J.M. Black – Media Shenanigans!

Hello hello!

Quick post this week! I’ve been researching budget podcast setups for a friend, and in the process have been testing microphones! Let’s chat mics for a sec!

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The needs for the project as I know them are there needs to be five participants covered, and the recording space won’t be fully treated. With that in mind, dynamic mics were my first thought – good at pulling voice to the forefront and not taking in too much of the sound of the room.

I remember listening to a fantastic interview with Dirk Maggs, who spoke about the accessibility of radio drama as a medium – in the sense that kit can be relatively cheap and produce good results. He cited the Shure SM58 as a good starting mic. I’d already heard of it by its legendary reputation, so did some reading up then got some good use out of it.

But I already knew what this mic could do! And the price bracket is still around £100 (though you can get one for less used), so I did wonder if we could go lower.

Here are a couple mics I’ve recently used for the first time, and am getting to know better! The tests are extracts from Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson) and the audio had a limiter at -4db when recorded, but is otherwise unprocessed.

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Sennheiser XS1

This mic is lovely. Price point is pretty low, sub £50, and it has a warm presence. The reproduction of the voice may be a little strong in the low end, but I like the way it sounds. Could see myself doing vox pops on the street with this, and I just might one day!

The XS1 has a frequency response range of 55Hz-16kHz, an XLR connection, and records in a cardioid polar pattern.

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FIFINE AM8

This one’s good for value too – laying between £50 and £70. The LEDs on the bottom do give away that this is marketed to live streamers who want decent audio quality at a fairly reasonable price. Honestly I kinda dig them! Though they only work when plugged in as a USB mic. I did find myself really liking this one too, quality wise it feels like it’ll last. As an aside I definitely may use this for online voice calls, I had friends complimenting how clear it sounded.

The AM8 has a frequency response range of 50Hz-16KHz, XLR and USB connections, and records in a cardioid polar pattern.

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I’m still testing other microphones for this upcoming project, the SM7B is on my list to check out – after seeing and hearing it by reputation in many video/audio podcasts online. I’m mostly just enjoying being able to test these microphones and get hands on with new kit – it’s all very exciting! Will definitely be back here if I do this again.

As a side note, I am also using the Zoom H8 for the first time to record these tests, and was pleasantly surprised. Very sturdy, 6 inputs, limiters, multiple record modes (if you’re a musician or podcaster there are separate screens, though I found myself using the field recording mode most). It’s delightful! It also looks like a weird insect, which I’ll always love.

Until the next time, dear reader, stay dynamic!

-J

Joke of the Day:

Q: What’s a pirate’s favourite audio cable?

A: XL-RRRRRRRRRR!