Hey, I was wondering which of these two would be the better choice. I like how the ModMic is detachable, but I don't like how the clasp has to be stuck on my headphones. Would the snowball be worth the higher price?
ModMic vs. Blue Microphones Snowball?
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Hardware
Hey, I was wondering which of these two would be the better choice. I like how the ModMic is detachable, but I don't like how the clasp has to be stuck on my headphones. Would the snowball be worth the higher price?
Haven't been impressed by the sound quality of any snowball users I've heard. It seems like to get it to pick you up properly the gain has to be really high (which then picks up room echo / background noise) or you have to be really close to it which is awkward since it's huge.
On the other hand, the Modmic is somewhat dependent on your soundcard quality since it's just 3.5mm rather than USB.
Haven't been impressed by the sound quality of any snowball users I've heard. It seems like to get it to pick you up properly the gain has to be really high (which then picks up room echo / background noise) or you have to be really close to it which is awkward since it's huge.
On the other hand, the Modmic is somewhat dependent on your soundcard quality since it's just 3.5mm rather than USB.
On the other hand, the Modmic is somewhat dependent on your soundcard quality since it's just 3.5mm rather than USB.
motherboard: asrock z77 extreme4
With modmic: http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin/b/329861258
With snowball: http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin/b/339165057
modmic needs boost which means white noise but its covered up by in game sounds.
snowball has the issues atmo described above. if you're too far away from the snowball it sounds like you fell down a well and can't get out.
motherboard: asrock z77 extreme4
With modmic: http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin/b/329861258
With snowball: http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin/b/339165057
modmic needs boost which means white noise but its covered up by in game sounds.
snowball has the issues atmo described above. if you're too far away from the snowball it sounds like you fell down a well and can't get out.
With modmic: http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin/b/329861258
With snowball: http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin/b/339165057
modmic needs boost which means white noise but its covered up by in game sounds.
snowball has the issues atmo described above. if you're too far away from the snowball it sounds like you fell down a well and can't get out.
From my experience you'll want a headset mic if you'll be talking in mumble or something since desktop mics pick up more background noises. My blue yeti is a lot better in audio quality but I can't use it while playing because it'll just pick up a lot of my keyboard strokes and even my mouse clicks. I mean, I could have set this up terribly.
I use my headset for comms/while gaming and my blue yeti for post production videos or when I'm not extensively using my keyboard.
From my experience you'll want a headset mic if you'll be talking in mumble or something since desktop mics pick up more background noises. My blue yeti is a lot better in audio quality but I can't use it while playing because it'll just pick up a lot of my keyboard strokes and even my mouse clicks. I mean, I could have set this up terribly.
I use my headset for comms/while gaming and my blue yeti for post production videos or when I'm not extensively using my keyboard.
I use my headset for comms/while gaming and my blue yeti for post production videos or when I'm not extensively using my keyboard.
honestly, if you are going to be spending all that money on a snowball, you might as well do it right with a proper external preamp or mixer with a preamp and a real microphone. Microphones built for computer use are stupidly overpriced for how terrible they sound, and there is no reason to get one now that mixers are starting to have usb outs.
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Premium-5-Input-Interface/dp/B005EHILV4/
is, from what I hear, a great little mixer. I have a larger version without USB that I attach to my computer using a behringer usb soundcard. This gives you the advantage of getting a decent soundcard as well, since you can plug your phones right on in and they sound pretty damn good. You can also listen to anything with RCA audio out and even get that shit right into your computer.
Add to that what is now my favorite microphone under 30:
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-XM8500-Dynamic-Cardioid-Microphone/dp/B0002KZAKS/
it sounds just like the classic and timeless shure sm58 (the goto choice for eXtv audio guru and awesome guy Airon), maybe a little more output, but easily solved with a little fiddling on the mid band knob on the mixer I linked (bump it up, not down). Its basically designed for vocals (though being very versatile, I used it to catch the clickity clack of a das keyboard for a promotional video) and sounds exactly the same as the $100 SM58, especially through mumble/skype.
Just food for thought. Might be a bit more hassle than you want, but keep in mind that once you are thinking about throwing down for a snowball, you might as well explore other options at this price range, even if not directly designed for this kind of application. The one issue is that mics like this will pickup your keyboard if you have a mechanical. But angling it the right way (up and away from the keyboard, towards your face) and playing with the gain will help you overcome that.
hope it helped!
honestly, if you are going to be spending all that money on a snowball, you might as well do it right with a proper external preamp or mixer with a preamp and a real microphone. Microphones built for computer use are stupidly overpriced for how terrible they sound, and there is no reason to get one now that mixers are starting to have usb outs.
