On this episode I talk with Laura Davidson from Shure about different mics that would be good for podcasters

Welcome to Podcast Answers, the show where I help you start and grow your podcast. Answering

all sorts of podcasting questions along the way in this week is no different. This week,

I'm super excited to have Laura Davidson from Shure on. She's going to talk to us all about

microphones, what microphones you can use to start your podcast, to grow your podcast,

what microphones are the best.

And I'm super excited about it. She's super smart. She's a musician. She works at Shure

and she knows about microphones. So without further ado, let's get into that interview.

But first, I do want to apologize because my internet cut out while in the middle of

this interview and then was flaky.

So there are some parts where she cuts out for a few seconds. So just bear with me. You

should be able to get the information good. But just know that that's what happened. The

internet was cutting out as we were doing the interview. Welcome, everybody. I have

Laura Davidson with me from Shure. Welcome to the show, Laura.

Thanks for having me. It's exciting to be here.

So I wanted to talk a little bit today about microphones. There are all sorts of different

microphones that you can use on podcasting and ranging from fairly cheap ones to very,

very, very expensive ones. And it may not be the best one to have a very expensive one

for you. It may be. But let's just talk a little bit about mics in general.

Let's start with... Okay, so I'm starting with a podcast. But I don't really know a

whole lot about audio. What should I do? Should I get the SM7B? That's digging in deep pretty

quickly. But what are some options for me if I'm just starting out podcasting?

Yeah, that's a great question. And I get it a lot. And there's a couple of different options

for people. There's a lot actually of options. But what I usually ask is, "Where are you

going to be recording your podcast?" Because if you're going to be in a room like you and

I are sitting in, that's like a normal room, that's not acoustically treated, it's not

a professional studio, you're probably going to have to deal with some natural room reflections.

And so if that's the case, it's better to go with something called a dynamic microphone

as opposed to a condenser microphone. And those are just two physical principles of

how the microphones work and how they pick up the audio, two different types. And the

dynamics take a little bit more physical energy to pick up the sound. So that's why it's better

in untreated rooms because you won't get as much of the reflections off your painted drywall

or your hardwood floors or glass windows. So where are you going to be recording is

the first question. And then the second one is usually, "How do you want to record?" Do

you want to be able to just have a microphone and a computer and a set of headphones and

that's it? Because if that's the case, then you should go with a USB microphone, something

like the one I'm talking into, which is our MV7 Plus from Shure. And then that way, it's

got a headphone jack on the back, it has USB-C out into your computer, and you just plug

in and that is essentially acting as your interface because that's the next step. If

you know you're going to have guests, you might want to think about an interface and

then that way you can plug in multiple microphones. Although we now have added this cool feature

with our MV7 Plus called MotiveMix, which allows you to plug in multiple USB mics and

have control over them. But that is a lot of information that I just threw at you.

Sure. So I'm going to recap what you said. So dynamic and condenser. So if you're dynamic,

that's going to be a little bit more something that takes a little more power, but it's not

going to be as... You're not gonna hear as much of the room noise. Is that correct? Whereas

condenser, you're going to take less power to power it, but you're going to hear everything

in the room. You're going to hear more of the room.

It's not even less power to power it necessarily. It's just that the way that a condenser microphone

is meant to work is it doesn't have what this one does, which is a magnet and a coil, and

it has to move those physical parts and pieces. It has an electrically charged back plate

that is what's creating that electromagnetic field and transferring, transducing your acoustic

signal into an electric signal. So there's just less barrier to entry. But it's just...

Yeah, it's a little bit less... You get more sounds picked up because you're able to move

the diaphragm much easier with a condenser.

Yeah. When I started podcasting, I had one and it was not the best for the room that

I was in. And so I quickly moved up to a different mic that ended up sounding better because

it didn't have all the room noise in it. Because especially this room that I'm in right now

is a fairly big room. And you're right, it's not acoustically treated at all. And so if

I have a mic that's going to pick up the room noise, you're going to hear it in the podcast.

