Microphones: Complete Guide

Whether you are a gamer, or you are looking for something that will aid you in your daily usage, having a good microphone can make your experience with PC use much easier and simpler, too. However, since most of the PC oriented headphones do come with a microphone, you really do not need to buy an external option from the market. But in case you are facing a situation where you do not have a microphone attached to your headphone, you are going to have to buy a good microphone that will help you get the job done.

Whether you are a streamer or just an average user, you can buy an amazing microphone with ease. So, you are never really short of options. However, if you are new to the market and just want to have a good experience, you might end up in a confused state and to avoid that from happening, we are going to be looking at some of the microphones that are available in the market that will make your experience easier as well as much better.

Below, you can find some really handy tips that will allow you to buy the best microphone available in the market. So, let’s not waste any time and have a look.

Understanding Different Options

First things first, whenever you are in the market looking for a microphone, you will have the option to choose from different microphone types. This is only going to make things easier and simpler for you if you know about what you are looking to buy.

Speaking of different types, there are only going to be two types of microphones available in the market. Below, we are going to discuss them and differentiate between them, as well. So you will not have to worry about anything that might get out of the way. Let’s have a look at different microphone types.

• Analog Microphones: The first type of microphones available in the market is the analog microphones. These are perhaps among the most common microphone types available in the market and work on a very simple principle, too. They simply connect to the back of your PC with a 3.5mm jack. Additionally, they are great because they have a lot of flexibility that they offer to the users. Simply because you can add these microphones to an audio interface or other processing gear if you wish to. Which will drastically improve the performance, and will allow you to handle professional tasks, as well.
• USB Microphones: On the other hand, you have USB microphones that have become so much better than most of the options available in the market. These microphones are extremely flexible in terms of usage and while you may not be able to connect them to everything, you can still connect them to any device that has a USB port. Additionally, these microphones come with their own preamps, as well as audio processors built into them. Which means that all the processing that is going to happen will happen inside the microphone. IN terms of getting the best possible audio, these might be limited, but they still work and do so in a wonderful manner.

Both of these microphone types are going to be available in various shapes, as well as sizes, and price brackets, so you really do not have to worry much about the selection.

Have You Considered a Webcam or Built-in Microphone

If you are not really looking for something high end you can actually make do with something else like a built-in microphone that will be on your headset, or if not that, you can actually use the microphone of your webcam, as well.

Both of these will work just fine for casual use and the best part is that you do will not have to spend a lot of money, either as these are actually a lot cheaper than you might think in the first place.

A Dedicated Microphone is Best for Gamers or Frequent Users

If you happen to be a gamer or someone who uses the microphone on a frequent basis, then in situations like that, you should definitely look into getting a good microphone that is going to be dedicated.

Now as far as dedicated microphones are concerned, you have the option to go for something as big as a Blue Yeti, but if that is not what you are looking for, you can even invest on something smaller like the Mod Mic. The option is going to be there if you look for it and if you are careful with it, you can have a great experience, and that too, without any issue that might come in your way.

Just make sure that you buy the right microphone and you would be good to go.

Understanding Polar Patterns

Whenever you are in the market looking for a good microphone, you will realize that each microphone might have a single or multiple polar patterns listed on them. Now, if you have had an experience with microphones in the past, understanding these patterns will not be difficult for you.

However, if you are new to this, then there might be some complications. To make things easier for you, we are listing the most commonly found polar patterns below.

• Omnidirectional: This is one of the most common microphone patterns that is called omnidirectional. As the name suggests, this is a pattern that picks the frequencies from all directions without any discrepancy. This is good for film making because you want to be able to capture all the details without any issues.
• Cardioid: the next we have cardioid, another really common type of polar pattern. This type of polar pattern is good for people who only want to have the sound coming from one direction and that is the sound in front of them.
• Super Cardioid: Another common type is the super cardioid, it works much like cardioid, but happens to be more directional, and has lesser sensitivity to sound, as well.

Conclusion

The truth is that buying a good microphone is super simple and you will not really a lot of issues if you are just careful about what you are buying. Sadly, a lot of people do not have the proper experience in buying the microphone that they want and that is where the confusions start coming up.

The good thing is that if you follow this guide, you will have absolutely no issues buying the perfect microphone for whatever use case you have. The good news is that you can easily get the best microphone available in your budget and that too, without any issue that might come your way.