Audio rules...OK
A voiceover can make or break a video. Normally, I use a T-Bone SC-400 microphone connected to a Zoom H1 recorder, then transfer the recording to Resolve from a microSD card.
For the Philippine videos, I wanted to up my game a little. I’d previously bought a portable vocal booth from Temu, it took four weeks to arrive, but I wasn’t in any hurry and now, I went looking for a USB microphone.
I spotted a Samson G-Track Pro for a new price of £32. The same microphone was available on Amazon for £52, while a specialist audio retailer had it listed for £211. At £32, I decided to take a chance and order it from Bargain Fox.
For the Philippine videos, I wanted to up my game a little. I’d previously bought a portable vocal booth from Temu, it took four weeks to arrive, but I wasn’t in any hurry and now, I went looking for a USB microphone.
I spotted a Samson G-Track Pro for a new price of £32. The same microphone was available on Amazon for £52, while a specialist audio retailer had it listed for £211. At £32, I decided to take a chance and order it from Bargain Fox.
When it arrived, I was amazed by its weight: 1.7 kg! Admittedly, that includes the weighted base, but it’s still a hefty bit of kit.
Getting started is simple. Connect it to your Mac or PC via USB, select it in your recording software, and you’re ready to go. No separate driver installation is required; it appeared instantly on both my Mac and in Audacity. I chose to record at 48 kHz in 32-bit float to give me plenty of headroom.
Another useful feature is the headphone socket. Plug in your headphones (mine are RØDE NTH-100s, which I highly recommend) and you can monitor your voice without any noticeable delay. It’s a practical way to check what you’re capturing and feel more confident before pressing Record.
The G-Track Pro offers three pickup patterns: figure-eight, cardioid and omnidirectional. These capture sound from the front for solo recordings, from the front and rear for interviews, or from all around for group conversations. There’s also an instrument input, allowing you to record a guitar alongside your voice. A mute button and separate controls for microphone level, instrument level and headphone volume give it useful mixer-like capabilities.
I’m no audiophile, although I’m thankful my hearing is still pretty good. I was very pleasantly surprised by the results. I compared my old setup with the new one and could certainly hear an improvement, no background noise, very good clarity and an overall ‘clean’ sound. The sample below is uncompressed, with no EQ or filters applied.
