Unless you plan to create a music only podcast, a microphone is usually an integral part in a podcaster’s toolbox.

Live-air recording takes the majority of the time in a podcast show, so it is wise if you choose a good quality equipment to produce at least a higher standard of recording. Fortunately this is very affordable and well within the budget of anyone who are interested in starting their own podcast or generally voice recording.

Introduction

A mic converts sound waves to electrical impulses for the preamp or audio interface to read. This electrical signals are then read by audio recorder software and stored into digital format.

Most of the time, the mic that comes with your computer — the one bundled with cheap sound cards — is not even appropriate for moderate use because it is just of very poor quality. It introduces too much unnecessary noises.

An acceptable quality recording can be produced from a relatively inexpensive microphone. So there is no reason why you can’t record a crisp podcast if you equip your podcast gear with a carefully chosen mic.

Types of Microphones

There are many types of microphone technologies available. The first way to categorize them is by the type of transducers. Just for your information, a transducer is the heart of the mic which converts sound waves into electronic signals.

• Dynamic microphone: this type of mic doesn’t require a battery or external power source to operate. Sound waves travel into the mic and vibrate a delicate membrane attached to a fine induction coil. The coil is positioned in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. Fluctuations produce varying current in the form of electrical output.
• Condenser microphone: this mic is very sensitive. A thin diaphragm is positioned very closely to an electrical charge plate creating capacitance when the diaphragm moves toward and away from the plate. A condenser mic requires batteries or phantom power to operate.

Another way to categorize microphones is by the shape of the pickup patterns:

• Cardioid (heart shaped): this is the most common and accept sound from the front.
• Hyper cardiod: increases the pickup pattern by enlarging the cardioid shape.
• Shotgun: commonly used in video applications, able to pickup sound from the distance.
• Bi-directional (figure 8 - eight): work great for interview when two persons are facing each other.
• Omni-directional: capture sound from multi-direction and is appropriate for capturing large group of people but also prone to feedback.

Choosing a Microphone to Record Podcasts

For voice recording, you probably don’t need a high precision mic. That would only be necessary for recording acoustic guitar. However, this podcasting rig is not to be taken lightly.

For voice, you can be more than satisfied with a dynamic microphone. It can save you some money and the hassles of replacing old batteries on condenser mic.

Of course, if you need to capture as many details as possible, you can always go for a condenser microphone. As I said it is not required for voice recording, especially if you will encode your audio files at lower quality for smaller size and faster transfer over the Internet.

Plan for a budget starting from $50 to $200 for a good quality podcasting recording studio microphone. My own experience has proven that while you can get a better quality voice with higher quality — and more expensive — microphone, you’d better save for the second mic (for use for an interview), other equipment or software.

Shure SM57LC and SM58LC are two of the most well-known microphones on the market. Every amateur and professional band will recognize this mic. Not only they are very common but also extremely durable, light in weight, and sound very good. Both SM57 and SM58 cost no more than $100, and are appropriate for a wide range of music applications and sound engineering including vocals, snare drums and many others.

An affordable condenser microphone cost $50 to $100. For podcasting, you don’t have to waste more than $200 to get the realism and accuracy because those are not required unless you are publishing your own music or song. This is a sample of good quality condenser microphone, a Behringer B1 Single Diaphragm.

About USB Microphones

I recommend against buying a USB mic unless you have a specific requirement to plug the mic into USB port. Even a laptop usually provides a 1/8″ jack for mic.

Not because they are of low quality but more about compatibility. You can’t plug a USB mic into a computer that have its USB ports occupied by other devices.

USB might be more flexible and still not as common as the standard 1/8″, 1/4″ or XLR jack available on most audio interfaces and mixers. The converters for these types of jacks are also very common.

On the other hand, a USB mic can be very convenient if you just need a basic voice recording capability. In this case, you can plug the mic into your laptop anywhere, fire a digital audio workstation program and start recording.

Some Other Tips

Free your hand during a podcast recording session. You can’t go wrong with a stand-mount or stand holder (clip) to hold your microphone.

Some mics come with a standard cable. Pay attention to the type of connection so it fits in your audio interface or mixer well. Otherwise you must buy a converter for it to work with your existing devices.

You might be astounded by how the fact that a good quality microphone can make a difference to your recording. Plug a good mic into a low quality or on-board sound interface and compare the results with a low quality mic.

Ask for other experiences before buying a mic. If you have seen a good deal somewhere, especially for the type of mic you have zero experience with, consider the return policy carefully.

To easily receive updates on podcast and podcasting articles, subscribe to Podcasting Scout today.