So, as I'm sure any of you who've listened to the Watchcast know, I've had major issues where my microphone drops some of my audio at random. The only explanation I have for it is a crappy microphone on my headset.
Now, I'm more than willing to spend money when it's necessary and not too much. My eventual goal is to get a studio-quality condenser mic, but I don't have the money for that right now, and I certainly don't have the money for a proper arm and shock mount for it! It turns out that the USB microphone from Rock Band works great on PCs. It's actually a pretty solid condenser mic. It's not quite studio quality, but for what I do, it's good enough for now!
So problem solved, right? Not exactly...
I have to hold the microphone in my hand.
To give you an example of how much that hurt, Flessas and I spent about 2 hours on Tuesday recording. I had to hold the microphone for 2 hours. My arm cramped so bad from that.
So Starfire needs a mic stand. $100 from Amazon for a nice adjustable arm stand, $20 or so for a "universal" shock mount (keeps the microphone from picking up vibrations on the desk it's mounted to), and $10 for a pop filter. No, I don't think I'm going to throw down the cost of 2 AAA titles for that, thank you very much!
Walmart has an adjustable desk lamp on clearance for $6. I ordered it tonight for store pickup. There's a hardware store right next to Walmart around here. I'm going to get a 2" PVC coupler, remove the lamp portion from the arm, cut notches in the coupler for rubber bands, and DIY my own arm and shock mount. I could DIY the pop filter too, but $10 is cheap enough I can justify buying one instead of making one for nearly the same price.
Total price for my audio upgrade will be around $20. I really can't wait to get started!
