one that I would spend more time on figuring out what you want and maybe be a smidge more willing to spend a little bit of money on, because it's the first thing that has.
Scott:It's going to have the most direct impact on your sound quality, in my opinion.
Scott:That and treating the room, making sure you're not sitting inside of your bathroom.
Scott:That's tile everywhere.
Scott:But you don't have to spend a lot to get a very decent sound.
Scott:And I'll go into all of that.
Scott:What do you know about microphones and stuff like that.
Scott:We've talked a little bit about it before in past episodes, but, like, what do you know?
Scott:Just kind of coming into it, not knowing much.
Kevin:I mean, you know, I've.
Kevin:I've talked to a couple people who have done some podcasting stuff, but I have not researched mics themselves specifically.
Kevin:So what I do know is that it doesn't take a lot of money to make it sound pretty good.
Scott:Absolutely.
Kevin:You can spend a lot of money on a good microphone, but the noticeable difference is pretty minimal once you hit a certain threshold.
Kevin:But I think you hit that.
Kevin:I'm talking dollar threshold.
Kevin:Once you hit that dollar threshold, you hit it pretty quickly.
Kevin:Like, from what I'm, what I'm thinking in my brain, like $100.
Kevin:I don't know what's your.
Scott:That's about what I was going to say.
Scott:So the microphone I'm using right now, the first couple episodes, if people remember, if you listen to our first two or three episodes, I think I started off with just using my laptop microphone, the built in laptop.
Scott:I think the next one I might have used like my Apple wire wired kind of headphone mic or something like that.
Scott:And this one I'm using what's called.
Scott:It's a popular low end podcast microphone.
Scott:It's the Samsung Q two U.
Scott:It's about $60.
Scott:You can probably find it for $50.
Scott:That's probably the lowest you're going to find any podcast microphone.
Scott:And this is just a regular usb one.
Scott:I wouldn't recommend this one.
Scott:I did it just because I was testing stuff out of, largely because this one, the model's a little bit older.
Scott:I think there's an updated version.
Scott:This again, this is the Samsung Q two U.
Scott:And I'm not.
Scott:The sound for me is not quite what I typically like.
Scott:Now the next one to your point, and I'll talk a little bit more about the different.
Scott:What you should look for in a microphone and what you can look for.
Scott:There's tons of YouTube videos.
Scott:Again, this is the idiot's guide to podcasting.
Scott:Like, we are not experts.
Scott:You can find plenty of expert stuff out there, but we're going to give you like the everyday, every man's version of microphones here.
Scott:I ended up getting one that's called the zoom I like.
Scott:I went on Amazon and bought like a package deal of something to process my sound.
Scott:Microphones plus wires, plus all the stuff.
Scott:And it was something through zoom.
Scott:And I got the zoom m one, right?
Scott:Zoom M as in Mike one.
Scott:And that podcast.
Scott:And that microphone.
Scott:I got a kit.
Scott:So I got a couple of microphones because I host mine with, with my wife Jen, and I actually got a couple extra, thinking that I would have more people come in person.
Scott:I never have, but I would still like to.
Scott:So I have a couple microphones, and that was cheap.
Scott:I would get like a whole package deal for $200.
Scott:And that's microphone plus a stand, plus, you know, cables, plus a couple things.
Scott:Right.
Scott:That was 200 for one whole little thing.
Scott:The microphone by itself was right around $100.
Scott:You could find it, right?
Scott:Maybe even $80.
Scott:And honestly, I really like the sound that I get out of it.
Scott:There's a couple things that I would, again, going back, knowing what I know now, I would get something different because of what's called the pattern, the sound pattern, and what I'm going to do now, now that I've kind of put that out there.
Scott:But again, I've spent about $80 to $100, let's just say, for a microphone for Jen and I.
Scott:And I think the sound is just fine.
Scott:Right.
Scott:It's great.
Scott:You know, we've got some decent traction on our podcast now.
Scott:We're getting about a little over a thousand downloads a month, which isn't too bad.
Scott:And I like the sound.
Scott:You know, I do a little bit of post production, and you can do a lot with post production nowadays.
Scott:I even compared to two years ago with all the amazing AI and sound treatment that they can do just with software.
Kevin:Yeah.
Kevin:I'll tell you what I'm going to try to do.
Kevin:I'm going to do my best to get all of the mics that you've used and make a list of the mic types and what episode they're on.
