Mic advice for camtasia...

[Daniel Deegan]

Hey all, I'm looking for any warrior audio gurus to give me some advice along with some feedback. I'm looking to get a nice microphone to record camtasia videos and other material that will rely heavily on audio.

I know I want something good, but I don't need the super professional stuff. I want to record clear audio with reduced pops, hissing and background noise.

Background noise is a problem, because the current pc I'm using has some monster fan cooling action going on. I would love some kind of sound proof dome I can put on my head or upper half of my body to record audio, (i know it sounds silly) but I don't think anything like this exists.

A video course I have recommends the MXL 990 USB for a good starter mic, here's a link to it - Buy MXL MXL 990 USB Powered Condenser Microphone | Condenser Microphones | USB Microphones | Musician's Friend

So I'm thinking the mic above with a pop filter is a good choice? I'd really like to hear opinions from more experienced warriors.. If your going to suggest some normal headset, don't bother..I been there done that.

[oortcloud]

sound proof dome, no problem there.

What you need is the "cone of silence"

Here is a demo

YouTube - Get Smart - The Cone Of Silence

[Daniel Deegan]

Funny stuff. Even funnier is that I would actually buy something along those lines...

[Troy McDonald]

There also is a software solution to remove unwanted noises, not cheap, but comes in handy.

SoundSoap: BIAS SoundSoap 2

There is other software out there that will help you to remove background noise (that is constant), but can't remember what it was called.

But here is a suggestion to follow when recording:

When starting to record, always be quiet and let the microphone pick up an ambient noise it will for about 2-3 seconds. You can then use this "noise signature" to remove it from your audio. (In soundsoap or other software that supports this feature.)

[Daniel Deegan]

Thanks Troy, that's a very handy tip.

[oortcloud]

Hehe, seriously a cone of silence over you would make an echo. If your computer is the source of your noise why dont you put something over the computer. A box or blanket, just for the recording. If the recording isnt that long I dont think your computer would overheat.
Keep in mind you arent recording a song, you are recording information. I think people understand a certain amount of background noise. Check out a Kern video, there always seems to be a truck going by when he is shooting a clip.
I think you should just get the mic and record a clip and then listen to it over your computer speakers (not headphones) and then determine at that time if there is too much noise. You might be spending time worrying ahed of time about something that isnt a problem.

[Daniel Deegan]

Hey Oortcloud, thanks for the reply. This isn't something I'm really worried about it's just something I've wanted to improve for awhile now.Speaking of Frank I do wonder what kind of mic Kern is using...

[Josh Anderson]

I use an mxl Mic Mate usb preamp which I picked up for $50 at Guitar Center and an Audio Technica AT3035 with a shock mount which I picked up on ebay for $139 and a mic stand with boom which I picked up from guitar center for around $40 and which I can position at around forhead height in front of me when I do screen capture.

it gives me rich clean sound and no pops because it is not in the direct line of spit :-)

At the end of this video I show and talk about both the MXL Mic Mate and the Audio technica cardiod mic:

Asterpix Interactive Video - Hot Spot Video Demo - Asterpix Pro

[Daniel Deegan]

Finally Josh is here. I was hoping I'd see a post by you in this thread. Thanks for the advice, I'm going to have to look into the options you mentioned. Just wondering do you know anything positive or negative regarding the mic I linked to in my original post?

[angela99]

Before I started creating podcasts and screencasts etc I researched mics pretty thoroughly. I wanted a mic which I could take anywhere, and I found it in my Snowflake-- Blue Microphones: Products: Snowflake

I've been using it for four months. It's great. I just plug it into the USB port on whichever computer I'm using. It's very portable, sounds good, not expensive, and solidly built -- I'm sure it's going to last me for years.

It's so much fun to use I use it for everything: Skype, sending audio message to people as I review their writing, even creating little audio notes to myself. :-)

Highly recommended.

Cheers

Angela

[Josh Anderson]

Just wondering do you know anything positive or negative regarding the mic I linked to in my original post?

You will probably be happy with it... never used it myself. However I prefer the flexibility of having the MXL mic mate which lets me use any mic and since it connects xlr mics to usb that means that I can use the mic with other xlr connected devices as well.