Singing the Microphone Blues

Yes, I have a new microphone but don’t worry, I’m not using it for singing. The injuction that the neighbours filed is probably still in effect.

I’ve been making Excel tutorial videos for a while, and posting them on my Contextures site and YouTube. The most popular video, Drop Down List in Excel, was created in June 2008, and I probably used the $10 microphone that came with the computer.

The sound quality isn’t too good, and I’ve tried other microphones since then, with varying results. So, to improve the videos, I decided to splurge on a better microphone.

After hours of Googling, and reading reviews, I chose the Rode Podcaster USB microphone. I ordered it from Vistek, a Canadian chain that specializes in cameras and video equipment.

The microphone, at $349 CDN, wasn’t cheap, and I hoped it would prove to be a good investment. I unpacked the microphone and plugged it in, and after a bit of fiddling with the audio settings, it worked well.

However, the microphone is quite heavy – the specifications say 21.5 ounces, which is about 1.5 pounds. If you’re trying to record your voice and use the keyboard at the same time, it’s a bit of a challenge.

The microphone came with a “Microphone Stand Mount” but I discovered that’s something you attach to a microphone stand. And, of course, I didn’t have one of those lying around the office. (To the people at Rode and Vistek: It would help if you mentioned what accessories are required.)

So, it was back to Vistek to order a microphone stand. After waiting, and waiting, I learned that the new guy who took the order hadn’t processed it. He just took the money and put the order in a drawer somewhere, or forgot to push the right button.

The stand finally arrived, and I tried to figure out how to attach the stand mount and microphone to the stand. There were no instructions with the stand, and no pictures anywhere on the web, that I could find. All the pictures show the microphone separately. What help is that?

Finally, I found instructions that said to attach the microphone through the loop in the stand, using the locking collar at the bottom of the microphone. That was helpful, except that my microphone didn’t come with one of those.

Another phone call to Vistek, and they found another Rode Podcaster in stock. So, they took the locking collar from that one, and gave it to me. Here’s the Rode Podcaster Microphone attached to its microphone stand mount with the locking collar.

And a side view.

Now, after only five trips to the store, I have a new, fully functioning, microphone and stand.

But I’m too tired to use it!

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