We all know that USB connectivity effectively eliminates your vocal microphone setup time and just kind of makes sense. Plug and play appeals to just about everyone, and I am sure that for most, it wouldnt hurt to cut down on that spaghetti pile of XLR cables that always seem to be tangled around the chair legs. To be honest, for most recordings I really wouldn't choose a USB microphone. Im just as attached to my microphone preamps and old-ish school way of doing thing as most of us are. I would say that for pod-casts, stuff like that, USB microphones are fine... However, some long-awaited game-changers are making waves in the home studio biz.
Before I go any further, we should all acknowledge that the USB microphone class is getting better and better all the time, as the market demands better products. Its always been true that for recording dialogue for pod-casts, yakking online with your war game buddies via gaming headset, or cheaping out on long distance with SKYPE, USB has always been the default and sensible choice. But for recording vocal tracks, the stakes are much higher and its important to feel confident with your vocal microphone before you start wailing and immortalizing yourself on hard disk. The truth is, Its that feeling of confidence that has taken years to take seed through the home recording studio industry, but gradually that seed is beginning to grow.
USB microphones as a sub-category of vocal microphones, are still basically thought of as consumer products, and not as good as pro-sumer and professional level wired microphones. Fair enough, that same is probably still true, but the time has come to take notice of what companies like Audio Technica, Shure, AKG, CAD, and NADY are developing for the home studio. Audio Technicas AT2020 is a competitively priced large diaphragm USB microphone that sounds good enough to fool most home recording gurus.
Shures new X2u XLR-to-USB adapter is probably the most exciting development to come on the Pro Audio market in recent years. Finally, Shure has made possible what many of us have been wondering about since the first USB microphones started showing up. Home recording enthusiasts now have the option of being able connect their higher end vocal microphones with the Shure USB adapter and plug right into the PC or MAC with no preamp. This awesome development solves the connectivity issue and people are reporting pretty good results. This great little adapter is perfect for anyone who wants to simplify things in their studio, but still wants to use their collection of prized Sennheisers that they have accumulated over the years. The X2u adapter is perfect for multi-track audio recording and performs perfectly in headphones with zero latency.
If you have been gradually adding components to your setup over the years, its time to consider picking up a USB condenser microphone and see just how good the results you get on your next vocal track really are. You will be surprised at just how close the margin between price and performance has become.
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Orignal From: A Steady Evolution for USB Microphones
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