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

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

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

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

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what microphones are the best.

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

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

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

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this interview and then was flaky.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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the diaphragm much easier with a condenser.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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something to take into consideration.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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can have multiple USB mics into your computer?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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is nice.

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

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

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

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Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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you flexibility. Definitely.

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

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

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

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Oh, yeah.

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

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

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

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

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they move up to?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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DB.

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

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

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worth it.

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

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based in the US.

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

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about. So really, it's not much.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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make the gear easy. Buy the right one first.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Oh, this one.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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to the mic.

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

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

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

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

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

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that will help alleviate the plosives.

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

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Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

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

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

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out with something as simple as the MV7 Plus.

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

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

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like here.

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

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

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and fit with the right mic.

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Bye.

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(upbeat music)