BarkingDrum.com - Drums, Guides, Reviews
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • News
    • Home&health
  • Deals
  • Apple
  • Android
  • Samsung
  • Gadgets
  • Technology
  • Hardware
  • Gaming
  • Smart Home
  • News
    • Home&health
  • Deals
  • Apple
  • Android
  • Samsung
  • Gadgets
  • Technology
  • Hardware
  • Gaming
  • Smart Home
No Result
View All Result
BarkingDrum.com - Drums, Guides, Reviews
Home Blog

How to Connect a Condenser Mic to a Computer

Barking Drum by Barking Drum
April 4, 2022
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
How to Connect a Condenser Mic to a Computer

Updated on April 4th, 2022

Whether you’re recording soaring vocals or instrumentals, making your own sound effects, or producing a podcast, condenser mic is the way to go for getting the best-sounding recordings. A proper condenser mic is more sensitive than most dynamic microphones, and so it will produce a more nuanced and subtle sound.

Setting your microphone up correctly is important since, if you get it wrong, you’ll either simply not get any power to the mic or, at worst, you could damage or even break it. That’s because condenser mics require an external power source to operate, and the majority of them require what’s called phantom power. Connecting phantom power incorrectly will cause a loud popping sound, which is what causes the damage.

In this article, we’ll run through how to connect a condenser microphone to your computer, as well as to a combo amplifier, so you can avoid some of the common pitfalls and get to record your high-quality audio as easily as possible.

How to Connect a Condenser Mic to a Computer

The exact steps will vary somewhat depending on which microphone you have. Some of them come with an internal power source (batteries) or their own dedicated power supply, but most current product condenser mics will need phantom power. Making sure you have the right equipment is a necessary part of getting set up.

Although phantom power originally described an external device that’s able to tap into its own power supply and provide electrical power (in this case, phantom power) to a condenser mic, plugging a pair of unpowered computer speakers or another device into the USB port of your laptop or desktop and drawing the standard 5V and up to 0.5A of electrical power from your computer can be considered a sort of phantom power.

By the same token, if your microphone has a USB connector, you’ll be able to plug it directly into your computer. Most condenser mics, or at least the higher-end mics, don’t have one though, and if it doesn’t, you’ll need to get a mixer that can provide phantom power to the mic. There are plenty of simple and cheap mixers available made specifically for this purpose.

Next, you’ll need to be able to connect your mixer to your computer, which means you’ll either need to install a sound card that has a port for a quarter-inch jack, or you can get a mixer that has USB connectors and use those. Connect the microphone to the mixer, and the mixer to the computer. If either of them has any provided software, you should also be sure to install it.

Finally, you’ll need to get some decent recording software. While Windows and MacOS both come with recording software, they’re pretty basic in comparison to the dedicated products available on the market. Audacity, Adobe Audition, and Cakewalk are a few good examples you can check out.

How to Connect a Condenser Mic to a Combo Amp

Connecting your mic to a guitar amp can be a relatively simple process, provided that it has a three-pin XLR connector on it and is able to provide phantom power. Some manufacturers mislabel their amps as being able to provide phantom power when what they actually provide is bias power. If your amp only has quarter-inch audio jacks on it, rather than an XLR port, then it supplies bias power and not phantom power.

If it does have an XLR connector and phantom power, then it’s as simple as hooking up your mic to the amp using a male-to-female XLR cable. Otherwise, similar to connecting it to a computer, you’ll have to look into getting a preamp that provides both, or a condenser mic that has an onboard battery supply and a quarter-inch RCA audio jack connection.

Condenser Mic Tips

Here are a few things that will help you get the most out of your condenser microphone setup:

  • Always make sure that the phantom power switch, button, or software setting has been switched off before you connect or disconnect your microphone. It will usually be labeled as P48 or 48V. Leaving it on when plugging in or out will create a loud popping sound which can damage or even break your equipment
  • If your microphone has a pattern switch, set it to cardioid. This will ensure that it only picks up sounds from the front, as opposed to also picking up audio from the back and sides
  • Place your mic between 4 and 16 inches (10 to 41 centimeters) away from what you want to record, and make sure that it is facing in the right direction.

