I am looing for a good mic for random recording. I would like to use it for twitch, voice overs, vocals and acoustic guitar. I have done some shopping and have narrowed it down to 3.
Samson Meteor Mic
Blue Microphones Yeti
Blue Microphones SnowballIf anyone has experience with these or any other condenser mic that is under $100 let me know.
Actually have used all of them, played with them a lot, and did a lot of side by side comparisons. Here is my take:
The Samson definitely offers the best value as far as sound quality goes. It is also very small by comparison and simply just offers great sound quality for the price for a USB mic. The Snowball by comparison sounded 'cheaper', almost webcam like at times and really didn't sound any better than my Logitech C920 webcam! The Samson Meteor had a much fuller and richer sound, which actually very VERY close to how the Blue Yeti sounded. The Yeti gained the advantage over the Samson with the additional features it offered in different directional options via a selector knob in the back. The knobs on all the mics did feel cheap and plasticy, but they worked, though being on the mic did present the problem of being heard while adjusting.
Overall, if you want the best sound quality, the Yeti or Samson Meteor offered the best solution. The Meteor also had the advantage of being MUCH smaller than the Yeti, less than half it's size. The Yeti, by comparison, is HUGE. I seriously underestimated the size of the Yeti, and was one of the biggest turn-offs for me on it. It is big and heavy, while the Samson was the smallest, even a lot smaller than the Snowball. Between the Yeti and Meteor, I would pick the Meteor if I didn't care about the directional features on the Yeti. If that is a big deal for you, then the Yeti is worth it. Honestly skip the Snowball all-together.
The setup I run now though is a Monoprice 600800 mic, Rode mic arm, fed to a Behringer 802 mixer, which I have mix-minus fed into my onboard sound (ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z). LOVE the setup more as it gives me more control over everything. If you plan on doing anything serious, using a mixer is going to be in your future. Overall, the setup cost about $250 excluding cables. I would start with the Samson though, and build up from there. For how cheap it is, you really can't go wrong, and even if you upgrade in the future, you will always find a good use for a small, cheap USB mic with great sound quality.
What does have a much larger effect on the sound quality will be things like positioning, shock mounts, pop filters, and such. Here is a sample of what my setup sounds like with the equalizer set neutral, and the only thing changing is the distance, and whether or not I use a pop filter.
The blue yeti is easily one of the best USB mics I have ever used. Its surprisingly clear, has a number of settings as far as stereo, cardioid, omni, and mono. If you hunt you can often find it for very good prices on B&H and EBay.
Awesome information man, thanks. I am going to get the Blue Yeti. The Samson is 69.99 and Yeti 85.99 on amazon right now and think it will be worth the extra $15.00 for the extra features the Yeti offers. I will definitely look into a shock mount and pop filter. Do you have any recommendations in that aspect? I have heard a cheap pop filter will work just as well as a more pricey one. As for shock mounts I haven't shopped around much yet and don't know much in the area. Thanks again.
I would just use what it comes with to start, and then think about how you would like the mic to be positioned from there. The Rode mic desk arm I am using mounts to the desk, so not very mobile, but very sturdy and moves in any way I want it to ($100). Blue makes a shock mount for the Yeti ($52), and a pop filter that is very stylish ($25). A pop filter is a pop filter, so yeah, even cheap ones will work just fine, but that is one thing I would definitely recommend! As far as the shock mount and stand, that is something that is a little more pricy, and won't benefit you as much, especially since you may change your mind on where you want the mic positioned. The arm I have works great, but with that in mind, you obviously can not move it around.
If you are playing instruments, it would probably be beneficial to get a floor mic stand so you can position the mic better. The problem with this I found is that cheap stands simply can not hold the weight of condenser mics when extended, and the Yeti is among the heavier ones. That is why I am saying for now just use the metal stand and a pop filter, and you should be good for a long time; you may even find you don't want to use a stand. Just see what works best for you.
Also a word of advice, when using USB mics, try and use a USB 2.0 port, as I have had some trouble with USB 3.0 ports making the audio cut in and out. Some motherboards do it, some do not, but it is a issue I've had in the past that was solved simply by swapping the plug from USB 3.0 --> USB 2.0.