greetings earthlings today I'm going to
try to answer the age-old question of
what type of microphone you should buy
an XLR or a USB mic so before we dive
into the pros and cons of these mics I
want to give you a really simple
question that you can ask yourself to
help determine what type of mic is right
for you do you want a plug-and-play
microphone which would fall into the
category of a USB microphone or do you
want a versatile upgradable sometimes
complex microphone which would fall into
the category of an XLR microphone so
first let's go ahead and walk through
the pros and cons of a USB mic so the
main appeal of USB microphones is that
they are plug-and-play which means you
just take the USB cable plug it into the
USB port on your computer maybe download
a driver set the volume and you're good
to go
also the performance of USB mic should
be fairly consistent across computers
because all USB microphones should have
a voltage requirement of 5 volts or less
which is what USB 1 2 & 3 have been
standardized to output however I do want
to put a small disclaimer in there I
have heard quite a few horror stories
about recording USB mics on Windows 10
and I have not come across any real
solutions yet so be careful if you use
Windows 10 as far as cons for USB
microphones it's incredibly difficult to
upgrade anything about them short of
buying a new microphone I also find the
USB mics to be much more difficult to
troubleshoot because you can't change
out individual components to find where
the problems originating from another
con is if you want to record multiple
USB mics on a single computer it can get
very confusing very fast and if you want
to record multiple USB mics to different
computers the internal clocks of the
computers can be slightly different
which would yield syncing issues in post
and I think the last con is you have to
have a computer in order for a USB
microphone to work now let's go ahead
and talk about the pros and cons of XLR
mics I think one of the biggest pros for
XLR mics is the variety of them you can
get them to suit pretty much any need
that you have also to me I think XLR
mics are much easier to troubleshoot
can change out a cable you can change
out an interface he can test out a
different microphone to really pinpoint
where the trouble is on that note it's
easier to upgrade down the line so if
you're unhappy with your microphone you
can buy a new one if you're not happy
with your interface you can pick up a
different one to fit your needs if you
want a longer cable it's easier to pick
one of those up it's just all around a
much better eco system in my opinion
also if you want to record multiple mics
on a single computer it is much easier
all you need is a USB interface that has
multiple XLR inputs and one of the main
reasons I prefer XLR mics is I'm not
tied to my computer I can record to a
portable recorder I can plug into my
camera with an adapter I can record to
an analog tape machine if I have a
dynamic mic I can record to a PA it is
just a much more versatile microphone
system as far as the cons I just find it
to be more expensive because he do have
to invest in a decent interface and if
you want a decent microphone that's also
pretty pricey the other con people
probably find it more confusing because
of the cables the microphones the
interface is the phantom power all these
different components can be very
overwhelming so when it comes down to it
it really is a case-by-case basis if
you're always going to be recording
sitting at your computer and you don't
want all these different components to
deal with then maybe a USB mics right
for you or maybe you run a podcast with
multiple guests or you want to start a
home studio in which case you need a lot
of versatility and control over the
sound you're recording and in that case
XLR is probably the right choice for you
so when we boil down all that
information it really comes back to
those two initial questions do you want
a plug-and-play microphone which would
be a USB microphone or do you want a
versatile upgradable kind of complex
microphone system which would be an XLR
mic alright guys I guess that'll do it
for today I know this was way different
than what I typically do but I want to
branch out and do more of this
educational stuff so if you did find
this helpful if you enjoyed it go ahead
and give me a thumbs up and let me know
what other questions you want me to
tackle in the comments down below on the
other hand if you thought it sucked give
me a big ol thumbs down but if you do
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also vote for the microphones you want
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links and the doobly-doo alright guys
I'll see you all next time thanks for
watching goodbye
[Music]