When it comes to vocal microphones, USB connectivity effectively eliminates your setup time and makes life a little easier. Theres definitely value in being able to plug and play, and also in cutting down on that spaghetti pile of cords underneath your desk. Generally, I wouldn't really use a USB microphone for anything else than pod-casting, stuff like that... But, some new products are changing the game a little bit, and luckily for us, in a good way.

First of all, quality is getting pretty damn good. If you are looking for something to record dialogue for a pod-cast, a headset for gaming, or something to use with SKYPE, then USB has always been the way to go. However, recording vocals for a song means you really need to feel confident with your vocal microphone before you press record. Its that feeling of confidence that has taken time to propagate throughout the home studio community, but things are changing.

USB microphones as a sub-category, were basically thought of as lower end, and not as good as traditional wired microphones. This is still probably somewhat true, but companies like Audio Technica, Shure, AKG, CAD, and NADY are changing peoples minds. Audio Technicas AT2020 is an inexpensive large diaphragm USB microphone and does a decent enough job to convince most home recording gurus.

Shures new X2u XLR-to-USB adapter is probably the most exciting development to come on the Pro Audio market in recent years. Finally, Shure has made possible what many of us have been wondering about since the first USB microphones started showing up. Home recording enthusiasts now have the option of being able connect their higher end vocal microphones with the Shure USB adapter and plug right into the PC or MAC with no preamp. This awesome development solves the connectivity issue and people are reporting pretty good results. This great little adapter is perfect for anyone who wants to simplify things in their studio, but still wants to use their collection of prized Sennheisers that they have accumulated over the years. The X2u adapter is perfect for multi-track audio recording and performs perfectly in headphones with zero latency.

Whatever your goals in the studio are, consider picking up a USB condenser microphone and see what kind of results you get on your next vocal track. I bet you will be surprised at just how good these companies are getting it.

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