Mic check one, two...25?
I think it's probably time that we talked about this.
(royalty free jamz)
I was looking at all of these microphones the other day
and I realized this might be a little ridiculous.
And so I wanted to kind of explain a few things
about how this happened,
why it happened,
and also why I'm probably not gonna do anything about it
because I really enjoy it and I love all of these things.
The one I'm using right now,
this microphone is the Lewitt LCT-240 Pro,
I just got this thing yesterday.
So this is a thing, this is a hobby,
we'll just call it that because then it sounds productive.
But really until just about a year ago,
I only had a handful of microphones
and each had a specific purpose.
I had my Rode VideoMic Pro+ for videos.
I had a Blue Yeti that I bought for live streaming.
I had the Shure SM57 that I bought like 16 years ago
for recording guitars.
I had a Zoom H4n that I bought like 10 years ago
to do some video work.
And I had my PodMic because when I got the Rodecaster,
I wanted to get a good microphone so I bought the PodMic
because it was the one that was kind of designed
to work with the Rodecaster,
and this is also a big thing that I wanna talk about
'cause once I bought my PodMic,
I kind of thought I was done
like why would I need another microphone?
Little did I know.
So in case you're wondering,
I do have some numbers here,
the total value of all 25 of these microphones is $4,006,
which is a lot of money.
But I do wanna point out though
that in the world of microphones,
there are single microphones out there that cost,
you know, two or three times as much
as all of these combined for that one single microphone,
and one thing that's kind of neat about this mic collection,
is it's relatively budget centric.
The most expensive mic that I have is the Shure SM7B,
which is a $400 microphone,
and I didn't even have to pay for that one,
which is really cool,
Sweetwater Sound sent me that one over
so I could use it in my videos for tests and comparisons,
and that's pretty awesome and it's just a fortunate thing
where the most expensive mic here
I didn't have to spend the money on.
The most expensive mic that I have purchased myself,
I believe is the Shure Super 55,
which is like a $270 microphone,
followed closely by the MV7 which is a $250 microphone.
Some other things here,
the most expensive microphone being the Shure SM7B,
the least expensive microphone being this one right here,
which is the Pyle PDMIC78.
I do have the windscreen for the SM57 on it,
which actually costs more than the microphone
because this microphone I only paid $14 for it.
And it's actually a really good one,
did a whole video about that,
it's a cool mic, check it out.
And the reason that I have the microphone
split into these two things
is because these are all the ones
that I have received for free,
except for this one, this white one that I'm using,
I paid for that one,
and these are all the ones I paid for myself.
So in case you're wondering the free microphones
total $1,890,
and the paid microphones total $2,116.
And the free microphones only really exist
because of the opportunities from this YouTube channel,
otherwise I have no idea
why I would end up with free microphones,
that's a super cool thing.
But microphones are something
I've always been interested in.
I actually have a very clear recollection
of the first time I ever used a microphone,
it was in the third grade,
we did a play about the weather
and I was Wally the Weather Man,
I'm sure you recognize that character from stage plays
across the centuries.
And whether or not you believe it,
that was where I fell in love with microphones
because I got to use a handheld microphone
that didn't even have any wires,
which was crazy,
and I got to talk into it
and there was something about using the microphone
that was just really, really fun,
especially because as like a nine-year-old
I could say something and my whole voice would echo.
I know that's how microphones work,
I'm just describing how microphones work,
but the fact that I could say something
in my little nine-year-old voice
in a whole multipurpose room where the play was,
my voice would be like booming through the speakers,
that was really cool.
And as I got into video cameras
and learning about audio as I got older,
I just always really liked microphones.
They all do have different purposes and different sounds,
most of them sound pretty dang good with a few exceptions.
For the most part they're actually pretty good
and they all serve different purposes,
we've got condensers,
we've got dynamic microphones,
USB microphones,
XLR microphones, combo microphones,
shotgun microphones,
on-camera microphones,
like there are different purposes
for all these different ones,
so I actually don't even really have a favorite.
The PodMic always holds a close place to my heart
and I wanna talk about this in a second.
I think the Rode NT1
is really a phenomenal sounding microphone,
especially if you have a decently treated room.
