Old 03-27-2021, 03:10 AM   #1
Fabian
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Default Decent headset for vocals...?

Can someone recommend a USB headset suitable for vocals?

I'm not looking for professional gear, more like "prosumer" stuff for doing quick drafts. I have an old Logitech headset with surprisingly good mic, it captures audio up to 14 kHz, which is fine for me. I also have a newer Logitech headset that is junk; it only goes up to 4.5 kHz, which is too bad even for a quick draft.

The problem with the old Logitech headset is that the mic is so sensitive that the tiniest moving of the head is captured by the mic. Often as an annoying pop, so I guess I'm looking for something where the mic is better insulated from the rest of the headset. Maybe no such thing exists...

Any ideas?
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Old 03-27-2021, 07:39 AM   #2
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Not sure why you want to use a headset but that old Logitech is probably about as good as you will get, depending on what you want to pay.

Audio-Technica ATH-G1? Goes up to 20kHz I think - about £150.
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Old 03-28-2021, 11:15 AM   #3
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Audio-Technica ATH-G1? Goes up to 20kHz I think - about £150.
Thanks.

My main problem with the Logitech headset is tbe noise pops that occur whenever I move my head. Do you know if the ATH-G1 has that problem? Maybe all headsets have that problem?
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Old 03-28-2021, 12:45 PM   #4
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I say, listen to some recordings of each and see if 4.5 kHz is adequate. It will capture the essentials if a draft is all you´re looking for. The question is why you want to use a headset for vocals?

I have used good lavaliers for micing live performance and speech, but even they will pick up noise if used improperly.
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Old 03-29-2021, 06:25 PM   #5
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I'd recommend a cheap USB mic? the engineer in me is screaming because USB mics are... limited.. But for the intended use, I think that would be the way to go.

Keep the headset, and use a separate usb mic.. Like the AT2020USB....

Or something cheaper, but the only USB mic I tried and actually liked its the 2020. I'm sure there are more modern, cheaper options that sound decent, but I haven't tried any.

Stay clear of the yeti and snowball. Horrible mics.
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Old 03-30-2021, 08:58 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by g4greg View Post
I'd recommend a cheap USB mic? the engineer in me is screaming because USB mics are... limited.. But for the intended use, I think that would be the way to go.

Keep the headset, and use a separate usb mic.. Like the AT2020USB....

Or something cheaper, but the only USB mic I tried and actually liked its the 2020. I'm sure there are more modern, cheaper options that sound decent, but I haven't tried any.

Stay clear of the yeti and snowball. Horrible mics.
That actually seems a good option, now that I think of it. There is no risk of any popping being recorded when I move my head. There is the Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Cardioid Condenser USB Microphone, with Built-In Headphone Jack & Volume Control.
I'll look into it. Thanks.
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Old 03-30-2021, 11:41 AM   #7
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BTW, I don't know now why I was so focused on a headset... I have a Zoom H2 that works great, why don't I use it?

Thanks to g4greg's pointer to USB mics, I got to think of the H2 and, yeah, it works fine.

Thanks.
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Old 03-30-2021, 12:18 PM   #8
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Heck your phone probably works just fine.
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Old 03-30-2021, 04:05 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Fabian View Post
BTW, I don't know now why I was so focused on a headset... I have a Zoom H2 that works great, why don't I use it?

Thanks to g4greg's pointer to USB mics, I got to think of the H2 and, yeah, it works fine.

Thanks.
Ooor the zoom H2. If you already own it, your problem is solved
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Old 04-03-2021, 03:54 PM   #10
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if you have an old baseball cap laying around you can quickly make a decent low-cost headset using virtually any small diaphragm mic:



Make sure to carve away as much of the bill/brim as possible to reduce comb-filtering that otherwise occurs underneath the curved area (focussing reflections right into the mic's capsule). I'm doing all my voiceover stuff with this contraption and wouldn't spend any money on something else - as long as nobody can see me

Line Audio OM1 produced great results, too. You should preferably use omni mics since using cardioids requires the mic to have a very even off-axis response which the KM 184 offers but probably not the cheap mics.

