Stop! Read this before upgrading your microphone!!!
I wear men’s Levis 30X32 slim pants. They fit my legs, waste, and style perfectly. A higher-quality brand might not fit as well.
It’s like a mic: I use an AT2020-USB. It fits my voice-tone, room-acoustics, and speaking-applications perfectly. A higher-quality mic might not sound better … and might even sound worse!
So, want to sound clearer?
I’ve seen that about 95% of people don’t sound clear because there’s echo, HVAC noise, and/or ambient noise in their background. So a higher-quality microphone will make them sound worse by further amplifying those unwanted noises!
Instead, I recommend they fix their acoustics (e.g. foam on walls), or switch to a microphone with a tighter pickup pattern (e.g. hypercardioid or supercardioid), or switch to a microphone with a tighter pickup direction (e.g. shotgun microphone).
Note I do not recommend they switch to a more expensive mic.
To select the best microphone when public speaking, professional speaking, podcasting, zooming, videoconferencing…
…first, determine the best location for your microphone:
| Microphone Location | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Handheld microphone | They give your hands something to do/fidget with. This is helpful for people who are nervous, and also for people who are concerned what to do with their hands when in front of an audience.
Physically holding the mic can relieve nerves for a nervous speaker. |
It’s very easy to swing your arms, causing the mic to be far away from your mouth at times, resulting in low/almost no volume (the audience struggles to hear you). You’ll be a bit less animated because one hand needs to be holding the mic at your mouth. With a wired mic (as opposed to wireless), you have to contend with the wire (and be sure not to trip over it). |
| Shirt clip-on-microphone
AKA lavalier microphone AKA lapel microphone AKA tie-clip microphone |
It’s physically freeing: because it’s clipped to your shirt (typically), it goes everywhere you go. This means you can be more animated. And this is physically freeing.
Small, discreet, no mic stand needed… …With a wireless connection, even more discreet. |
It picks up clothes’ rustling sounds.
It picks up thumps if you touch your shirt anywhere near the mic. Because it’s hard to see it (when wearing it), some people are inclined to speak too loudly (sounding like they’re yelling at the audience). |
| Headset microphone | Easy to wear.
If you use a version that has built-in speakers, then your setup is even easier. |
Less personable looking. It can set you apart from your audience (like when you talk with anyone who is wearing headphones). |
| Conference room table microphone | Great if you have people in various locations that should be recorded. | Can pick up lots of noise from all areas of the recording room. |
| Microphone on a mic stand | Easy to use.
You can be more animated, since you can use your whole body for body language. |
You’re stuck in one spot for the duration of your presentation. |
| Microphone at a lectern | Easy to use.
You can be more animated, since you can use your whole body for body language. |
Users tend to clench onto the lectern, which inhibits body language. |
Second, consider these factors…
For the best sound quality, consider all the following factors… because they all contribute to your sound quality. And the best news? These factors do not necessarily lead to a more expensive microphone… rather, they lead to a better sounding microphone!
1. Your voice
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- Different voices react to different microphones differently. It’s like how different jeans fit bodies differently. Sometimes, you just need to try them on. The same thing applies here: to select a mic, you need to try some and see how they sound.
2. Your room – this is the most defining factor of your sound quality.
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- If speaking in a noisy and or echoey environment, select a microphone with a very directional pickup pattern, for example, hypercardioid and supercardioid. Or select a microphone with a long, thin shape that naturally picks up sound from a small area, for example, a shotgun microphone. Otherwise, a higher quality microphone will pick up more of the unwanted sounds!
- If recording in a minimally noisy and or echoey environment, select a regular directional microphone.
- If recording in a very quiet and echo-free environment, select any mic.
- TESTING: Echo and noise are amplified/worsened due to technology. So if you hear a little noise in your recording room, your listeners will hear a lot of noise. Therefore, my suggestion is to test it:
(1) Have someone stand in the room where you’ll record.
(2) Then you go far away (in the basement, out onto the road, into your car in the garage,…).
