The front face of the mic has a silver grille and a small status LED—watch this light for peak indicators. There's no gain knob, but you can use the switch on the left side to "pad" the mic -10dB—useful if your recording subject is loud, or seems to be peaking out at times. You can adjust the gain in your recording software in a more fine-tuned manner, but there's unfortunately no gain knob on the mic itself. Audio-Technica is a renowned brand in the audio space. And the AT2020 is a top recommendation if you’re looking for a mic from the brand. The microphone is specifically meant for vocalists, so it emphasizes clear tones.

The dual mic patterns are a solid feature, allowing you to record in cardioid or omnidirectional modes. Cardioid is ideal for most applications in which your sound source is a single person or object in a fixed location, and the omni mode is ideal for recording an entire room's sound. Having both a USB and XLR connection means you can even record through both simultaneously. If you’re doing an important interview on location and are scared of something breaking, this is a comforting safety net to have in place. You can also use this dual functionality to assist you when doing a mix-minus remote interview. The recorded sound of the Samson Q9U microphone changed very subtly when I used it as an XLR mic and connected it to my Universal Audio Apollo interface. This is likely due to the use of the external interface’s own analog-to-digital conversion rather than the converters inside the microphone, and the end results felt a touch bit more detailed on the high-frequency end. While this is mildly interesting to note in the context of a gear test and a good thing to keep in mind, this small difference between USB and XLR mode probably won’t make a noticeable difference in sound quality or viability in the long run.

So what now?

The Maono mic is advantageous for buyers on a budget as it includes several accessories, saving additional expenses. The included pop filter cuts out wind noise while the boom stand firmly attaches the mic to your table/desk. You can even adjust the mic at various different angles to face you when recording.

Here are a couple of sound samples I’ve recorded for you. They were initially recorded for our Best Budget Mics roundup, and feature segments of a reading from Beatrix Potter’s dark horror classic Peter Rabbit. Samson Q2U as USB Its simplicity, versatility, and accessories make for incredible value. It’s the mic we recommend to people the most here at The Podcast Host, and we use it a lot, too.If you intend on using an interface to podcast, and something breaks, you can switch to USB and record directly into your computer.Likewise, if you are on the road and have your microphone with you, there’s more chance of finding a setup to accommodate it if you want to do some recording on the fly. There are several USB condenser mics for singing with different features, audio patterns, etc. In fact, you can even find tiny, portable microphones with USB ports or get a full-fledged mic set with a boom stand and a pop filter. We’ve included options across varying budgets so you can get the best microphone for recording vocals based on your requirements. But before that – So, in the absence of DSP, you'll need to be more diligent about mic placement and overall levels. It'll help you get better recordings in general if you learn how to angle the mic for various scenarios. And it's certainly possible to get a solid, clean recording from the Go Mic. Conclusions