Is there a mini USB to XLR cable (both ends male) out there?

[JonnyDee]

Hi (again)

Thanks to the forum for sorting out my earlier audio interface question. Much appreciated. I now have another question.

I use a Blue Yeti which is a USB plug 'n' play mic. But now I have the Audient ID 14 integrated in my set up, I wonder if there's an off-the-shelf adapter cable that is configured USB mini male to XLR male so I can use the Yeti plugged into the Audient's XLR input.

I can find many which are male mini USB to female XLR but not the above config. Guess I could use a second male XLR to male XLR but I'm trying to keep things as neat as possible. I already have a lot of spaghetti strewn across my desk.

Of course I may have to bite the bullet and ditch the Yeti and get a new XLR mic. If that's the case what mics on a budget might be OK for this?

Bearing in mind the primary usage is for podcast presenting, but I would also like to record both electric and acoustic guitars for semi-pro music production as a sideline.

Thanks again in advance.

[jacksoonbrowne]

Originally Posted by JonnyDee

Hi (again)

Thanks to the forum for sorting out my earlier audio interface question. Much appreciated. I now have another question.

I use a Blue Yeti which is a USB plug 'n' play mic. But now I have the Audient ID 14 integrated in my set up, I wonder if there's an off-the-shelf adapter cable that is configured USB mini male to XLR male so I can use the Yeti plugged into the Audient's XLR input.

I can find many which are male mini USB to female XLR but not the above config. Guess I could use a second male XLR to male XLR but I'm trying to keep things as neat as possible. I already have a lot of spaghetti strewn across my desk.

Of course I may have to bite the bullet and ditch the Yeti and get a new XLR mic. If that's the case what mics on a budget might be OK for this?

Bearing in mind the primary usage is for podcast presenting, but I would also like to record both electric and acoustic guitars for semi-pro music production as a sideline.

Thanks again in advance.

Why not add an XLR gender bender adapter. They are very inexpensive on Amazon.

[Vicegrips]

Blue Yeti Pro, like the Shure MV7X, has XLR as well as usb. The regular Blue Yeti, like Shure MV7, seems to be designed usb only. As such I would encourage you toward a decent, good value XLR mic. Thus avoiding extra A/D and D/A conversions.

Your stated primary use was vocal stuff, with acoustic guitar. I'd consider bringing in the electric guitar directly, but cabs have been mic'd forever. Go for it! The baseline microphone I'll suggest you look at is the Shure SM58. In use forever, sturdy, available everywhere for about $90 new. Used ones in good shape won't be found at much of a discount because they are so durable and popular. If your recording tends more toward instruments, look at the SM57. I did buy a few SM58 mics locally. Bought replacement grill and foam for a couple bucks off Zon, cleaned up good as new for <$30 each all in. But you gotta jump on those deals within minutes to hours.

Both mics are dymanic, so close up recording, not "the whole room". Both are cardioid pattern, so they will reject sound coming from the back and sides to some extent. Good for podcasting and such.

Both mics have worthy competitors from other manufacturers. Both are copied as cheap clones from far away. The clones can run as little as $25 each. The will also not always sound as good, last as long, or be repairable. They have their place though. I bought a couple SM58 clones. A couple of the vocalists at church were hesitant to sing right into the mic, holding it too far away. I believed that it was an unspoken fear of germs. I gave them each "their own mic, so nobody else gets to use it. Take it with you." This changed singing angle and closeness to much better. Not as good a mic but used correctly can easily sound much better than a good mic misused.

Also, another very low cost action you could take is sound treatment. If you're going to be recording the podcast from home, make your recording from the walk-in closet full of clothes. This will kill much of the reflections your usual room bounces back to the mic. You can always add reverb afterward if you want. No closet? Hang drapes, moving blankets, heavy cloth stuff on the walls. There's actually a product that's like a box with sound absorbing foam on the sides. You put your head and mic in the box and record. Hmmph. I have a closet, and I already look foolish enough playing drums at 66 without putting a box on my head.

[ashcat_lt]

Yeah the USB output of that mic is going to be digital and completely incompatible with a mic input. If you tried hard enough, you might get something like that horrible sound of fax machines or dial up internet, but probably not. It will definitely expect “phantom power” on one of the USB pins to even run it’s internal interface, but probably expects something like 5V and might well explode if you try to give it 48V.

In short, that mic don’t work that way. There are no cables or adapters which will help.

