OT: USB mics for overdubbing?

[Dave Labrecque]

Is it doable?

I see some USB mics have a mix control so you can mix the source signal with the DAW playback signal. Does this work as one would expect?

Anything to watch out for when choosing a USB mic for adding a vocal to an existing mix? Asking for a friend. No, really.

[Cary B. Cornett]

I don't know if one can do this. First of all, you want to use an ASIO driver. Last I knew, only ONE asio driver could be accessed by a program at a time. A usb mic, or course, has its own driver, and it is an input-only device, right? So what output device could you use at the same time with an asio driver? If I am wrong about this, I am quite ready to be "schooled" on the subject.

How would a usb mic have a mix control unless it can also directly drive headphones? If the mix control goes through A/D/A conversion in the process, I would not find it satisfactory. For vocals, I absolutely require a direct analog monitoring path, which I don't see as possible with a USB mic.

I will admit to a very strong prejudice against using any usb mic for serious recording. I want to keep my choice of microphone separate from my choice of A/D converter, so that I control the quality of each separately, and I can choose to upgrade either one without losing the other. I have a number of mics that are over 20 years old and still fully useful. I am not still using ANY digital device that is 20 years old.

[Dave Labrecque]

I don't know if one can do this. First of all, you want to use an ASIO driver. Last I knew, only ONE asio driver could be accessed by a program at a time. A usb mic, or course, has its own driver, and it is an input-only device, right? So what output device could you use at the same time with an asio driver? If I am wrong about this, I am quite ready to be "schooled" on the subject.

How would a usb mic have a mix control unless it can also directly drive headphones? If the mix control goes through A/D/A conversion in the process, I would not find it satisfactory. For vocals, I absolutely require a direct analog monitoring path, which I don't see as possible with a USB mic.

I will admit to a very strong prejudice against using any usb mic for serious recording. I want to keep my choice of microphone separate from my choice of A/D converter, so that I control the quality of each separately, and I can choose to upgrade either one without losing the other. I have a number of mics that are over 20 years old and still fully useful. I am not still using ANY digital device that is 20 years old.

Cary, I'm right there with you on not thinking USB mics are a great choice for pro audio recording. Remember, this is for a friend (really). She simply wants to record a voice part on a friend's song in Garage Band. She has a budget of "a couple hundred bucks." Of course these days "professional" can have a broader definition, and folks making a little money doing podcasts and YouTube videos often find the price point of a good USB mic right where they want it. The cost/benefit ratio works for them.

So I've done some reading. Turns out USB mics do act as both input and output devices, so one doesn't need a separate output device. You plug your headphones into the mic! The better (IMO) ones have a mix dial or knob, much like many simple audio interfaces, so that you can get a good balance between your voice and whatever source material you're interacting with. Could be pre-recorded instruments; could be your podcast co-host, I guess. Assuming you can deal with the live latency.

Not sure I know what you mean by a direct analog monitor path. Maybe you mean for live-in-the-room, all-at-once recording? Certainly not for overdubs, where your accompanying monitor mix is coming off of an HDD or SSD. Or maybe you're still using tape? I jest.

If you mean analog monitoring path for the vocalist, then I assume that's what you get with a USB mic since most of them brag about "zero latency monitoring."

So, yeah, you plug your headphones into a microphone. Kinda nutty.

[Ian Alexander]

The last time a friend asked me what I thought of a USB mic she was considering was quite a while ago. But I couldn't find a way to set levels. The manual seemed to say that was done by normalizing the resulting recording. So my suggestion for a $200 budget would be an SM58 and a $99 USB interface from Focusrite, PreSonus, Shure, etc. If part of the requirement is simplicity, though...

[jmh]

The last time a friend asked me what I thought of a USB mic she was considering was quite a while ago. But I couldn't find a way to set levels. The manual seemed to say that was done by normalizing the resulting recording. So my suggestion for a $200 budget would be an SM58 and a $99 USB interface from Focusrite, PreSonus, Shure, etc. If part of the requirement is simplicity, though...

Ian has a pretty good point. Not only that in ten years she will have an interface that is no longer USB-H backwards compatible - but she will still have a SM58.

[Dave Labrecque]

Ian has a pretty good point. Not only that in ten years she will have an interface that is no longer USB-H backwards compatible - but she will still have a SM58.

One can adjust input levels on the recording interfaces in SAW. Using 24-bits, it shouldn't be too bad. Not the best S/R on quiet sources, I suppose; but I imagine the internal preamps on these things are calibrated for a typical speaking voice. Hopefully leaving some headroom for singing or shouting.

[jmh]

One can adjust input levels on the recording interfaces in SAW. Using 24-bits, it shouldn't be too bad. Not the best S/R on quiet sources, I suppose; but I imagine the internal preamps on these things are calibrated for a typical speaking voice. Hopefully leaving some headroom for singing or shouting.

>One can adjust input levels on the recording interfaces in SAW.

Not sure what that would accomplish (I thought this was for a friend

I would expect the pre-amp gain (or lets say circuitry) within the mic itself would be calibrated to match the properties of the mic such as maximum sound pressure level and dynamic range. Furthermore, the way these devices are, I would not be at all surprised if the mics carried dsp that did compression and reverb... It is also possible that those type of features would be baked in.

[Dave Labrecque]

>One can adjust input levels on the recording interfaces in SAW.

Not sure what that would accomplish (I thought this was for a friend

I would expect the pre-amp gain (or lets say circuitry) within the mic itself would be calibrated to match the properties of the mic such as maximum sound pressure level and dynamic range. Furthermore, the way these devices are, I would not be at all surprised if the mics carried dsp that did compression and reverb... It is also possible that those type of features would be baked in.

Well, aren't we cynical today?

RE: level adjustment... the only advantage I can see is optimizing your bit usage, which isn't a bad thing. I was just addressing Ian's point that it seems you were reinforcing. That's how you set levels with a USB mic.

Of course, I read up on various mics before making any recommendations. Your fears about compression and reverb can be laid to rest.

BTW, I think optimizing a USB mic for max SPL would be a bad idea, since they are rarely used that way. I would expect them to optimize S/N and whatever else they can for voice. Maybe a really loud voice. It would be interesting to know if their max SPL is lower than similar non-USB mics as a result.

[jmh]

Well, aren't we cynical today?

What do you expect, the CDC said I can take off my mask, so I looked in the mirror...

As for the rest, don't really know, just voicing possibilities that occurred to me.

[Dave Labrecque]

What do you expect, the CDC said I can take off my mask, so I looked in the mirror...

LOL