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yea I guess it is. Although that recording is 5 tracks layered on top of each other which might make it worse. As I said, not good enough to make a real recording, just play around with (or Skype in my case).
 
yippy said:
that recording is 5 tracks layered on top of each other which might make it worse.
that it would. and nothing at all against your friend's musical efforts, it's a nice song.
 
faintember said:
alright zimv20, et. all, can we figure out a good mic selection for this poster that is under, say $160? (heck, i am even curious as to the results now..lol)
there've been several in the $100 range mentioned. i think the trick is to find a useable mic, pre and converter for the stated $120 budget. oh, then there's cabling and monitoring (headphones?).

i fear that anything that cheap for cello will yield worse results than using a cello synthesizer patch.
 
So you dont think the Blue Snowball will do the job? I have a buddy that uses it to record himself practicing when he is on the road and he gets pretty decent results, although saxophone is fairly easy to mic with decent results. Either way, acoustic string instruments are some of the hardest to mic IMHO and all of my experience with them has been with feeding audio signal into a computer for manipulation, so a perfect sound source was not as important to me as the end result.

I agree about the cello synth patch probably being better than the sub $120 price range results, but if it really dosent help if you want to record yourself! :p ;)

i did want to say thanks to you though zimv20, as you clearly know mics and the like, and it is an area i could always learn more about.
 
faintember said:
So you dont think the Blue Snowball will do the job?
i've not used it, so i couldn't say. i'll note that it's more than $120, but if the budget were expanded to $140 for a mic, pre and converter, then, you're right, that's where i'd look first.

i've got the blue dragonfly and find it to be, how should i say it, a little temperamental. it'd be interesting to try it on cello, though it's not the first mic in my modest collection that i'd reach for.

i did want to say thanks to you though zimv20, as you clearly know mics and the like, and it is an area i could always learn more about.
nah, i'm just some guy. i've got a ton to learn, too.
 
zimv20 said:
i've not used it, so i couldn't say. i'll note that it's more than $120, but if the budget were expanded to $140 for a mic, pre and converter, then, you're right, that's where i'd look first.
Thats the beauty of the Snowball, USB connection, bus powered, no need for the pre and converter. (well no need for those items for it to just function.....lol) Hince, my reasoning for expanding the range to $140.
 
i was looking to spend about $100, but i'd be willing to go to the $140 for the snowball if you all seem to recommend it.



yippy said:
My friend made a recording with it that sounds ok.

i really didn't think that sounded so bad. if you think the snowball will sound better than that, i think i'd be happy
 
buffalo said:
i really didn't think that sounded so bad. if you think the snowball will sound better than that, i think i'd be happy
i'd be surprised if the snowball did not sound a good bit better.
 
well I'm thinking I'll probably go ahead and get the snowball, unless you knolegeable folks suggest a different mic for around the same price ~$150. I'll probably make somekind of purchase within a week, and whenever I get something I'll be sure to post a sample of how it turned out.
 
buffalo said:
well I'm thinking I'll probably go ahead and get the snowball, unless you knolegeable folks suggest a different mic for around the same price ~$150.
understand that you're not buying just a mic, you're buying a mic w/ a built-in preamp and analog/digital converter. also understand that, though it serves your immediate needs, should you decide to grow your studio by buying a mixing board and external converters, you won't be able to use the snowball with that stuff, as its sole connector is USB.

that doesn't make it a bad purchase, just one that won't grow with you, if that ends up being your path. but for now, you're going to blow your budget if you spend $150 on just a mic.

does that make sense?
 
zimv20 said:
understand that you're not buying just a mic, you're buying a mic w/ a built-in preamp and analog/digital converter. also understand that, though it serves your immediate needs, should you decide to grow your studio by buying a mixing board and external converters, you won't be able to use the snowball with that stuff, as its sole connector is USB.

that doesn't make it a bad purchase, just one that won't grow with you, if that ends up being your path. but for now, you're going to blow your budget if you spend $150 on just a mic.

does that make sense?

made sense.


i doubt i'll ever need more than this mic. i've never considered making cello or music a career, just something to have fun with. although i'm good for my age (atleast, counting out the child prodigy kids who pratice 3+ hours a day :), i can't see my level of playing get great enough that I would want to blow lots of cash on a recording system


edit: by good, I mean above average... I'm in my 6th year of playing, take private lessons, but should be practicing more than i do.
 
buffalo said:
well I'm thinking I'll probably go ahead and get the snowball, unless you knolegeable folks suggest a different mic for around the same price ~$150. I'll probably make somekind of purchase within a week, and whenever I get something I'll be sure to post a sample of how it turned out.
buffalo,
I use the SnowBall everyday in my "Home Brew" voiceover studio with great results. I wrote a review of the SnowBall on Studio-Central and you can read it here. I think that for $140 you just cant beat it.

Kindest Regards,
 
macbodock said:
buffalo,
I use the SnowBall everyday in my "Home Brew" voiceover studio with great results. I wrote a review of the SnowBall on Studio-Central and you can read it here. I think that for $140 you just cant beat it.

Kindest Regards,

thanks for the review,

so to confirm (a few dumb questions)...
the snowball doesn't come with a USB cable so would something like this work? if not, what will i need?

the recorder does not have to be connected to the mac at the time of recording, correct? i'm thinking i'd probably do any recording in the basement where it's very quiet, and since my imac is in my room, that will not cause any problems...
 
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buffalo said:
thanks for the review,
so to confirm (a few dumb questions)...
the snowball doesn't come with a USB cable so would something like this work? if not, what will i need?
the recorder does not have to be connected to the mac at the time of recording, correct? i'm thinking i'd probably do any recording in the basement where it's very quiet, and since my imac is in my room, that will not cause any problems...
buffalo,
Glad that you like the review and looks as if it has helped. Not a dumb question at all. What your gonna need is Microphone (SnowBall or CO1U...Get the SnowBall for an extra money it is well worth it.). USB cable (looks like the right one above). A mic stand (SnowBall has a standard tread for mic stands). You may want to invest in a boom for the mic stand as well. Now for the bad news the USB cable has to be plugged into your iMac and into the USB Microphone in order to record into Garage Band. If you choose the SnowBall use it in postion 2 this will engage the -10db pad and you can record right next to your iMAC. If you get to much echo you may have to move it to the basement. Hope this helps!

Kindest Regards,
 
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macbodock said:
buffalo,
Glad that you like the review and looks as if it has helped. Not a dumb question at all. What your gonna need is Microphone (SnowBall or CO1U...Get the SnowBall for an extra money it is well worth it.). USB cable (looks like the right one above). A mic stand (SnowBall has a standard tread for mic stands). You may want to invest in a boom for the mic stand as well. Now for the bad news the USB cable has to be plugged into your iMac and into the USB Microphone in order to record into Garage Band. If you choose the SnowBall use it in postion 2 this will engage the -10db pad and you can record right next to your iMAC. If you get to much echo you may have to move it to the basement. Hope this helps!

Kindest Regards,


thinking about it, recording in my room would be fine. what is a boom for the stand?



thanks for the help
 
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