[drewprops]

I have this friend who is getting ready to get into a pretty epic online gaming tournament and he's interested in getting a really fly headset/microphone rig if it turns out that he's as incredibly awesome as he believes himself to have the potential of being.... do any of you lesser-skilled players have suggestions for my awesomely talented friend?



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[Dave]

The only suggestion I can offer is really more of an observation: "People don't seem to like big heavy things on their heads for long periods of time." I don't know how it would affect how "immersive" the game is, but from a physical comfort point of view, your friend might want to consider getting a light-weight head-worn mic, and just use their existing speakers.

[SpecMode]

The problem with that is if this involves any kind of streaming or posting to YouTube et al, you don't want sound from the speakers getting picked up on the mic, which is why you see most people wearing those headsets.

For those few occasions where I've done any kind of recording, I use a comfortable set of regular headphones, with a USB mic (I use a Blue Snowball) on a cheap mic stand, positioned low enough that it doesn't get in the way of actually being able to see what I'm doing. (Incidentally, that's the setup I used when we did the Enderdragon fight last year.)

[Dave]

Originally Posted by SpecMode The problem with that is if this involves any kind of streaming or posting to YouTube et al, you don't want sound from the speakers getting picked up on the mic, which is why you see most people wearing those headsets.

Oh, yeah, if they're getting that into gaming...
It might be possible with a very directional mic, but those are likely to be either too expensive to buy or too heavy to wear comfortably.

Originally Posted by SpecMode For those few occasions where I've done any kind of recording, I use a comfortable set of regular headphones, with a USB mic (I use a Blue Snowball) on a cheap mic stand, positioned low enough that it doesn't get in the way of actually being able to see what I'm doing.

That's what I do, except I just use regular speakers and have my game volume turned down enough that the bleed-through doesn't bother anyone. The down side to non-headworn mics is that if you move your head, the levels can change quite dramatically. This is merely annoying if you suddenly become quieter, but if you suddenly get much louder, the sound can distort. The fix is to have a compressor in the signal chain. I think most voice-chat programs have that now, but I don't know where they do it... if it's on the receiving end and someone doesn't have it setup correctly, you can damage people's hearing.

Originally Posted by SpecMode (Incidentally, that's the setup I used when we did the Enderdragon fight last year.)

I don't know what Enderdragon is... did I miss a thread here?

[drewprops]

This is why my friend is such a massively better player than you guys: he knows how to hide from the Enderdragon.


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[SpecMode]

Originally Posted by Dave I don't know what Enderdragon is... did I miss a thread here?

If you played Minecraft with the rest of us, you'd know.

[709]

There's still a chance I might be able to swing Friday. If so, I just planned on using my iPhone earbuds/mic. Those will work enough for what we're planning, right?

[drewprops]

Yes, that's what I plan on using - lightweight and they sound fine.

Tested it last night with Elysium and Rowdy.


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[Brad]

Originally Posted by 709 There's still a chance I might be able to swing Friday. If so, I just planned on using my iPhone earbuds/mic. Those will work enough for what we're planning, right?

Does the mic on the iPhone earbuds actually work on a Mac desktop/macbook? I haven't checked the specs in a while, but the last time I did, I thought all Macs had line-level audio input, ruling out any unpowered analog mics. That's why USB mics/headsets/amps had become a necessity for Mac users.

[turtle]

I think I'm going to try using the earphones and MBP's mic. The ones that come with the phone do not work for both, audio only on my MBP. There is a separate line in for the mic.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by turtle I think I'm going to try using the earphones and MBP's mic. The ones that come with the phone do not work for both, audio only on my MBP. There is a separate line in for the mic.

FWIW, if you're also playing the game on your MBP, the built-in mic will pick up the fan noise as it revs up to full speed. I discovered this with my recording test last night. Still, better than nothing!

[709]

Originally Posted by Brad Does the mic on the iPhone earbuds actually work on a Mac desktop/macbook? I haven't checked the specs in a while, but the last time I did, I thought all Macs had line-level audio input, ruling out any unpowered analog mics. That's why USB mics/headsets/amps had become a necessity for Mac users.

Dunno. I'll try both combos tomorrow and see what sounds/works best. Ideally I'd like to use my 'real' headphones, but I guess that depends on how good the built-in mic sounds to other players.

[drewprops]

Originally Posted by turtle I think I'm going to try using the earphones and MBP's mic. The ones that come with the phone do not work for both, audio only on my MBP. There is a separate line in for the mic.

Weird.... my iPhone earbud/mic combo seems to work okay.... I think?

Used it last night and then again tonight, with Whammer.

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[turtle]

Really, hop on and let's test it then. I'll try my EarPods.

Edit: Never mind, EarPods do work for this. I was able to do the audio testing and all worked as it should.

[Brad]

You sure it's not still using the built-in mic on the Macbook? You can verify what's actually being used as the input source by going to System Preferences: Sound: Input.

[turtle]

I just tried it again to be sure and it is certainly pulling from the mic on the EarPods. I did the rub test. Rub one and see if there is any indication of noise. Plus, there is a meter in the System Preferences that helped be sure I was seeing it right.

[drewprops]

I'm in there right now and it's just me in there right now and I'm rubbing a lot, but I will stop if anybody else pops into the room.


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