Yeah, because that's the thing about microphones is that they're not discerning critters. So

they are meant to pick up sound, which can be vibrations, it can be vocals, it can be

noise. So HVAC doesn't discriminate between that or the human voice. Now, there are some

cool algorithms and plugins that have been created that can de-noise your scenario. And

I use that a lot on my podcast. I use something called Hush. And that just takes out all of

that ambient noise. But there's always so much you can do if you have an HVAC return

right above your head coming into your condenser mic, it's going to pick that up. So that's

something to take into consideration.

Yeah, and on my interface, so I'm using the SM7B right now. And on my interface that I'm

using, I have a noise gate, but still, that works if I'm not talking. But as soon as I

start talking, you're going to hear those room noises. So if the air conditioner is

going, you're going to hear it as I'm talking. You won't hear it when I'm quiet when you're

talking, but you're going to hear it if I'm talking.

Right. Yeah. And that's the thing with a noise gate. A noise gate essentially just lets you...

It opens up when it hears sound or senses sound, any sound or noise and closes when

it doesn't. But yeah, it's not going to be able to take everything out.

Sure. So going from the SM7B or not the SM7B, the MV7+ that you have that you're using right

now, what's the price range on that? And if someone's going to be getting into podcasting,

is that a good entry mic for them to get into?

Yeah, absolutely. In my mind, it's the best bang for your buck because it's $279 US. So

when you're buying that as your microphone, you're getting your interface and your headphone

amp and your microphone and everything all in one, especially because it has an XLR out

on the back. So it's a dual option. So if you do decide that you want to get an interface

down the road, it will stay with you and continue to grow. So yeah, it's my favorite.

Can you tell me a little bit about the Motive app that you were talking about where you

can have multiple USB mics into your computer?

Yeah, absolutely. So Motive Mix came out when we launched the MV7+. And it's basically,

it's like a software routing system for multiple inputs. And so you can do five USB inputs,

and then three additional inputs, digital inputs. So let's say you have guests that

you want to do, you could plug in via Motive Mix and not have to set up something called

an aggregate device if you're using a Mac, for example, which you can do with it's not

a workaround. It's just a way of having two inputs being able to be sourced on your Mac.

But with Motive Mix, you just plug them in and it recognizes all of those input sources.

And then you can have your guests and incorporate, let's say, your team's audio or your Zoom

audio as another audio source, or your computer audio if you were bringing in video clips

and you wanted to have that audio included. So any digital audio source can be mixed into

Motive Mix and then added into your live broadcast, your podcast, your recording.

So then that just shows up in your app that you're using to do the recording or broadcasting

or it just shows up as one singular mic. Is that correct?

No. So in Motive Mix, you see all of those inputs available and then you can record directly

into Motive Mix. And you have the option to sum all of those inputs or have it record

individual inputs, which is really cool because then right in the app, you could use it like

some other services that are out there, like Riverside, for example, when you're doing

that remote recording of a guest, it takes in your video and your audio stems and then

spits out a nice clean package. With Motive Mix, it'll do that for your audio side, which

is nice.

Yeah. Because then if you want to go back and record and edit and post or whatever,

you can, let's say someone coughed or whatever, you can take their mic down and get rid of

it. So yeah, that's definitely nice to have.

Yeah.

Well, and I like what that MV7+ has too, because you did mention it has USB-C as well as XLR

on it. So let's say you do want to bring it into something different, like a RodeCaster

or some other audio interface or device, you can plug that into that and not have to step

up to something. You want to get a different mic. You already have a mic that you're using.

You're using for just your computer. And then you can do... Okay, great. Yeah, that's all.

Yeah, exactly. And something to keep in mind though, and people ask us this and it's funny,

but we don't even think about it sometimes is when you're using it via USB, you have

access to some of the what's called digital signal processing, DSP effects through the

Motive Mix app. So I can add denoiser, I can add compression and EQ and put it in what's

called auto level mode, which it's in right now. So it's essentially adjusting as I get

quieter or louder. But when you use it in XLR, you lose those features because it's

being controlled by the USB and the power from the USB to power those features. So just

something to keep in mind when you do go to your RodeCaster or you go to something else

to plug into an analog mixer, it is an analog mic just as if you were plugging in an SM58

into your mixer directly. So people are like, "Well, it's not lighting up anymore." I'm

like, "Yep, I know because it's a dynamic mic." So something to think of, but gives

you flexibility. Definitely.

