Which microphone do you use?

Hi,

To create our training courses, the use of the correct microphone is critical. When I began my journey on Udemy, I invested in the Blue Snowball USB Microphone. It is outstanding and works superb even today after six years of its regular use. I use it to record audio lectures.

With that said, as I progressed and started using a DSLR camera, I required another microphone that could connect to the camera. So, I purchased the Rode Video Mic Pro+. Its a compact directional shotgun microphone with an outstanding sound quality.

Some details of both these microphones are as below:

Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic for Recording and Streaming on PC and Mac, Cardioid Condenser Capsule (Price ~$40 on Amazon)

Rode VideoMic Pro+ Compact Directional On-Camera Shotgun Condenser Microphone (Price ~$265 on Amazon)

Which microphone do you use to record your video lectures? Share your thoughts.

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Comments

SAPBuddy

I use my little Samson Go USB Mic. I like it. Thanks for sharing @Rahul Iyer
.

Rahul Iyer

Nice.. i believe this microphone features two switchable patterns to select the right time of sound for a specific recording. Price is also very decent, slightly lesser than 100 dollars here in India. Thanks for sharing

Samson Go.png

SAPBuddy

Yes, it is very compact and easy to carry around.

Bella

What an amazing post @Rahul Iyer! Thanks for starting this thread and sharing your microphone suggestions. It's great that you included two types of microphones with vastly different prices. I look forward to seeing what other instructors use to record their courses.

Rahul Iyer

Thank you @Bella
appreciate the note!

FrankKane

I'm a Shure SM7B guy, paired with a "CloudLifter" box to boost its signal, and a "Blue Icicle" device to convert it to USB. It's more expensive than the other options listed so far, but not crazy-expensive like the professional-grade Neumann microphones.

It's a dynamic mic so it's not too sensitive to noise, and it sounds really rich.

StanVangild204

I use the Blue Yeti Nano on a boom arm. Nothing fancy, but I'm happy with the sound quality, it's affordable, and super easy to set up and use.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DTTGZ7M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rahul Iyer

That's awesome. Thanks for sharing @FrankKane

I believe your microphone and the blue icicle device will look like the below images:

Picture 1.jpg Picture 2.jpg

Very helpful

Rahul Iyer

Hey @StanVangild204
,

Thank you for sharing. I have added the picture of how your microphone may look. Looks brilliant and you have already mentioned it is wonderful. Also costs less than $100. Appreciate your note

Picture 1.jpg

FrankKane

Yup, that's it!

LawrenceMMiller

The mic you use is partly determined by how you shoot. I stand in front of a green screen and my camera is back abut 20 feet on a tripod. I use a wireless mic. I went through three different cheaper brands and finally decided to spend the $500 on a genuinely pro quality Sony transmitter and receiver. This has worked very well plugged into my Nikon z6ii camera.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1484178-REG/sony_uwp_d21_14_uwp_d21_camera_mount_wireless_omni.html

Rahul Iyer

Very unique @LawrenceMMiller
... Thank you for sharing I love these lavalier mics!

Picture 1.jpg

StanVangild204

Thanks, @Rahul Iyer
. There are lots of YouTube videos that compare microphones, so I encourage anyone to do their own research. AND I'm not an expert, BUT: Besides affordability and simplicity, what I love about this microphone is: 1) I can set it up and forget about it - as long as it's 6-18 inches from my mouth, it will sound great - I don't have to think about where it is as I move, and 2) This microphone gets criticized for how it picks up noise - some say you need a sound-proof studio to use it. I DO try to have a quiet environment, but I find that the noise reduction in my software (Camtasia) works very well to eliminate noises like fans, so NO, I don't need a sound studio. Would encourage anyone to try affordable gear like this when they are just getting started as an instructor.

Rahul Iyer

This is excellent @StanVangild204
Thank you for sharing the detailed insights. Very helpful!

LiamDavin1

I'm spoiled for choice when it comes to microphones, (I'm a Sound Engineer) I use an Audio Technica 4033 (condenser) plugged into a Focusrite Green 2 mic pre amp, and that's plugged into my audio interface.

