Ben Lubar needs a new microphone
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Here's what I currently have:
What type of microphone should I buy? Either a desk microphone or a headset would be fine.
@blakeyrat, I think you suggested one to me a while ago, but I can't remember where.
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cannot recommend highly enough for the "i need a decent USB microphone and i want it to sound pretty good but i'm not made of money, can we keep it sub 100$ please" market segment.
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Desktop:
Maybe a little pricey, but does a great job and is extremely directional (you can place it pretty much in front of your speakers and you won't get feedback).
Headset:
If you don't want to spring for a condenser mic, this is one of the best bang-for-your-buck headsets you can get.
Note that if you get a desktop microphone, a pop filter is required. (Not optional. Get a pop filter.) They're dirt cheap on Amazon, or you can be a Red Green redneck and make one with some cheesecloth or a pair of nylons (any type of cloth that's stretchy) and a coat hanger or some other wire. If you build your own, just make sure it's not rigidly attached to the microphone itself so it won't transmit vibrations down the wire-- either make it freestanding on the desk, or use a clamp & flexible arm arrangement like the one I linked there.
If you use a headset, and this is important, do not position the microphone directly in front of your mouth. Yes, it looks like that's where it's supposed to go, but unless you're in a helicopter or football stadium or some other super-loud environment, that's a recipe to be spitting directly into the mic. (Or worse, having it pick up your breathing, which sounds disgusting. Don't be this guy.) Keep it to the side of your mouth-- basically point the microphone wand out of the path of your spittle.
And needless to say, do not rub your microphone against objects or I will murder you.
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@blakeyrat said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
Desktop:
Maybe a little pricey, but does a great job and is extremely directional (you can place it in front of your speakers and you won't get feedback).
Headset:
https://www.amazon.com/Mad-Catz-F-R-Q-5-Headset/dp/B006XG26GQ
If you don't want to spring for a condenser mic, this is one of the best bang-for-your-buck headsets you can get.
Note that if you get a desktop microphone, a pop filter is required. (Not optional. Get a pop filter.) They're dirt cheap on Amazon, or you can be a Red Green redneck and make one with some cheesecloth or a pair of nylons (any type of cloth that's stretchy) and a coat hanger or some other wire.
If you use a headset, and this is important, do not position the microphone directly in front of your mouth. Yes, it looks like that's where it's supposed to go, but unless you're in a helicopter or football stadium or some other super-loud environment, that's a recipe to be spitting directly into the mic. (Or worse, having it pick up your breathing, which sounds disgusting.) Keep it to the side of your mouth-- basically point the microphone wand out of the path of your spittle.
And needless to say, do not rub your microphone against objects or I will murder you.
I'll sort-of second this. After I asked a similar question in the Status thread when I pondered getting into streaming regularly, I started researching some of these mics and the Yeti seems to be a damned good one (that I will likely end up purchasing along with a pop filter and boom arm to mount to my desk once I get paid again and/or sort out the rest of my holiday shopping for other people).
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@blakeyrat This one is $10 cheaper than the one you linked. Is there a difference apart from color?
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@ben_lubar Probably not.
BTW this is a cheap-ish way to get Vegas:
Humble VEGAS Pro Bundle: Creative Freedom
Pay what you want for a bundle of software and support charity!
It looks like the "Pro Edit" version does not include video filters, but I'm not sure exactly what that includes. (Like... is that just stuff like adding artificial film grain? Or does it also apply to filter like chromakey? Not sure.)
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@blakeyrat I probably don't need a full-blown video editor for what I'm doing right now. I should look into whether OBS or ffmpeg support ducking in an easy way, though. (I already have OBS set to record the microphone and game audio on separate tracks, and I have whatever game I'm recording go through a virtual sound card so I don't get notification sounds in my videos.)
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@ben_lubar If you want to do auto-ducking in real time, there's a product literally called Auto-Duck In Real Time.
It's cheap and does exactly what it says on the box, and it was coded simply by taking advantage of the mixer already built-in to Windows, and when you see how it works you'll slap your forehead and say "why didn't I think of writing a program like this?" At least if you're like me.
If you want to do post-production ducking, I believe audacity can either do it, or has a plug-in that enables it to do it, but I've never looked into it myself. (I've used Vegas' auto-ducking before, and it works pretty well. BTW ducking is not something you want to do manually if you can at all avoid it.)
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@blakeyrat said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@ben_lubar If you want to do auto-ducking in real time, there's a product literally called Auto-Duck In Real Time.
It's cheap and does exactly what it says on the box, and it was coded simply by taking advantage of the mixer already built-in to Windows, and when you see how it works you'll slap your forehead and say "why didn't I think of writing a program like this?" At least if you're like me.
If you want to do post-production ducking, I believe audacity can either do it, or has a plug-in that enables it to do it, but I've never looked into it myself. (I've used Vegas' auto-ducking before, and it works pretty well. BTW ducking is not something you want to do manually if you can at all avoid it.)
I don't want to do it during recording unless it also saves a copy of the un-ducked original audio channels, because there might be a case where I want to alter the audio after the fact, or something could break and I'd be stuck with the broken version.
I wrote this bat file, which I believe should work, but I can't test it until my Windows PC finishes updating (78% currently, hopefully it actually works this time) because the source files for the two episodes are on the internal SSD.
bash -c "exec ffmpeg -i ""$1"" -filter_complex '[0:a:2]asplit=2[sc][mic];[0:a:1][sc]sidechaincompress[game];[game][mic]amerge' -map 0:v -c:v copy -movflags +faststart ""${1%.*}.mp4""" -- "%1"(Yes, that is a batch file that runs a bash script that immediately replaces itself with another program. I have ffmpeg installed through LXSS, and I'm not entirely sure whether I can run a shell script by dragging a file onto it.)
