Once upon a time, I wanted to be a famous Youtube musician. I’ve gone through many microphones including the Blue Yeti, MXL V67G, Shure SM57, Rode NT1, and Rode Podmic.
If there’s one lesson I’ve learnt from going through several microphones, it’s that condenser mics are only for people who have sound-treated rooms.
I’ve used condenser mics before with great success, however only with plenty of post-processing. What a huge scam it is that cheap microphones marketed towards people who definitely have less than ideal recording setups, and no audio engineering background, are condenser mics that will pick up every bit of background noise in the vicinity.
Hence I’ve always recommended to anyone asking what microphone they should get for home use, to check out the USB dynamic microphones by either samson or audio technica. Sure, they don’t look as fancy, but they will give you way clearer sound, especially if you’re just trying to record a podcast.
Many have asked why I never went for the Shure SM7b. The Shure SM7b is definitely a dream microphone, and there’s a reason why it’s being used everywhere. However, it’s a microphone that requires a lot of external equipment to run, including a pre-amp to boost the volume, and an audio interface to plug it into.
The Shure MV7 provides the background noise rejection that I need, as well as the warm podcast sound that I’m looking for. It also connects via USB which means I can travel much lighter.
The worst part about the microphone is probably the bright flashy SHURE logo on the side. However, I solved this by taking a sharpie and drawing over the logo. Now, everyone thinks it’s a Shure SM7b.
