Don’t get me wrong. USB headsets play an important role in online communication. It would be impossible to engage in a coordinated SOCOM attack without your headset to keep your troops in line. They’re also quite handy for quick skype or oovoo conversations. Sure, you look a little dorky, but they’re relatively cheap and they get the job done.
But. . .
Well, they’re just not the right thing if getting top draw recordings of your thoughts/wisdom/teaching is what you’re after.
Why?
It’s simple. That’s not what they’re designed to do.
Yes, yes, I know you’ve seen Madonna and Garth and any number of other superstars belting out tunes from the stage using a headset microphone. Perhaps you feel a bit in touch with your inner Madonna wearing your headset to talk on skype. That’s fine.
Still, the difference between your headset and Madonna’s is huge.
The trick is in the mic capsule itself. Your $50 headset has a very low-quality microphone in it. It cannot capture the dynamic range of the human voice, much less translate it into an electronic signal that can be used in recording.
Just for the sake of argument, let’s say you want to do the Madonna set-up. Well, you’re looking at about $300 for the headset (the metal part that you wear), and the belt pack (the little box that holds the batteries and the antenna that transmits the signal from the mic – which is not included in this setup). Then you need another $200 to $400 for the base station that receives the signal from that wireless pack. Now you need to pick the tiny microphone capsule that is the mic itself. You can pick from many options, most of the decent ones starting around $300 for just the tiny mic itself.
So you can look like Madonna and have the same mic quality as Madonna in a headset for a measly $800 and up.
Oh but wait, that’s still an analog signal. You have to translate that analog signal to digital. There are many ways to do this, but personally I find the simplest way to do that is with the Mackie U.420d mixing board. (This is the board I use to translate my professional mics to the computer.) So another $280 there.
You don’t need to be Madonna
I don’t line all of that out to scare you. The fact is that if you’re recording teaching or podcasts or audiobooks, you don’t need that sort of rig. Really. You don’t.
There are myriad ways of setting up equipment to make your recordings sound really pretty good, without spending $1,000 on gear alone. It’s just that the $50 Plantronics headset isn’t the best option.
If you’re broke, go ahead and use what you have. Just be aware that if you want to keep on doing recording, you should save up for something better. There are a couple of USB microphones that are decent enough quality that you can consider it as a step up from the cheap headsets.
If, however, you are going to be recording a lot – particularly if you’re going to sell what you record – it’s worth the money and the initial setup to invest in quality gear and to learn to use it properly.
In this sort of arrangement, I mean a quality condenser microphone (unless you’re taking it on the road, then a dynamic might be a better choice for you), a proper stand for the microphone, and a sound board that will either go out to an Analog-to-Digital converter, or has that capability built into it (as does the Mackie I referenced above). In addition to this, you need to have software for your computer that will allow you to capture and then edit what you record – and this will vary depending upon whether you’re on a Mac, Windows, or Linux machine.
I know this can sound overwhelming…
…but I promise it’s really not that hard. If you’re so inclined, you can do the research yourself on the interwebs. If you have the time and the desire, there’s tons of information out there just waiting for you to click on it.
The other option is to find someone to help you. Yes, I offer my help in this area for a fee. So do many other people. If you catch me on Twitter, I’m happy to give you some quickie help then and there.
To Sum Up
If you’re not doing much recording – and are not selling any of it – go right ahead and use your headset. If, however, you want to do more and sound better, a USB headset just isn’t the best option.
Agree? Disagree? Comment away.
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