(3) And lastly, phone call the person in your recording room: They talk on speakerphone (which simulates you talking on a microphone) and you go on headphones (which simulates most listeners). The noise/echo you hear should be commensurate with the amount your audience will hear.
3. The tone you want to convey to your audience.
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- For ultra clarity, try a shotgun mic.
- For warmth, try a large diaphragm mic.
4. How much do you move?
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- If you move a lot while recording, select a large diaphragm mic.
- If you stay still, select any mic.
5. What do you want your audience to see?
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- Larger microphones require more physical space and can be in the way. Plus, they require larger mic stands. HOWEVER, they often convey higher quality because they can appear more expensive and professional. Smaller microphones require less.
- Clip-on microphones (AKA lavalier mic, AKA lapel mic, AKA tie-clip mic) require virtually no space … especially if you use a wireless one.
6. How many audio controls do you want?
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- To keep things super easy (plug-n-play), select a USB mic. You’ll have very little control over your sound.
- For better control, choose an XLR microphone with an interface for superior sound quality.
7. When 2 or more people will be on the same microphone…
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- With one person recording (standing in front of the microphone), use a “directional” pickup pattern.
- With two people (one on either side of the microphone), use a “figure 8” pickup pattern.
- With three or more people (standing in a circle around the microphone), use an “omnidirectional” pickup pattern.
8. When 2 or more people will each be speaking on their own microphones in the same room…
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- Each person should use a very directional microphone, like a shotgun mic.
And third, if you’re upgrading your sound quality, then determine what is causing it to be unclear.
Sound tinny? Then upgrade your microphone:
If your voice sounds tinny (that is, it sounds thin and lacks fullness), well yeah, then upgrading your mic to a higher quality model may be a good thing. A higher quality microphone should provide a fuller/richer sounding voice.
Have extraneous noise? Then upgrade your pickup pattern:
More often, voices sound bad because there is extraneous noise being picked up by the mic. For example, HVAC hum, refrigerator buzz, and so on.
In this case, switching to a higher-quality mic will pick up even more of the unwanted noise. So no, NO, NO! Don’t switch to a more expensive mic, that’ll make it worse!
Instead, switch to a microphone that has a tighter pickup pattern. In fact, the new mic can even be the same quality and price…it just needs a tighter pickup pattern, meaning that the mic picks up more of where you talk into it, and less from the other sides, above it, and below it. The two common types of tight pickup patterns are called hypercardioid and supercardioid.
These highly directional microphones are popular … and for good reason. However, they have one downside: you can’t sway too much when speaking into the mic. If you do, some words will be lower in volume.
Have an echo? Then upgrade your acoustics:
Most often, voices sound bad because:
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- There is an echo, even a little echo, in the room that you talk into your microphone.
- And echo is exacerbated by most communication software (like Zoom).
So, for example, say your office has just a tinge of echo. Then, after your voice travels through Zoom, the person you’re Zooming with will hear a lot of echo. (Ever tell someone on the phone they sound like they’re in an echo chamber? And they say, “What? It sounds fine to me!”) Well, there you go!
In this case, a mic with a tighter pickup pattern will help a bit.
And sometimes changing your location in your room and/or changing the direction you face in the room will also help a bit.
Though what will help a lot more is mitigating the echo in your microphone room. Do this by covering as many surfaces (walls, floor, ceiling) with echo-absorbing material. Optimally 80% of surface are treated with material that’s at least a 1/2 thick.
Here are some ways to do this: Hang sound blankets on the walls, or attach foam to the walls. Put thick carpet on the floor. Stick foam on the ceiling. Put portable tri-fold room dividers on as many sides as you as possible, and lay thick blankets over them. Attach a round shower curtain rod onto the ceiling, and hang thick moving blankets from them. Then when you’re done zooming, you can open them back up. And so on.
Want my help?
I offer a ‘$47 Review’. Just click here and we’ll schedule time to hop on Zoom, I’ll listen to your acoustics, see your setup, and make recommendations:)
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