Also, while I was researching this, I saw some articles online claiming that YouTube can't process MP4 files until they're fully uploaded, even if they're encoded in "fast start" (the MOOV atom (whatever that is) is at the start instead of the end) mode. I hope that's not still true, but if it is, I can just change
mp4tomkvin that script and it should work. With my upload speed, it probably doesn't matter either way.
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@ben_lubar How long have you had that thing? I remember having one that looked exactly like that which came from a Gateway 2000 computer in 1999.
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@the_quiet_one said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@ben_lubar How long have you had that thing? I remember having one that looked exactly like that which came from a Gateway 2000 computer in 1999.
I don't remember getting it. I think it's been here longer than I have.
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@the_quiet_one said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@ben_lubar How long have you had that thing? I remember having one that looked exactly like that which came from a Gateway 2000 computer in 1999.
It was a pretty common mic design in the mid-90s or maybe even earlier.
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@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
Also, while I was researching this, I saw some articles online claiming that YouTube can't process MP4 files until they're fully uploaded, even if they're encoded in "fast start" (the MOOV atom (whatever that is) is at the start instead of the end) mode. I hope that's not still true,
The point of contention would be "can't" versus "don't". My guess is they "don't", but in theory "can".
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Ok, so:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014PYGYRE/ref=twister_B076MLQMPZ?_encoding=UTF8&th=1 white microphone = $90
black microphone = $100
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0747X8QZH/ref=twister_B076MLQMPZ?_encoding=UTF8&th=1 black microphone plus assassin's creed game = $85I bought the one that includes the Assassin's Creed game that's worth $-15.
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@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
I bought the one that includes the Assassin's Creed game that's worth $-15.
Yeah but it comes with UPlay, so that's a $-25 value!!!
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@blakeyrat That's the only thing I hate about several games (Rainbow Six Siege, Anno 2070/2205 off the top of my head)...they're tied to that monstrosity of a platform.
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@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
I bought the one that includes the Assassin's Creed game that's worth $-15,000.
You forgot some zeros, i added them for you.
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@accalia said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
You forgot some zeros, i added them for you.
why? zeros after the decimal symbol are irrelevant
nationalistic
activated
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@accalia said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
I bought the one that includes the Assassin's Creed game that's worth $-15,000.
You forgot some zeros, i added them for you.
Oh, come on. Origins may be the worst mainline Assassin's Creed game since the original - or possibly even ever - but it's not that bad.
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@unperverted-vixen said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@accalia said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
I bought the one that includes the Assassin's Creed game that's worth $-15,000.
You forgot some zeros, i added them for you.
Oh, come on. Origins may be the worst mainline Assassin's Creed game since the original - or possibly even ever - but it's not that bad.
meh. it's not assassins creed that makes it so nevative value, it's the fact that you have to install origin on your PC to play the game.
oh and uplay
oh and just EA in general.
Fuck EA.
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@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@blakeyrat This one is $10 cheaper than the one you linked. Is there a difference apart from color?
When I look at those, the one Ben linked is 10 cheaper now. It's normal price is 30 more.
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I'm assuming the game won't be tied to my Amazon account, so I can just give it to someone in the thread we use for that type of thing. We'll see tomorrow when it's scheduled to arrive.
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@accalia said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
origin
EAReally? It's a Ubisoft game, and like you mentioned they already have Uplay. Why would it need Origin, or involve EA in any way?
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@blakeyrat said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
Keep it to the side of your mouth-- basically point the microphone wand out of the path of your spittle.
So what you're saying is
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/I_move_away_from_the_mic_to_breathe_in.jpg
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@dcon said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
@blakeyrat This one is $10 cheaper than the one you linked. Is there a difference apart from color?
When I look at those, the one Ben linked is 10 cheaper now. It's normal price is 30 more.
I don't care about "regular" prices because:
- It might always be on "sale"
- I'm not purchasing a subscription to "expensive hardware monthly"
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Ok, the microphone, $-15 game, and pop filter should be arriving today, but I just read this Q&A and I might need additional parts?
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@ben_lubar I lost it on
That depends - are you planning on mounting it?
(because it works so well in the context of the thread, or as a serious reply)
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@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
Here's what I currently have:
Jesus. I think I had one of those in high school, and that was not a recent time.
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@ben_lubar said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
Here's what I currently have:
Wow... I think I have the same one... Somewhere...
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@hungrier said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
Why would it need Origin, or involve EA in any way?
Update: I can confirm it doesn't need any of that, just Uplay.
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@ben_lubar This is my worry. I think between the boom arm and the shock mount I got I should be able to get this put where I want it...now I just need to worry that the included USB cable may not be long enough, but we'll see tomorrow (provided Amazon's delivery estimates are accurate)
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@e4tmyl33t said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
This is my worry.
Ben L makes the rare actually funny joke, and people still whoosh on it. Huh.
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@e4tmyl33t said in Ben Lubar needs a new microphone:
I think between the boom arm and the shock mount I got I should be able to get this put where I want it...
Given what question was linked to and your response… well, that's definitely one for @Perverted_Vixen and possibly a Darwin Award Nomination too.
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@blakeyrat Thing is, I SAW that question when I was buying the mic, I remember laughing at it...yet I never clicked Ben's link, so I thought it serious.
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And now I'm beginning to rethink something. Just got an email from the seller of the shock mount I bought saying that apparently there was a batch of Yetis made that have a thread hole 1/16" bigger than it's supposed to be, meaning the 5/8" mounting screw on the shock mount/boom arm won't properly fit.
Guess I'll cross my fingers and see, as well as see if I have any plumber's tape laying around anywhere to possibly beef up that if I get one of the baddies.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