Michael_D_Nwaogu

@Rahul Iyer
thank you for this post, this will help a lot, especially now that I am in the middle of it. I have added it up as No.2 on my priority list this month right away. Thank you.

Rahul Iyer

Wow @LiamDavin1
, Audio Technica is also the most recommended microphone of my favorite Podcaster and the world's richest affiliate marketer (Pat Flynn). Thank you for sharing!

Audio Technica.png

Rahul Iyer

Am glad that this post is helpful. Thank you for sharing your thoughts @Michael_D_Nwaogu

AHardin

My two primary mics are the Samson Q2U and Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB with a behringer mixer. I like how they both have USB and XLR interfaces. I originally started with a Blue Snowball iCE, but really like these two.

Salil Dhawan

I use a Maono AU-PM 420, works well, barely picks any noise, easy to set up and use.

VirajShetty265

I use Blue Yeti USB Mic. It does pick up noise when I record using Snagit but I eliminate the noise using iMovie.

ba0708

Shure SM7B -> XLR -> CloudLifter -> XLR -> Audient iD4 -> USB.

Rahul Iyer

Awesome microphone! Very professional

Picture 1.jpg Picture 2.jpg

Rahul Iyer

Wow! That's an awesome microphone

Picture 1.jpg

Rahul Iyer

Nice @VirajShetty265
... Looks like Blue Yeti is the first one to repeat its name in this list..

Picture 1.jpg

Rahul Iyer

Wow @ba0708
... That's an excellent set up. How much does this cost (in total)?

Picture 1.jpg Picture 2.jpg Picture 3.jpg

Dheeru

I have been using AT 2020 for my course and it has been pretty good. No complaints from students so far . Almost all my lectures are screencast.

Sometime ago I bought rode link lavalier. It is more expensive. That's mainly when I have to put myself in front of the camera, which is not very common at all. It is a good one, but I feel I am not getting the best out of it. Perhaps need to invest more time into its audio editing.

Rahul: Just would like to meander here. If possible, could you share what DSLR you are using along with the lenses. I just saw one of your promos -- Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course. I thought the quality was pretty good and would like to get to that level. I have used a Canon 200D with its default lenses, but I am not that happy with the quality - it looks like an amateur youtube video. I need to take it to the next level. If possible, pls let me know the DSLR and lense you are using. Thanks.

ba0708

It's great, yeah. Not sure what it costs because it depends on your country. I use the small CloudLifter with one XLR in/out as that's enough for me. Might be work checking if there's a newer version than iD4 since I bought that setup a number of years ago.

ba0708

For what it's worth, I used a Blue Yeti before switching to Shure SM7B. I found that it picked up way too much background noise because I wasn't recording in a treated or 100% silent room. If you can live with that, the Yeti is definitely a great mic for the price. Just something to consider.

Rahul Iyer

That's awesome @Dheeru
, AT2020, Blue Yeti and Shure microphones seem to be the most used of all. Excellent findings! Thank you for sharing.

And thank you for your kind feedback about the video quality. Love it when someone shares they liked your video. Below details should help:

Studio Setup: You will find my complete studio set up details in this link (just scroll down to my post): https://community.udemy.com/t5/Community-News/We-d-love-to-see-your-recording-space/bc-p/83490/highlight/true#M736
I think the video quality is good because of two reasons - hardware and software
Hardware: I use Canon 750D and lots of LED lighting. I would also suggest you take a moment to review my post-production set up in the link above. I think the desktop/laptop hardware also plays a decent role when you use high-end softwares (especially Premiere Pro)
Software: When I used Camtasia for video editing, the video quality was poor. However, as I switched to Premiere Pro, the quality became crisp and excellent. The video that you are referring to is edited in Premiere Pro.
Course Work: I also took a Premiere Pro Editing course on Udemy to get past its steep learning curve. The course name is "Adobe Premiere Pro CC - Essentials Training Course" by Daniel Walter Scott. The course is outstanding and I was able to steadily improve my video quality.

I know you had only asked about the type of camera. I have been using this camera for over an year. However, as I improved my post-production setup (software and hardware), the quality jumped by leaps and bounds. I hope this helps. Please do let me know if you have any additional questions