Voices.com

CO1U or CO3U?

OK, the CO1U....."As time, keeps flowing like a river, to the sea," as Alan Parsons once put it, my philosophy evolves with the changing technology in our industry.

5 years ago, the CO1U was a great leap forward for beginners to start learning the use of digital audio creation and editing software, without breaking the bank. The CO1U was surpassed by its next competitor, Blue's "Snowball," and then over time, every microphone
manufacturer entered the marketplace with a USB microphone. Another development was USB adapter modules for ANY Microphone, most notably the CEntrance Mic Port Pro, which is VERY easy to use, Blues, "Icicle" and Marshall's "Mike Mate." The Mic Port is truly amazing!

There's one major drawback to these mics though. They are notorious for introducing background "white noise" because of the difficulty in getting enough input volume from some less than perfect digital converters. The Mic Port Pro has great digital converters and totally eliminates that problem!

I'm now recommending that people can start off with a CO1U or CO3U, the Snowball or one of Marshall's USB models if dollars or pounds is your top criteria for selection. If not, go through any of the retailers catalogs and see the price ranges of the other more expensive USB condenser mics, like the Shure, or the SE Electronics models. They are
an improvement.

OR...

Buy a good $200 condenser, like say Harlan Hogan's VO: 1-A, which is excellent for voice over (too many others to mention) and get a Mic Port Pro, which is $150 US, and you'll be set for some time with a simple set-up of a quality mic and digital interface that will work as
well as anything else.

You can spend a fortune on mics and complex digital interfaces, but today, it really isn't necessary, because you can get competitive sound from these more budget oriented models and simple set-ups. its your wallet and its your sound. The choice is yours.

About The Author

Buffalo, NY native Dan Lenard has been a radio personality, an insurance sales consultant, a high school Media and Social Studies teacher and a stay-at-home dad. He earned his BA in Broadcasting from Buffalo State College in 1980, a New York State teaching certificate from Buff State in 1997 and then in 2002, an MA in Creative Studies from again, his hometown Alma Mater.