Kevin:And so that if you want to go back, whoever's listening, and to kind of get sample the sounds, you can do that.
Kevin:I have used the same microphone up until now, up until all this recording, so.
Kevin:And no, but no one that you listen to about microphones or podcasting is going to tell you to do what I did.
Kevin:Okay.
Kevin:So I found this microphone that plugs straight into my phone, and it looks cool.
Kevin:It had some good reviews.
Kevin:I bought it a while ago.
Kevin:So I don't actually have kind of the details on.
Kevin:I'll have to do some digging.
Kevin:But what I've noticed in just kind of the little bit of recording that I have done is that because it plugs into my phone and I also use my phone for recording, it's kind of tricky to get the directional piece.
Kevin:It is directional.
Kevin:I can move it.
Kevin:And I have to be really careful to not be moving around or having the microphone pointed in a different direction.
Scott:Yeah.
Kevin:So it's just, it's not super user friendly, but that's, you know, me learning from just winging it on my own.
Kevin:Don't do that, maybe, you know.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott:So there's a couple things that you want to look for in a microphone.
Scott:If you're listening to this episode, here's the couple things you're going to look for.
Scott:You're going to look into the type of microphone.
Scott:Here's what you're going to hear about the different types.
Scott:There is a dynamic.
Scott:These are kind of the most durable and versatile.
Scott:They're really kind of the ones that most podcasters will get.
Scott:There's condenser, which better offer better sound quality, but they're much more sensitive to background noise.
Scott:So that would be more for your kind of higher end.
Scott:Like if you have a treated room, you know, with like some padding or some curtains that you've put around the walls, those condenser microphones.
Scott:And then there's another thing called ribbon microphones.
Scott:They're most expensive.
Scott:That's probably like high end stuff.
Scott:Most podcasters you're gonna be looking at dynamic or condenser, I'd say 80% of people are gonna be looking for a dynamic microphone.
Scott:Okay.
Scott:Not as sensitive as a condenser.
Scott:Right.
Scott:So audio quality isn't as high end.
Scott:But to be perfectly honest, for podcasting, you don't need super high end stuff.
Scott:Polar pattern, this is the thing that you just mentioned is directional.
Scott:What the polar pattern means is if you know, if you're listening to this podcast, picture a microphone pointed directly at your mouth, okay, now picture kind of like 180 degrees, this semicircle, this half circle that encompasses your head, right.
Scott:That's kind of one of the polar patterns.
Scott:It's cardioid.
Scott:Right.
Scott:That you want where all the sound is just coming basically from this one side of the microphone, you have other ones that are omnidirectional, that's kind of self explanatory, where you could get sound from each side.
Scott:Bi directional or figure eight, cardioid is the most common.
Scott:A lot of times, if you're researching these microphones, typically, again, I'm going to, I'm going to go for the 80% here.
Scott:80% of folks.
Scott:90% of folks are going to be looking for a dynamic cardioid microphone and that cardioid pattern.
Scott:What you want is something that doesn't pick up a lot, any really any sound, ideally on the back end of the microphone, because what you don't want is, let's say you're setting up on your kitchen table because that's the only place you have in your house.
Scott:Like what I do every single time I podcast, mine is a low, is a little bit lower end, but I figured out how to kind of maneuver it.
Scott:But it has a.
Scott:It does pick up some sound on the back end because it's a lower quality microphone.
Scott:So it, that pattern is, it's the front half of that semicircle, but there's a little bit behind the microphone that actually picks up, which works to my disadvantage because it picks up some of the echo that bounces off the table coming back into the back end of the microphone.
Scott:Or if Jen and I are facing each other, we get what's called mic bleed.
Scott:Cause we're in the same room.
Scott:So she'll speak loud enough cause she projects very well, which is great for audio.
Scott:But then some of her audio gets picked up on my microphone.
Scott:So those are things you have to think about.
Scott:If you're doing a two person podcast, maybe you want a super narrow field of audio because you've got two people in the same room and you don't want a lot of extra space.
Scott:But if it's just by yourself, maybe it's not a big deal.
Scott:So the polar pattern frequency response, to be perfectly honest, I have no idea what frequency response stuff is or sensitivity.
Scott:Again, I think 80% to 90% of people that are doing a podcast, if you actually are getting into it, the big things you're going to be looking for is a dynamic cardioid microphone.