Edit - Actually technically you might be able to hack something by plugging the USB into the computer like you’re supposed to and then running the (analog) headphone output to the other interface, but that’s just silly.

[serr]

Originally Posted by JonnyDee

Hi (again)

Thanks to the forum for sorting out my earlier audio interface question. Much appreciated. I now have another question.

I use a Blue Yeti which is a USB plug 'n' play mic. But now I have the Audient ID 14 integrated in my set up, I wonder if there's an off-the-shelf adapter cable that is configured USB mini male to XLR male so I can use the Yeti plugged into the Audient's XLR input.

I can find many which are male mini USB to female XLR but not the above config. Guess I could use a second male XLR to male XLR but I'm trying to keep things as neat as possible. I already have a lot of spaghetti strewn across my desk.

Of course I may have to bite the bullet and ditch the Yeti and get a new XLR mic. If that's the case what mics on a budget might be OK for this?

Bearing in mind the primary usage is for podcast presenting, but I would also like to record both electric and acoustic guitars for semi-pro music production as a sideline.

Thanks again in advance.

The USB connector is NOT repurposed as an analog connection in this style of mic! A USB mic is literally a combo device with a single channel USB audio interface built into the mic body. You would have to disassemble it to get access to the actual analog mic output. (For discussion only. Not recommended!)

You actually have two audio interfaces in front of you. One is built into a mic and dedicated to it. Make an aggregate device with your OS audio utility (Audio MIDI Setup on Mac or ASIO4ALL on Windows). Add the two interfaces. Select the aggregate device in Reaper instead of one of the devices by itself.

The only option for clocking for that mic/interface will be over USB. Selecting the mic as master and the Audient as slave might be the more stable connection even though the opposite is more intuitive. You don't have the option of word clock or a digital audio connection here so this might not be rock solid stable. Careful with critical recording sessions.

[Bazzbass]

like you said, probably better to just buy an xlr mic.

you can still use the usb mic, say if you are away from home, plug it into the laptop to lay down something without the need for an interface.

let us know how you go

[JonnyDee]

Thanks for all the responses folks. Yeah a new mic's the way to go I think.

Looking at the Audio Technica AT 2020 which is a good price by all accounts. Currently £80 this side of the pond on Zon.

Borrowed a friend's Shure PG 58 but it mics voice so close up that I'm having to run the ID 14's gain pot nearly all the way up to 9-10 as well as practically eating the mic to get a signal anywhere near close to what the Yeti's been pushing out.

I know the Shure SMs (57 & 58) are the business for guitar amp / cab recording, but as I will podcast more than I will record instruments it looks like the AT will be the best fit for me.

Most annoyingly I still have an SM 57 somewhere packed away from back in the days when I used to use it with a Tascam Portastudio and 8-channel old school mixer. Got great results too.

Now if only I could find the damn thing :-)

[serr]

Keep in mind that mics like the '57 and '58 are more about what they don't pick up! If you used a full response condenser mic for vocals on a live stage with drums and full band for example, you'd have more cymbals and snare in that mic than vocals. So that choked sound with the mid honk and almost no sound unless you eat the mic is suddenly really welcome!

Isolated in a studio setting it sounds choked and lo-fi. Live recordings with tracks like that see some pretty intense treble boosts in production.

[DVDdoug]

Borrowed a friend's Shure PG 58 but it mics voice so close up that I'm having to run the ID 14's gain pot nearly all the way up to 9-10 as well as practically eating the mic to get a signal anywhere near close to what the Yeti's been pushing out.

Condenser mics have a built-in "head amp" (that's why they require power) and they are typically 20dB "hotter" than dynamic mics.

Many audio interfaces don't have enough gain for dynamic mics, depending on the loudness of the sound hitting the mic. And if you have enough gain, with a weaker signal you need a lower-noise preamp to get the same signal-to-noise ratio.

[jerome_oneil]

As noted, you aren't going to be able to repurpose the Yeti. It already has an interface in it.

Get yourself a large diaphragm condenser in whatever flavor you can afford and go to town. The ID4 can provide the +48v needed to drive it.

[serr]

You can still use it in aggregate device with the associated caveats.

[jerome_oneil]

Originally Posted by serr

You can still use it in aggregate device with the associated caveats.

That works well on Macs if you can figure out the clocking. I'm not sure the Yeti is going to do well there. Core Audio wins all the things! The ASIO aggregate devices on Windows is lukewarm garbage in my experience. I've never had it not crash on me, even once.