---
title: "What’s the Best Microphone for Screencasting?"
date: 2009-12-02
description: "$( document ).ready(function() { // Handler for .ready() called. $("
canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/2009/12/02/whats-the-best-microphone-for-screencasting/
---
# What’s the Best Microphone for Screencasting?
### The Audio Interface

An audio interface converts the analog signal to a digital signal. It turns out that rather than buying a [fancy audio interface](http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?form=search/ppc&cat=2418&cat2=3559) for $150+, I could just use my [Zoom H4](http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901) as an audio interface between the mixer and the computer. Here's what that setup looks like:

![Sound travels from the mic to mixer to H4 to laptop](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/setup-580x3872.jpg)

That's a [Shure SM58 microphone](http://www.shure.com/proaudio/products/wiredmicrophones/us_pro_sm58-cn_content) plugged in to a [Behringer Xenyx 802 mixer](http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHXENTX802).  The mixer plugs into the [ZoomH4](http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901), which connects to the laptop through a USB cable.

Listen to the difference:

Without the audio interface

With the audio interface:

The audio interface example has some more clarity and crispness to the voice. It's more apparent with gaps of silence -- listen to the static background at the start of the sample in the first version compared with the complete absence of any static background in the second example. The Zoom H4 is really quite a cool solution for an audio interface. Just switch it to Audio I/O mode and voila, it converts the analog signal from the mixer to a clearer, digital one.

![The Zoom H4 in audio interface mode](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/audiointerface-580x3871.jpg)

### Inexpensive Mics

Sometimes it helps to hear contrasts in order to evaluate sounds. If you're on a tight budget, you could just use an inexpensive Plantronics headset, like this:

![Inexpensive Plantronics headset](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/regularheadset-580x3871.jpg)

And this is what it sounds like:

Here's a Logitech USB headset. It sounds even worse:

Here's a dynamic omnidirectional lapel mic attached to my collar as I record:

Yikes.