Of course the SM7B is great,
kind of have a complicated history with that mic though
that's like a topic for another video.
And the Super 55 is good,
the Worker Bee,
I'm really liking this Lewitt microphone.
So like I can't pick a favorite,
like can't pick a favorite of my children here.
But what I can say is with the most expensive microphone
being $400 and the rest,
most of them are around 100 maybe up to $200.
It's a relatively budget friendly mic collection,
but there is a real purpose,
a real reason that I wanted to make this video
'cause there's something that's been bothering me
and I just wanted to make sure to address it and clear it up
with anyone who might be watching.
It has to do with the PodMic because when I got my PodMic,
which I now have three of these,
I still think for about $100,
it's a great sounding microphone,
needs a little EQ to tame some of the high end,
boost some of the low end,
but it's a great sounding mic,
it's super well built,
it's super versatile to mount
because it has a five-eights and three-eighths
inch mount built into it,
it's compact, it's a great microphone.
And when I bought this microphone I was so excited about it
that of course I was using it in a bunch of videos
and making reviews and comparisons with it,
and then there were a lot of people who bought PodMics
based on my recommendation,
and that's awesome and I'm honored
that you would trust me enough to allow me to play a role
in your decision on what to invest your money in.
But I actually feel guilty when then a few months later
you might watch a video from me
and now suddenly I'm using a different microphone
that's not the PodMic because then I wouldn't want you
to feel like, wait, I bought this
because of your recommendation
and you don't even use it anymore,
you're using something else,
and that's really not the case.
I've used solely the PodMic for a long time
and I really liked it
and I thought I was kind of okay with microphones,
but then I don't know what it was
the PodMic was like a gateway microphone
to a larger world of other options that are out there,
and then I just started having a lot of fun
trying different microphones, comparing them.
This past school year when I was teaching
and I was teaching online
and I was doing multiple classes a day,
every single day online,
it became really fun to like try out different microphones
and spend the whole day hearing how they sound
and switching between them,
so that's why I say I don't have a favorite,
they all shine in their own specific ways
and have unique characteristics,
which is really, really fun.
But 100%, anytime you see me review a microphone,
that's my own choice to review it.
It's not 'cause the company's pushing me to do it,
it's not because I'm being forced to do it,
I'm not trying to just sell you on a microphone,
I'm just showing you something I'm excited about.
Having this collection is great
'cause that's when I can do the head-to-head mic battles,
the mic showdowns,
which is also a reason why I keep the microphones
for so long in addition to the fact
that I just use them and I switch between them.
It's really nice to have them so that I can do comparisons
and swap them out and kind of show the difference
between price levels,
types of microphones, all that stuff.
So, these are tools that I need to essentially,
you know, run my channel
and make the videos that I wanna make.
But I just wanted to really emphasize
that you would never see a microphone on my channel
that I either wouldn't actually buy myself
or even if it was sent to me for free,
there's a lot of hoops that companies have to jump through
before I'll accept something for free,
and if I choose to make a video about it,
that's 100% my decision,
no one tells me to do that.
So even if you see a video where I say like,
oh, Rode sent me this microphone for free,
there's no commitment on my part
to actually make a video about it,
I'm 100% choosing to make a video about it on my own.
And I would never make a video about a microphone
that I wouldn't be comfortable spending my money on.
So whether you're dying for a Deity
or you're going down the road to Rode,
or you're not quite sure which microphone
is the one for you,
or you've got an old mic
and now you want a newer microphone,
or you want a mic that you just hope isn't a Pyle,
or maybe you just want a neat microphone,
could do this all day.
The whole point is that when you watch
one of my microphone videos,
I'm sharing something with you
that I am really excited about,
that I would recommend,
that I'm not trying to sell you on something
like under duress or anything,
this is just something that I have a lot of fun with,
and I really like sharing it,
it seems like a lot of other people out there
are interested in microphones.
I don't wanna say it's an addiction,
but I could probably get it under control if I needed to
because I don't know if you know or not,
but I actually once was addicted to the Hokey Pokey
but I managed to turn myself around.
(Thanks to all of these awesome Channel Supporters!)