Deciding on which microphone

[alexwaters]

I'm stuck between getting the blue yeti with boom arm and shockmount, and the blue yeti pro without. Any suggestions?

[philchenevert]

I like the arm - I can just swivel my mic away and back again when needed. Other than that I don't have any preference.

[tovarisch]

+1 on the arm. It's a great way to position your mic so that it does not obstruct the reading material (the screen in my case). There are better mics than a Yeti, however. More expensive of course (all things considered).

[GrayHouse]

Obviously you don't need to spend anything to start recording on Librivox. But if you're determined to spend money then the Yeti is a good choice.

I wouldn't pay the extra cost for the Pro version. A lot of the tone and general audio quality of a condenser mic is determined by the condenser capsule (the transducer(s) that sit behind the grille and pick up the sound). The Pro version uses the same capsules as the regular Yeti, and there's nothing else inside that justifies the extra cost. It doesn't "sound better" than the regular version.

-Ian

[cowguy02]

Get the regular mic. The pro has the same capsule. However at the price I would seriously consider the Audio-Technica AT2020USB PLUS

I'm a AT kinda guy so that would be my pick. I use a audio techinca every day and It works like a champ. I have never used this specific model however I have friends who rave over the sound quality.

I here that rode makes one to that it supposed to be pretty decent.

Honestly though anything will be good for librivox. But if your ever planning on going pro with it get the AT. It will be good enough to get audiobook contracts that pay (should you so desire) or just to have fun with for librivox.

Anyway thats my 2 cents

[Kalamareader]

When I started with this thing, I looked at all sorts of mics. From very expensive ones to cheap ones. I have listened to hundreds of audio books in my life, all professionally done. I have always wanted to try my hand at this, and then my son-in-law told me about Librivox. Anyway, as I didn't know how long I would be doing this, and money was a bit (very large bit) in the equation of mics, I went with the cheapest one I could find, a $19.75 Tonor. It came with mic, 'desk tripod', and both types of pop filters. I set it up on the shelf that slides out to hold my keyboard, turn on my computer in my family room and away I go. I have a Dell Desktop running Windows 7. I record into Audacity, then run it through MP3 Gain, then submit it. I don't use any other software, or other features on Audacity except occasionally I work with the "Amplify" option when I do edits and the volume needs some tweaking. Even with this set up I have received positive feedback on my work from PLers, MCs and other contributors. So, it isn't really necessary to spend a lot of money. Just my two cents worth.

Wayne

[annise]

And that is the case with most people here. They start with what the have or something reasonably cheap. Do the 1-minute test to tweak things. There are very rare cases when the one they have will not give satisfactory readings but I think they are decreasing even more as inbuilt microphones improve. Most audiobooks are not used in perfect conditions on perfect platforms, they are used in gyms, running, driving, commuting. in bed at night, doing the housework, etc. with speakers that are adequate, not perfect.

So if you decide after a while you love it and want something better that maybe suits your voice and move away from the one size fits all model, then spend some money then.

Anne

[cowguy02]

So, it isn't really necessary to spend a lot of money. Just my two cents worth.

Totally agree. Just to clarify I’m not suggesting that you have to spend a ton to get a good mic just that while your getting up there to look around at the options before choosing.