The nice thing about the auto leveling is, as you and I know, we've been doing podcasting

and recording and stuff for a long time, but a lot of our guests don't. And so what I get

a lot of people that way back here and it's...

Oh, yeah.

...and they're not right on top of the mic, close to it. And so that's helpful for people

who aren't necessarily used to doing on mic things. Alright, so we've talked a little

bit about the entry level mics. And what about if someone wants to move on from there and

move up to something a little bit more expensive, a little bit better sound quality, what would

they move up to?

So there's a few steps in between microphone types when you go from USB to dynamic or when

you go to, let's say, an SM7B. But I usually recommend that as the next...

With your MV7, for example, or a USB microphone, the next logical step for me is to invest

in yourself a little bit more and go for something like our SM7B, which you're using.

Or the new one, the SM7DB, which is this one right here, which has some unique controls

on the back, including a built-in preamp. So the one that you're using, you know, it

can be pretty gain hungry and can power it and provide enough gain. Well, now we've added

plus 18 dB or 28 dB that you can just engage with the click of a switch and have essentially

the same thing as an SM7B because this is exactly the same microphone as what you're

using. It just has that onboard preamp and has more tactile controls of the switches.

You can see on yours, you have to kind of use a pen or a paperclip to adjust somewhere,

whereas now you can just reach back and adjust your frequency responses. So there are some

multiple steps in between. But if you're going... If you start with a USB mic, and then you're

ready to take it up a notch, I mean, I can't... The SM7B or DB enough. They're just... They're

the best. They're professional quality and worth the investment.

They are. I definitely love having them. But depending on, again, on what interface you

have, you either need to have some sort of a CloudLifter or some other preamp to make

it work. And so that one there looks really nice because you can use it with really anything.

And it'll provide enough gain. So that's cool. That's definitely cool.

Yeah. Yeah. So that one just came out this year. So the SM7B in this iteration has been

out since the 90s. Well, since the 90s. Fire microphone, but you can see with this one

and this one that the only difference is just about a quarter inch of length. The original

is gray, the new SM7DB is black, and then you have that onboard preamp and some tactile

switches. So same great mic. But yeah, when you're ready to go up, go up to the SM7B or

DB.

Yes, definitely. It's one of those things that are worth the investment. And as you're

starting out, I know that that's a lot of money to put in at the first, but it's definitely

worth it.

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So $399 and $499 respectively for those playing along at home, if you're

based in the US.

Right. And really, that's not that much more than the MV7+ that you've had just talked

about. So really, it's not much.

Yeah. And I always tell people that when they say, "Well, that's a lot of money." And it

is. You could buy yourself a $70 mic and get started and be off to the races. However,

you're probably going to start, once you've gotten your cadence, going to hear things

that you don't love about the recording and things that you want to improve. So I always

say, if you can, and if you're comfortable with making the investment in yourself, go

for it because you're ultimately worth it. We would spend a couple hundred bucks on a

nice dinner. Spend a couple hundred bucks on the mic or 300 bucks on the mic and get

a really great quality investment that's going to give you one less thing to worry about.

Because when you're doing the podcasting, when you're first starting out, especially

when you're doing different applications, how are you going to publish it? And how are

you going to edit it? And how are you going to promote it? All this stuff. And it's like,

make the gear easy. Buy the right one first.

Definitely. So what are some other options? I saw you... Before we started the interview,

you started and ran around and grabbed a bunch of things from your office there. What are

some other things that you want to talk about as far as mics go?

Yeah, so let's say you're starting your podcast and you're a musician or you're somebody who's

been in the industry for a minute and you already have something like, this is our PGA

mic, but PGA 58 specifically, but if you have an SM58 or an SM57, we make this cool interface

that looks like this. And this is the MVX2U. It's a USB-C with a headphone out and it lets

you take any XLR microphone, dynamic or condenser, and turn it into a USB mic so that you can

have that high quality sound on the go. If you like this form factor, grab your beta

58 and use that for your podcasting. Maybe you're more of a handheld kind of person.

