How to Choose the Best Home Studio Mic for You

Are you going to tackle some home recording? Well, you may be able to achieve quality tracks with free and entry-level sound software, but you can’t get the quality you’re looking for if you don’t start with the right microphone(s). So, to help you out, this guide will break down the questions you should think about when choosing microphones for your project.

What will you be using your mic to record?

You might think that choosing any expensive microphone for home recording purposes will guarantee you excellent quality, but that would be an incorrect assumption. In fact, if the premium microphone you buy isn’t designed for the kind of sound you want to record, you won’t be doing yourself a favor.

This is because microphones for home studios are designed to accentuate certain sound characteristics. For instance, there are microphones that are better for vocals, and others that are better for capturing instruments. And within the vocal range, some mics perform best with speaking and other with singing.

Vocal microphones for singing at home often have great treble response to achieve clarity. Meanwhile, microphones for recording music at home with instruments will usually provide a wider frequency range. Using a vocal mic to record an electric guitar won’t necessarily ruin your recording, but it can lead to a lot more mixing work with music editing software to try to counter the emphasis on treble frequencies.

If you are unsure about the best home studio mic for your needs, look at the customer reviews on each model. Alternatively, you can use your search engine to find reviews and details about how certain microphones for home studios perform with specific sounds.

You’ll also want to weigh the strengths and weaknesses between condenser and dynamic mics. Condenser mics are generally preferred for recording environments, and dynamic ones serve well for many live performance settings. But dynamic mics can be useful for loud instruments, like drums, in certain recording arrangements.

How much sound do you want your mic to pick up?

Microphones are designed to operate in specific directions based on picking patterns. Some of the basic categories are omnidirectional, cardioid, bidirectional and lobar.

Omnidirectional means “in all directions” — from the Latin word for “all.” These are great for recording groups, such as choirs. They are also more shock-resistant and plosive-tolerant than other mics. However, they will pick up sounds from all around, including sound that’s bouncing back off the walls.

Cardioid mics have a heart-shaped coverage or “picking” pattern. They pick up sound mainly from one side of the mic and are exceedingly popular for studio recordings. Subcardioids widen the picking range slightly and are good for noticeably quiet studios, and supercardioids narrow the range which allows for more isolation and sound cancellation.

Bidirectional mics are sensitive to sounds from the front and rear (but not the sides) of the microphone. These can work well for acoustic guitar, drum overheads, and vocals in the right arrangements.

Lobar mics have the narrowest picking pattern, making them the go-to pattern for shotgun mics. Sometimes, these are also called supercardioids or hypercardioids. These are popular for video production because of their ability to eliminate environmental noises.

Do you want to use a recorder and/or send your recording through a mixer?

These days, a lot of microphones can record straight to your computer by way of a USB cord. USB mics are highly convenient and can be a terrific way to record spoken sound, such as audiobooks, info videos, or YouTube vlogs. If you want to achieve greater sound quality, you’ll likely want to use a sound recorder and/or a sound mixer. These give you more control over your recording from the outset and can work with USB or XLR microphones depending on design. To wire an XLR mic directly to your computer, you will need an adaptor.

Choosing the best mic for home studio vocals or instruments

To help narrow down your options, you'll need to decide whether you want a mic with its own power supply or one that relies on phantom power, which is what provides the voltage to charge the diaphragm and preamp inside the microphone. If you choose phantom, make sure the device you’ll plug your mic into can provide phantom power, commonly referenced as +48V or P48 in specifications.

Another question to ask yourself is how you be placing the mic: will it be on a table, or do you need the mic to be compatible with a specific microphone stand set-up? Some microphones come with a built-in stand, while others can be mounted in a variety of ways.

If using your mic for vocals, you should purchase a pop filter to reduce plosive noises in your recordings that happen when high-energy air reaches the microphone. Some vocal mics come with these, but for others, you’ll need to buy the pop filter separately. And as with most things in life, a lot of your choice depends on your budget.

Consider other home studio essentials

Now that you know the basics of microphones for home studios, think about other recording equipment that can enhance your experience. Once you become more skilled at capturing audio at home, you might want to add gear to improve the overall quality of your productions, such as a USB mixer for special effects. Then when you hit it big you can say it all started at home in your personal recording studio.