The
last couple of years has seen the appearance of the USB
microphone in the ranges of most microphone manufacturers. So
what are they and why do we need them? Today, USB
(universal serial bus) is part of the standard architecture
of all PCs and Apple computers and it's the commonest way to
plug in a range of peripheral gadgets direct into the computer,
from external hard drives and printers to your ipod.
The Plug
and play capabilities of USB allow devices to be connected
and disconnected without rebooting
the computer or turning off the device but the other great feature
of USB is that it can provide power for many low-consumption
devices so they will work without the need for an external
power supply.
It was inevitable then that eventually someone would come up
with a USB microphone and infact the Samson CO1 was the
first affordable USB studio condenser mic to hit the market.
For the first time ever, you could record audio into you computer
by simply plugging the Samson direct into the USB port without
the need for XLR leads, in/out boxes, or expensive pre-amps.
The idea was simple and it opened up possibilities for anyone
recording audio from Podcasters, journalists, students,
and business people adding audio to websites and multimedia
presentations.
But of course the design of any mic means that it needs a preamp
to amplify its tiny electrical output signal up to line level
and if it's to be plugged direct into a USB port then
the mic will also have to house its own AD converter to turn
the analogue signal into a digital stream .
So basically these two elements have to be built into the body
of any USB microphone and this leads to a couple of problems.
Because of construction constraints most USB mic don't have
a variable input and output so they are set to handle an optimal
"fairly loud" sound source without distorting.
All well and good but that does mean that quiet sources and
even the spoken word sometimes aren't loud enough to get a decent
level. Add to that a budget AD converter small enough to be
built into the microphone body and you have a pretty large compromise.
Any manufacturer of a USB mic has to put a lot of effort into
designing these components and all the ones I have tried
sound pretty good but they all suffer from the above problems
to some degree. Samson, on its improved version has a software
switch to change between 3 sensitivities lo/ med and loud sound
sources and if you are careful then you can get a decent
recording without too much noise.
The USB microphone has been tackled by a number of other manufacturers
include sE, Blue and now even some older big name manufacturers
are producing a USB mic with Shure's PG27 USB and AKG's Perception
120 These are now getting some good reviews on the forums but
for me the USB mic is very much an entry level idea for musicians
and the real arena for these mics is in ENG or podcasting where
ease and mobility are important. Ultimately the lack of flexibility
of using different preamps and even AD convertors will always
mean that these mics are never serious studio tools but if you
are one of the thousands of people starting out and are interested
in getting your ideas down quickly and cheaply with the minimum
of fuss the USB microphone is undoubtably a great starting point.
OTHER
OPTIONS
CEntrance's
have come up with a novel and well thought out answer the the
inherent USB mic problems. Their solution is to take a small
high quality preamp and AD converter and build it into a handy
in-line adapter that you can plug into the bottom of any mic
instantly turning your favourite studio condenser into a USB
mic. The CEntrance has variable gain and phantom power as well
as built in headphone monitoring and as well as a quick solution
for anyone wanting to capture some high quality audio direct
to their laptop is proving very popular with the BBC and CNN
etc for news gathering and live location reports. I have used
one a great deal and think its a neat way of using a range of
different mics direct into the laptop.
Ultimately there is a need for musicians and particularly those
on a budget, to be able to use their mics creatively and flexibly
and for musicians with a small studio set up one of the best
options is to buy something like the Alesis
io2 which has everything that you need to interface any
mic with your computer. The io2 has two very nice, quiet preamps
with variable gain, adjustable headphone monitoring which you
can switch between direct and USB and a host of other features
including line inputs and insert points. All the stuff you actually
need to make music with your mics for under £100. So if
you are into music then by all means have a look at the new
USB mics but really you can spend your money a lot better by
buying a good USB interface like the Alesis. If you've already
got some decent mics then the CEntrance is just great at converting
them into USB mics. However, if you are just starting out and
you want a good quality, easy to use mic to record your voice
or quick musical ideas while you are out on the move then a
USB microphone could be just the job.
