Opinion: Shotgun Mic Or Pc Mic?

H

homer

Well-known member
Hi,

I'm trying to figure out a way to do post production audio (voice overs, dubbing, sfx, etc).


I have a at4073a shotgun mic and I was thinking about using that and just getting an XLR to 1/8th cable and hooking it up....Well I tried that and it didn't work. Maybe it was the cable (got it off ebay, the guy said I needed a heavy duty cable, and he would supply it for an extra 7 bucks...I said no and got my refund).


Then I looked into it and I read that with amp issues I'd need to get a mixer as a middle man between the pc and shotgun. That seems expensive, I might as well just get a field mixer and get audio done semi pro.

SO now I'm considering just getting a mic meant for the computer and using that...Anyone else do this and get great quality out of their sound? what would you guys recommmend?
 
You could use an external preamp, and then run a line-level signal into the soundcard's line input. However, consumer sound cards are simply not built for recording or evaluative monitoring. Even if you are able to negotiate the lack of XLR inputs by using adapter cables, you're still left with a mess of noise from the card itself.

The market is flush with solid entry-level USB audio interfaces, and you'll be much farther ahead using one of those than trying to get a consumer soundcard to do what you want.
 
On a budget, that would work, I'd go with the first one since you can add your own cable and not rely on one that may break one day. USB cables are cheap.
It seems more sturdy too.
 
great yea, I'm going to guitar center/tweeter/tiger direct (store located near me) and see if they have it.

If not I'll order it online and post my experience with it. thanks again guys.
 
Remember that your A/T4073a mic requires phantom power - the USB cable won't supply it, the MXL adapeter says it does. Go with the adapter. I would be very surprised if it gave very good results but I might be wrong, what the heck, it's cheap enough to be worth trying.
 
yea definately. I learned the last time when I bought the thing from ebay. I assumed that it would know to get it from the computer, I guess not. The MXL got good reviews, I'll test it out myself. post my review of the product.
 
Ok so I got it!

the MXL Mic Mate for 50 bucks at guitar center


I'm pretty impressed with it. It works very easily and even in linux. There wasn't any noise when I did some tests and the range with my shotgun was good.

I would recommend it to anyone on a ultra low budget.
 
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