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Premium-5-Input-Interface/dp/B005EHILV4/?tag=teamfortresst-20
is, from what I hear, a great little mixer. I have a larger version without USB that I attach to my computer using a behringer usb soundcard. This gives you the advantage of getting a decent soundcard as well, since you can plug your phones right on in and they sound pretty damn good. You can also listen to anything with RCA audio out and even get that shit right into your computer.
Add to that what is now my favorite microphone under 30:
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-XM8500-Dynamic-Cardioid-Microphone/dp/B0002KZAKS/?tag=teamfortresst-20
it sounds just like the classic and timeless shure sm58 (the goto choice for eXtv audio guru and awesome guy Airon), maybe a little more output, but easily solved with a little fiddling on the mid band knob on the mixer I linked (bump it up, not down). Its basically designed for vocals (though being very versatile, I used it to catch the clickity clack of a das keyboard for a promotional video) and sounds exactly the same as the $100 SM58, especially through mumble/skype.
Just food for thought. Might be a bit more hassle than you want, but keep in mind that once you are thinking about throwing down for a snowball, you might as well explore other options at this price range, even if not directly designed for this kind of application. The one issue is that mics like this will pickup your keyboard if you have a mechanical. But angling it the right way (up and away from the keyboard, towards your face) and playing with the gain will help you overcome that.
hope it helped!
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Premium-5-Input-Interface/dp/B005EHILV4/?tag=teamfortresst-20
is, from what I hear, a great little mixer. I have a larger version without USB that I attach to my computer using a behringer usb soundcard. This gives you the advantage of getting a decent soundcard as well, since you can plug your phones right on in and they sound pretty damn good. You can also listen to anything with RCA audio out and even get that shit right into your computer.
Add to that what is now my favorite microphone under 30:
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-XM8500-Dynamic-Cardioid-Microphone/dp/B0002KZAKS/?tag=teamfortresst-20
it sounds just like the classic and timeless shure sm58 (the goto choice for eXtv audio guru and awesome guy Airon), maybe a little more output, but easily solved with a little fiddling on the mid band knob on the mixer I linked (bump it up, not down). Its basically designed for vocals (though being very versatile, I used it to catch the clickity clack of a das keyboard for a promotional video) and sounds exactly the same as the $100 SM58, especially through mumble/skype.
Just food for thought. Might be a bit more hassle than you want, but keep in mind that once you are thinking about throwing down for a snowball, you might as well explore other options at this price range, even if not directly designed for this kind of application. The one issue is that mics like this will pickup your keyboard if you have a mechanical. But angling it the right way (up and away from the keyboard, towards your face) and playing with the gain will help you overcome that.
hope it helped!
Is that supposed to be like a headphone amplifier? If so, I already have one. If not, what does it exactly do?
Is that supposed to be like a headphone amplifier? If so, I already have one. If not, what does it exactly do?
Whoops, sorry; I'll check it out. Thanks for your input.
Whoops, sorry; I'll check it out. Thanks for your input.
The modmic sounds incredible when plugged into a soundcard. This is an example of when I had it plugged into my old Creative X-Fi Extreme Music:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic.wav
And this is an example of it plugged into my motherboard audio(my soundcard died):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic_onboard_audio.wav
There is no reason for anyone to get a $100 desktop mic for gaming/mumble because quite simply, it won't sound as good as a decent mic positioned close to your mouth(hint: modmic). The modmic is quite a fine product, it sounds fine on motherboard audio, and sounds incredible if you happen to have a dedicated sound card. Unless you want to have a big white ball sitting in your face while you play, buy the modmic. You won't regret it.
[quote]The modmic sounds [b]incredible [/b]when plugged into a soundcard. This is an example of when I had it plugged into my old Creative X-Fi Extreme Music:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic.wav
And this is an example of it plugged into my motherboard audio(my soundcard died):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic_onboard_audio.wav[/quote]
There is no reason for anyone to get a $100 desktop mic for gaming/mumble because quite simply, it won't sound as good as a decent mic positioned close to your mouth(hint: modmic). The modmic is quite a fine product, it sounds fine on motherboard audio, and sounds incredible if you happen to have a dedicated sound card. Unless you want to have a big white ball sitting in your face while you play, buy the modmic. You won't regret it.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic.wav
And this is an example of it plugged into my motherboard audio(my soundcard died):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic_onboard_audio.wav[/quote]
There is no reason for anyone to get a $100 desktop mic for gaming/mumble because quite simply, it won't sound as good as a decent mic positioned close to your mouth(hint: modmic). The modmic is quite a fine product, it sounds fine on motherboard audio, and sounds incredible if you happen to have a dedicated sound card. Unless you want to have a big white ball sitting in your face while you play, buy the modmic. You won't regret it.