Scott:If I'm going to make a recommendation to anybody, look for a dynamic cardioid microphone and then kind of figure out what your budget is from there and you can watch some reviews out there.
Scott:I'll talk about a couple of the popular ones.
Scott:So some of the popular ones out there, you'll hear about blue Yeti.
Scott:That's very, very popular out there for podcasting.
Scott:I read that most kind of typical podcasters don't really like it because it's not.
Scott:It's really more for like streaming and gamers and stuff like that.
Scott:A very popular one, but on the pricier end is the Shure SM seven B.
Scott:This is about probably like a $400 microphone.
Scott:But I mean, Joe Rogan uses it and he's got the biggest podcast in the world.
Scott:He uses a 400.
Scott:I mean, he's paid two to $300 million by Spotify and he uses a $400 microphone, you know, because you don't need that much more to your point, Kevin, once you hit a certain point, you don't.
Scott:You don't need to spend a boatload of money on a good mic.
Scott:And to be perfectly honest, I bet he could get away with a dollar 200 microphone and a little bit of post processing, you know?
Scott:So another popular one that I looked up is some rode products.
Scott:Rode does a lot of good microphones.
Scott:That rode nt one a.
Scott:That's r h o d.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott:R o d.
Scott:E.
Scott:R o d.
Scott:E.
Scott:R o d e.
Scott:So they're.
Scott:They're.
Scott:They're pretty big.
Scott:They do a lot of microphones that they're nt.
Scott:One a.
Scott:It's a.
Scott:It's a pretty popular one.
Scott:It's not too.
Scott:Too pricey.
Scott:The one that if I were to buy a new microphone today, I would.
Scott:I would probably look at in the $200 range, because I think that range, you can.
Scott:You can get a lot of bang for your buck, and you can probably use that for most likely anything that 99% of us are ever going to need.
Scott:Rode has a new, what they call pod mic USB.
Scott:It's the second version of the rode pod mic, and it's about $200, but it's both XLR, which is like your classic, you know, think what you're plugging into, like an amp for guitars and stuff like that, or the higher quality connections is XLR.
Scott:And then it's also USB C.
Scott:So you could plug it directly into your computer.
Scott:Okay.
Scott:So you can do both of those.
Scott:So it gives you some flexibility if you.
Scott:All you really need to start with is just plug that directly into your laptop.
Scott:USB C.
Scott:Great.
Scott:If eventually you want to get your microphone into some sort of mixing board or get fancy with it, you can get that XLR kind of more.
Scott:If people aren't familiar with what an XLR cable looks like.
Scott:It's that kind of metal end of like a kind of music looking cabling that you would see, and you would see kind of three prongs inside of it.
Scott:That's XLR cable, and that'll give you a higher quality signal if you want to start doing things like mixing boards and, like, really doing a little bit more.
Scott:Right.
Scott:So a podcast, a microphone like that would let you kind of grow as a podcaster if that's something that you wanted to do.
Kevin:Cool.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott:And so, I mean, so those are the big ones, right?
Scott:So a couple things, right?
Scott:I podcast mics.
Scott:You can spend days just looking at different reviews.
Scott:And this that and the other.
Scott:But the short version is you're going to 90% of people who are either starting a podcast or who want to do a podcast, and they're, you know, like you.
Scott:Let's say you eventually wanted to buy a mic.
Scott:You've been doing one for a little bit, and you want to finally pull the trigger.
Scott:You're going to be looking for a dynamic cardioid microphone.
Scott:My recommendation is start in the $100 range, and you really don't need to go higher than probably $200 unless you have just more budget, and that's fine.
Scott:You could go for the Shure SM seven B, which is incredibly popular, very high quality.
Scott:I think it's probably like three to $400.
Scott:And there's lots and lots and lots of podcasters out there that use that.
Scott:Or you can look in the middle of the pack for something that gives you a little more flexibility from a company like rode and their podmic usb, which is their second version.
Scott:And they've got lots of other things that kind of come all together.
Scott:The thing that I like doing sometimes is going with those companies that they sell all the stuff.
Scott:I was like, great.
Scott:I know it all works together.
Scott:I know it might be a little bit more, but forget it.
Scott:It's just easier for me.
Scott:I'll spend the extra 15%, you know, then I would piecemealing it together myself, and I'll buy a rode mic.
Scott:I'll buy a rode boom arm.