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Old 04-03-2021, 05:01 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SonicAxiom View Post
if you have an old baseball cap laying around you can quickly make a decent low-cost headset using virtually any small diaphragm mic:
Great tip!
Thanks.
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Old 04-07-2021, 07:54 AM   #12
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That hat...oh, man, that's funny. I can't even tell if you're serious. I hope you are. You also reminded me that I have a pretty decent sony Lavalier mic that might ride the brim a bit better than that big, heavy dingus. Might have to try it out as a 'lid-valier'

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Old 04-07-2021, 10:01 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by androo View Post
That hat...oh, man, that's funny. I can't even tell if you're serious. I hope you are. You also reminded me that I have a pretty decent sony Lavalier mic that might ride the brim a bit better than that big, heavy dingus. Might have to try it out as a 'lid-valier'

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seriously, try it. No-one (of us) can see you
I'm using it all the time. I sometimes wish I could get rid of that "umbilical cord" and have a wireless solution attached to the belt.

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Old 04-07-2021, 10:46 AM   #14
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Re: USB connecting mics and headsets

Remember that a USB mic or headset is a combo device with its own built in USB audio interface. You connect to it like connecting to an audio interface because that's literally what it is. That leads to the question of the performance and capability of that USB interface. Such an interface will be on the slower (baseline) latency side to begin with. It will not have a digital input to sync to a sample rate clock from another device. It certainly won't have word clock.

If you need to do anything live that requires low latency, these budget combo devices will be frustrating. If you wanted to use multiple of these devices together, that's aggregate device config to combine all the audio interfaces. And then over the data connection with no digital input or word clock.

Trying to use and record with a USB mic with a USB headset would probably be the most restricted, unstable, and frustrating setup anyone might come up with.
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Old 04-07-2021, 11:54 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by SonicAxiom View Post
seriously, try it. No-one (of us) can see you
I'm using it all the time. I sometimes wish I could get rid of that "umbilical cord" and have a wireless solution attached to the belt.

.
oh, the possibilities are running through my mind. I may have to try and out-weird you this weekend but I worry that my kids will think I'm mental. It's so bonkers, though, I love it.
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Old 04-07-2021, 12:37 PM   #16
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oh, the possibilities are running through my mind. I may have to try and out-weird you this weekend but I worry that my kids will think I'm mental. It's so bonkers, though, I love it.
it's never been easy to be a trend-setter.

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Old 08-04-2021, 02:17 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SonicAxiom View Post
if you have an old baseball cap laying around you can quickly make a decent low-cost headset using virtually any small diaphragm mic:



Make sure to carve away as much of the bill/brim as possible to reduce comb-filtering that otherwise occurs underneath the curved area (focussing reflections right into the mic's capsule). I'm doing all my voiceover stuff with this contraption and wouldn't spend any money on something else - as long as nobody can see me

Line Audio OM1 produced great results, too. You should preferably use omni mics since using cardioids requires the mic to have a very even off-axis response which the KM 184 offers but probably not the cheap mics.

.
Can you assist me in properly mounting my CAD e100s?
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Old 08-04-2021, 02:54 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phalaris View Post
Can you assist me in properly mounting my CAD e100s?
Hehe, Zappa had a Crown PZM mic hat for his "Dubroom Special".

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Old 08-04-2021, 03:07 PM   #19
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You'd probably have to torch-braze that CAD to a steel helmet
It'll sound great, though.

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Old 08-08-2021, 08:02 PM   #20
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Lolz. Oh he uses it I reckon, too much work and not enough payoff to be a joke.

Quote:
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BTW, I don't know now why I was so focused on a headset...
I do, because it would be totally awesome and now I want one. It would be pretty sweet to do tracking monitoring and scratch vocals or ? depending on quality with a headset. Headsets for performance are a cliche by now, so now yeah it's just finding the 80/20, or which Chinese factory makes pro gear -and- cheap gamer sets and takes all the parts from the same bins... As mentioned USB sets bring issues but gamer sets all have 3.5 plug outs... oh my, 5 minutes online and here's one that looks just like a set of AKGs with a mic stuck on... reviews say pretty much what I would hope for including video reviews with legit sounding vocal samples... for $20!? $7 after discounts and credits?!? Done. Anyone wants a review let me know. Seriously, this could be a game changer for me. N1 Fabian.
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