When I first got into podcasting there was a fairly successful indie podcast on Southgate Media that literally used a laptop and a RockBand video game microphone to record. Surprisingly it was a fair quality mic and as long as he held it close and later did some editing it performed the way the podcaster needed it to do.
This rule doesn’t necessarily apply when Streaming - it’s likely you have something that works, but you really need something that sounds GOOD because this is a live show and you rarely can fix much after the fact. We have a few recommendations based on expense:
(1) A Gaming Headset - 10 years ago gaming headsets were terrible. Gamers needed to communicate and often the mics were bare minimum and sounded like a dial-up phone call from a truck stop. Now? Streaming is in and gamers need good sounding gear. We’ve had great success with newer generations of Logitech and Razer brand headsets.
(2) USB Stand Alone Mics - normally we don’t recommend these for beginning streamers. Yeti Snowball Mics are HOT; meaning they pic up everything and if you put them too far away you’re going to sound echo-y and hollow and your mic may be on screen. You have to invest money into the higher models of these lines that come with Gain Control in order to really do a good job to dial in your sound. Yeah, they look cool, but often they are just a jumping off point to something else.
(3) USB Mixers for XLR Mics - this is a wonderful setup if you want to invest the money (the mixer, the mic, mic stand, the headphones, and the cable). A good 1 or 2 channel USB Mixer by Presonus or Berringer runs around $60-100. If you want to sound and look professional this is the way to go (watch for streamer packages that come with the mixer, mic, mic stand, and everything as a package). This said, we do love ZOOM and own just about every major piece of equipment they’ve put out - if your just starting, you don’t need all of it. Shop around and find the setup that does what you need it to do, only.
(4) Pro Mixing Boards - if you’ve been to a music store you’re probably shocked by how accessible recording has become in recent years! You can buy a big mixing board, that is USB compatible, for less than $500. When I first started recording mixing boards were a huge deal and cost thousands! The advent of the home studio and online distribution such as AmazonMusic or even BandCamp BUT unless you are going to record a full table of players at home or are interested in recording a full band, you don’t really need it.