Scott:I'll buy a rode cables.
Scott:And now I don't have to think about it.
Kevin:Yeah.
Scott:You know, like, what do you think you would try to.
Scott:You know, if you had, you know, if you were gonna start, like, if you got a laptop and you wanted to start to get a microphone, like.
Scott:Like, what would you be looking for, kev?
Kevin:A dynamic cardioid microphone.
Scott:Look at that.
Scott:The two idiots are learning.
Kevin:I mean, you know, odds are that, like, if you want to start a podcast, kind of like.
Kevin:Like me or my brother, you don't want to spend all your time looking at microphones, right?
Kevin:You want to get recording, so don't get stressed out about, you know, buying them.
Kevin:The good news is here, right, that Scott's telling us we don't have to worry too much.
Kevin:Just make sure you follow some of these simple, you know, advice pieces that he's given you, us, and.
Kevin:And get a microphone and start recording.
Kevin:I think, you know, like, one of the things that I can get caught up on is, like, really, you know, I want it to be.
Kevin:I want it to be as good as possible.
Kevin:I don't want it to sound bad.
Kevin:I don't want, you know, it's like, and then I start, you know, doing some research and I get stuck in a rabbit hole and then I feel like I haven't made any progress.
Kevin:And, you know, all of a sudden I'm like, you know, I shouldn't even be doing this, you know, but for real, like, just go get a microphone and start recording.
Kevin:Odds are that unless you're using the worst microphone possible, most people, most people won't notice.
Scott:Yep.
Kevin:If you are, if you have a decent microphone, it's going to sound good.
Kevin:It's going to sound better than using a bad one and just get out there and start doing it.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott:And again, some of the post production stuff that a lot of these companies can do with, you know, just software on the backend, I've heard some amazing things, like people recording something just to test with their phone sitting in a bathroom and they'll, they'll play the untreated version and it's, you're like, oh my God, that's awful.
Scott:I can tell they're in like an echo chamber and then they run it through some software and you couldn't tell at all.
Kevin:Oh, wow.
Scott:So, so there's some pretty incredible stuff.
Scott:So again, my recommendation to anybody, if you're sitting on the low end, you can find something decent, probably in hundred dollar range, do a little bit of research.
Scott:Rode, I think has some stuff maybe at that level.
Scott:If I, again, if I was to pull the trigger again, and I'm happy with the mics that I have today, and I basically have $80 to $100 mics, but if I was to do it again, I would pick one that's a USB mic but also an XLR.
Scott:So that has both.
Scott:So that way I can just buy the mic, plug it into my computer and if I want to grow kind of what I'm doing in the future, I can do that and I can get those XLR cables which are a little bit more, and then you can get a little mixer and do stuff like that and kind of grow from there.
Scott:So I like the podmic USB.
Scott:You know, that would be my recommendation to folks if they're willing to pony up the cash.
Scott:Maybe they find a Black Friday deal for Christmas.
Scott:They just say, hey, give me an Amazon gift card and I'll foot the other half of it or something like that.
Scott:My recommendation would be a cardioid dynamic mic that's USB.
Scott:It's got decent reviews between $100 to $200, and you're.
Scott:And you're going to get, you know, really what the majority of us are looking for.
Scott:Yeah.
Kevin:Yeah.
Kevin:That's good advice, man.
Kevin:Thank you.
Scott:Yeah, absolutely.
Scott:And again, the biggest thing, like you said, is don't get too wrapped up in not starting because you don't have a mic.
Kevin:Yeah.
Scott:I listen to podcasts that I really enjoy, and I can tell they're just recording straight on their laptop.
Scott:Yeah, they don't use a mic at all.
Scott:They just do, whether it's interview or whatever, they just record straight to their laptop.
Scott:And if.
Scott:And honestly, as long as it's, like, decent and it's not horrendously awful audio in this and the conversation is interesting or the story is interesting, it goes a long way.
Kevin:Yeah.
Kevin:Yeah.
Scott:So.
Scott:For sure.
Kevin:Oh, hey, it's good stuff, man.
Scott:All right, well, that was a good one.
Scott:If you guys have any questions about.
Scott:You listen to.
Scott:Listen to this.
Scott:Kev's gonna try to put together some of that.
Scott:That list that he was talking about, and.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott:Thanks.
Kevin:Until next time.
Scott:Peace out.
