Audio Quality Questions

James,

Audio quality also depends on the location of the mic reletive to your mouth. You want the mic to be above your mouth or below it so your breath doesn't create windage and spikes that effects the audio.

If you are putting the mic directly in the path of your breath try moving it up or down.

~Bill

The sound quality is affected by the quality of the microphone, but more so by the quality of the pre-amplifier.

What do I mean? A microphone puts out a tiny, very weak signal that must be amplified twice before it can be used. The first stage of amplification is called a mic pre-amp – often called a mic-pre. Your sound card has a cheap mic-pre build in. So do home quality video cameras.

Pro quality mic pres can run in the cost range of $500 to $3,000 or $4,000. Yow!

I suspect Andy uses the same pro videographer as does Frank Kern. The wireless mic Andy is wearing sends a signal to a receiver which contains a mic-pre. A good quality wireless runs anywhere from $400 to $1,200 dollars. And the pro-quality video camera has line input jacks that bypass any internal mic-pre.

That said, there are podcast microphones made to plug into your computer’s USB port, that should give you the kind of sound you want. I think the one from AKG and the one from Rode would do what you need, and do so without an external mic-pre.

USB Microphones | Sweetwater.com

I am not an affiliate of sweetwater.

Something I have used a couple of times is an Olympus LS-10 placed about a foot from my mouth, and I then add the audio into Camtasia. I am not an affiliate of B&H.

Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Field Recorder 2GB with SD Slot 141970

A friend of mine has the new Zoom H1, and it does as good a job for making audio and adding it to the PP show in Camtasia.

Zoom H1 Handy Recorder | Sweetwater.com

A USB mic will probably give you the sound you want.

:-Don

Hi,
Audio Tecnica, Rode and AKG all make nice mic's.
They specialise in audio transducers.

Logitech do a decent mouse...

What Bill said also applies - there are techniques involved in recording clean audio.

The video you posted exhibits 'sibilance'. i.e. a distortion on the letter 'S' (probably on 'F' and 'T' too.). If this happens to you try re-adjusting the mic position.

The 'windage' referred to is also sometimes called a 'plosive' and happens when the letter 'B' or 'P' is used (it doesn't happen on the posted video).

The plosive happens when a burst of exhaled air hits the mic. Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say Bobby! You'll feel the burst of air that can cause the problem. It appears as a kind of 'boom' on your recorded audio.


If you experience that - move the mic slightly further away. If that does not cure it, buy or improvise a 'pop shield'.

Hope all that is useful to you...
K

Kev is right about that. You can also minimize plosives by talking across the face of the mic so the air from the plosives don't strike the front surface of the mic.

It sounds like Andy just used the wireless mic. Some mic-pres have other gizmos attached which turns the pre into what is called a channel strip. De-essing is usually one of those "gizmos' used to lower the volume level on any silibant sounds. But this is getting into some real money and is probably beyond most podcasting. It is common in studios and radio stations.

:-Don

Blue Yeti desktop USB condensor mic is a solid choice for a c-note.

Blue Microphones | Yeti - The Ultimate Professional USB Microphone