This is a really cool option for you. So it just plugs right on to the bottom of the mic,

or you can use a cable to extend it to give you some more wiggle room and then you run

your USB-C to your computer and that's it. So that's another fun option for turning any

existing mic into a USB mic. That was the first thing or that was the last thing I grabbed.

Then there's this one. This is our, it looks strikingly similar to the MVX2U with two very

different things. This is the MV88 Plus, which is a stereo condenser mic. That's why it has

that right and left indicator on there. And this is a USB powered mic. I don't have my

cables plugged in, so don't be deceived. These are not wireless, but it runs USB into your

devices, your phones or into your computer, has the headphone out. And the advantage of

this one, the kit that it comes with, sorry for the noise. Sorry, it's under a pile. You

should see my desk. I should probably show you that so that people would be like, "Oh,

I get why she has all of these things in front of her." Okay, sorry. Okay, so here's the

kit. So you put your phone into the kit and then that way it's for vlogging, it's for

content creation, for podcasting, but you can change the orientation of the mic with

the app. So that's in stereo mode and capturing some foley and then putting it in this mode

facing towards you. You do a quick podcast or a vlog and then if you want to put it in

this mode, this opens up both sides of the mic and essentially is like, it's called mono

bi-directional. So you'd have your guest here and you there and you have that on the go

mic. So this is a very cool tool when it comes with this whole kit. So, different options.

Yeah. Very, very, very cool. So yeah, there's so many options for us as content creators

and podcasters to do. I definitely like the ability for that. Again, I'm going to go back

to the XLR USB-C mics that are dual because...

Oh, this one.

Either one. Either one where you can take it and take it with you because there's been

lots of times where I'm sitting in my studio and that works great. But for me, if I'm going

to be going to... Let's say I'm on a road trip for work or whatever and I want to create

some content, I don't want to pack my whole studio with me. So it's going to be easier

for me to take a single mic, plug it into my laptop and go.

Yes. Which I've used this one on multiple episodes of my podcast, which is called Song

43. And it's great because it's great for recording music, which my podcast is about.

Or it's great for recording in a hotel room. I've been tired at the end of the day and

just recorded in my bed just like, "This is my podcast." Because it's just so tiny.

But I've also taken this one out many, many times. This is the MV7 Plus. So the new version

of this, but it goes right in your backpack, just like that. So very, very compact. Yeah,

I'm a big fan of the mobile podcast rig. So yes, we make many solutions for that.

Awesome. I appreciate you coming on onto the show today and just talking about mics. Anything

else that you want to let us know? You're super knowledgeable. So if there's anything

about mics that you want to let my listeners know about?

Just like we were talking about earlier, but they're not smart creatures. You have to work

with the mic. So definitely make sure that you're recording with a set of headphones

on or in-ears so that you can monitor yourself and make sure that you're staying close enough

to the mic.

And if you're getting off, you'll hear it's thin out and get quiet. So just making sure

that you learn what mic technique is. And it's a helpful tip if you are using a mic

that's prone to what's called plosives, where you have that kind of popping sound on consonants,

just turn the mic off axis a little bit. So this is on axis directly on axis a little

bit where you're talking across the surface of the mic instead of directly into it and

that will help alleviate the plosives.

Awesome. Awesome. Thanks again for being on the show. I really appreciate it.

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Thank you, Laura, so much for being on the show. Really appreciate it and your knowledge

and your information that you were able to give to the listeners here as far as starting

out with something as simple as the MV7 Plus.

And if you want to move up to something professional, like the SM7B or the SM7DB, both great mics.

I'm using the SM7B here for this show. And so yeah, you can hear exactly what it sounds

like here.

But yes, thank you again, Laura, for being on the show. If you have any questions for

me, feel free to reach out at podcastanswers.com/contact. And I would love to help you out, get you started

and fit with the right mic.

Bye.

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