Conclusion

As long as you have the correct equipment, hooking up your condenser mic to your computer or guitar amp is pretty much as simple as switching off the power and plugging all the cables into the right places. Just be sure that you’re using the right cables and, seriously — turn off the power. You don’t want to have gone to all the trouble getting everything sorted just to blow your mic at the last minute.

See related topic:

Do Condenser Mics Need Phantom Power?

Best Stand Mixers in the U.S. That Are Selling Like Hot Cakes 2021        Acekool Stand Mixer

Post Views: 108
We hope you love our reviews! For your information, we do earn money from commission in the link in the content! For more information click here!
ShareTweetShare
Barking Drum

Barking Drum

Related Posts

Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Chip
Apple

Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Chip Review

June 27, 2022
Elon Musk sued for $258bn by Dogecoin investors.
Blog

An Angry Dogecoin Investor is Taking Musk to Court 

June 26, 2022
Best Grills 2022 to Kick-start Your Summer
Blog

Best Grills 2022 to Kick-start Your Summer

June 24, 2022
All We Know About Samsung Galaxy Flip 4
Blog

All We Know About Samsung Galaxy Flip 4

June 22, 2022
Summer Game Fest 2022
Blog

Summer Game Fest 2022: Watch Out for These Games

June 22, 2022
Production Discontinued For Meta Dual-Camera Smartwatch
Blog

Production Discontinued For Meta Dual-Camera Smartwatch

June 20, 2022
Load More
Next Post
Condenser Mics

Are Condenser Mics Good for Vocals?

Best USB Sound Card

Best USB Sound Card of 2020 Complete Reviews with Comparisons

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Mapex MPX14 inch x 5.5 inch all maple snare drum

    Top 3 Best Snare Drums 2020 and Reviews

    1236 shares
    Share 854 Tweet 382
  • Yamaha DTX400 Review

    802 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 295
  • 7 Best XLR Cable 2022: Top Brands and Reviews

    803 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 295
  • Roland vs Yamaha Electronic Drums 2022

    804 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 295
  • Marantz Professional MPM-1000 Review 2022

    805 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 295

Search Our Site

No Result
View All Result
Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Chip

Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Chip Review

June 27, 2022
Elon Musk sued for $258bn by Dogecoin investors.

An Angry Dogecoin Investor is Taking Musk to Court 

June 26, 2022
Best Grills 2022 to Kick-start Your Summer

Best Grills 2022 to Kick-start Your Summer

June 24, 2022

Recent Articles

  • Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Chip Review June 27, 2022
  • An Angry Dogecoin Investor is Taking Musk to Court  June 26, 2022
  • Best Grills 2022 to Kick-start Your Summer June 23, 2022
  • All We Know About Samsung Galaxy Flip 4 June 22, 2022
  • Summer Game Fest 2022: Watch Out for These Games June 22, 2022
  • Production Discontinued For Meta Dual-Camera Smartwatch June 20, 2022
  • A Slew of Updates for Apple Gadgets at Apple WWDC 2022 June 19, 2022
  • Sony WF-1000XM4 vs Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds 2022 June 16, 2022
  • Surface Laptop Go 2 with Improved Webcam Released June 15, 2022
  • Audiobooks Will Be The Spotify's Third Pillar Business June 14, 2022

Follow us

  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Terms of Service
GaoMon Chinavasion MommySavesBig ProTechLists MusicAuthority BARKINGDRUM BestReviewsData ラブドール 通販 ラブドール Pdudeed Blog Viynext Blog Zumoom Blog Hoshiio Blog Zerooo Blog Dirndl

© Copyright 2022 by BarkingDrum.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Home&health
  • Deals
  • Apple
  • Android
  • Samsung
  • Gadgets
  • Technology
  • Hardware
  • Gaming
  • Smart Home

© Copyright 2022 by BarkingDrum.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
BARKING DRUM
  • News
    ▼
    • Home&health
  • Deals
  • Apple
  • Android
  • Samsung
  • Gadgets
  • Technology
  • Hardware
  • Gaming
  • Smart Home
Drum Reviews
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.