Author Topic: Looking for equipment suggestions  (Read 1057 times)

Crowbert

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Looking for equipment suggestions
« on: August 22, 2016, 02:10:05 pm »
I am starting a podast and there will be 3 total people with guests from time to time.

I am keen in USB microphones recording on a laptop for low cost on this project and I have a couple questions regarding recording software and microphones.

For software I was looking at Audacity especially because it can run on Linux and if I go that route I can use a more low end laptop because Linux takes less resources than windows. - thoughts?

The other question is around microphones. There will be 3 or 4 of us in a room and we're trying to find a good room and see if we can do some sound proofing and so I was looking at USB mic's to plug directly into the computer. It is my understanding that dynamic mics are more directional and pick up less background noise which would be nice because there are three of us in a room and we want each to have a mic and keep everyone on different recording tracks. Any good mic recommendations? I was looking at:
Rode Podcaster USB Dynamic Microphone
and I know I said dynamic but this is a ocndenser:
Rode NT-USB USB Condenser Microphone

Any suggestions or tips welcome!


Shawn Thorpe

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Re: Looking for equipment suggestions
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2016, 04:31:28 pm »
The big challenge you'll face with that many USB mics into one computer (regardless of what the OS is) will be getting the computer to recognize each microphone individually. This'll likely be an even bigger challenge with Linux (tho I have no real experience with Linux, so I could be wrong). MacOS allows for the creation of something called an audio Aggregate Device that can help with using multiple USB mics with a single computer. But it doesn't always work. I realize you're not intending to use a Mac but I'm pointing this out here to show that even a commercial OS with lots of bells/whistles doesn't do multiple USB microphones very well.

As far as using Audacity, it's the best DAW I know of for Linux. But again, I have no practical experience with Linux.

If it were me and I was trying to solve the same problem, here's what I'd suggest. Get an audio mixer with a built-in USB interface that has been proven to work with Linux. Order some Audio-Technica ATR2100 dynamic microphones. The 2100 is widely regarded as a good-sounding but inexpensive mic. It can also do either a direct USB connection to the computer or switch to an analog XLR connector to be plugged into a mixer.

I also recommend asking your question in these online groups where they may receive more feedback from people who've tried to do what you want:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PodcastCommunity/
https://plus.google.com/communities/102333709604116814839

Good luck!

Crowbert

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Re: Looking for equipment suggestions
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2016, 12:36:12 am »
Really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.

I went with 3 of the mics you suggested
Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone

and one -
Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

I'll see how it goes with linux

Thanks!

Shawn Thorpe

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Re: Looking for equipment suggestions
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2016, 01:25:27 pm »
Those are great gear choices! I think you'll be served well by them.