If you can get a snowball for under 40 bucks I'd get it. I paid 80 for mine and it's not nearly good enough to support that price tag.
If you can get a snowball for under 40 bucks I'd get it. I paid 80 for mine and it's not nearly good enough to support that price tag.
toothThe modmic sounds incredible when plugged into a soundcard. This is an example of when I had it plugged into my old Creative X-Fi Extreme Music:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic.wav
And this is an example of it plugged into my motherboard audio(my soundcard died):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic_onboard_audio.wav
There is no reason for anyone to get a $100 desktop mic for gaming/mumble because quite simply, it won't sound as good as a decent mic positioned close to your mouth(hint: modmic). The modmic is quite a fine product, it sounds fine on motherboard audio, and sounds incredible if you happen to have a dedicated sound card. Unless you want to have a big white ball sitting in your face while you play, buy the modmic. You won't regret it.
basically this. my suggestion was if you are really interested in getting serious with your audio gear. If you really just want to use mumble/skpe, then modmic, the cheap logitech desk mic that was making the rounds or something similar is perfect. I like the modmic idea cause you can stick that baby on a nice pair of headphones (maybe some audiotechnica's or similar :> ) and you have a better sounding headset (mic and sound) than you can buy with reasonable quantities of money.
[quote=tooth][quote]The modmic sounds [b]incredible [/b]when plugged into a soundcard. This is an example of when I had it plugged into my old Creative X-Fi Extreme Music:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic.wav
And this is an example of it plugged into my motherboard audio(my soundcard died):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic_onboard_audio.wav[/quote]
There is no reason for anyone to get a $100 desktop mic for gaming/mumble because quite simply, it won't sound as good as a decent mic positioned close to your mouth(hint: modmic). The modmic is quite a fine product, it sounds fine on motherboard audio, and sounds incredible if you happen to have a dedicated sound card. Unless you want to have a big white ball sitting in your face while you play, buy the modmic. You won't regret it.[/quote]
basically this. my suggestion was if you are really interested in getting serious with your audio gear. If you really just want to use mumble/skpe, then modmic, the cheap logitech desk mic that was making the rounds or something similar is perfect. I like the modmic idea cause you can stick that baby on a nice pair of headphones (maybe some audiotechnica's or similar :> ) and you have a better sounding headset (mic and sound) than you can buy with reasonable quantities of money.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic.wav
And this is an example of it plugged into my motherboard audio(my soundcard died):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5977077/modmic_onboard_audio.wav[/quote]
There is no reason for anyone to get a $100 desktop mic for gaming/mumble because quite simply, it won't sound as good as a decent mic positioned close to your mouth(hint: modmic). The modmic is quite a fine product, it sounds fine on motherboard audio, and sounds incredible if you happen to have a dedicated sound card. Unless you want to have a big white ball sitting in your face while you play, buy the modmic. You won't regret it.[/quote]
basically this. my suggestion was if you are really interested in getting serious with your audio gear. If you really just want to use mumble/skpe, then modmic, the cheap logitech desk mic that was making the rounds or something similar is perfect. I like the modmic idea cause you can stick that baby on a nice pair of headphones (maybe some audiotechnica's or similar :> ) and you have a better sounding headset (mic and sound) than you can buy with reasonable quantities of money.
truktrukIf you can get a snowball for under 40 bucks I'd get it. I paid 80 for mine and it's not nearly good enough to support that price tag.
I went with this and got one for $37.50 on Friday and received it today. It's a major improvement over my last mic...wow...
[quote=truktruk]If you can get a snowball for under 40 bucks I'd get it. I paid 80 for mine and it's not nearly good enough to support that price tag.[/quote]
I went with this and got one for $37.50 on Friday and received it today. It's a major improvement over my last mic...wow...
I went with this and got one for $37.50 on Friday and received it today. It's a major improvement over my last mic...wow...
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