USB Microphone

[peepo]

Heya, I dont know if Ive posted this in the right section but...
Im starting to record vocals & am gonna buy a condenser mic.
Should I buy one that plugs into my usb?
Ive seen one & it seems a great idea, but is the quality the same or better or worse than a mic that plugs into my soundcard?
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[TAlderson]

I would guess that since there aren't more usb mics (I've never seen one), the quality won't be very good. If you are on a budget, I'd check out the MXL mics, they're pretty good and inexpensive.

-Tyler

[brandondrury]

I've never actually used one. It seams very odd that you could put a great microphone, a great preamp, and a great analog to digital converter into one package at an even remotely reasonable price.

I've got some fun (expensive) gear, but a typical chain for me, even when using a SM 57, is a $1000 preamp through a $1000 converter.

I dont' like the idea that it's an all in one package for a number of reason. You can't sell the mic to a live sound guy. You can't use it for live sound yourself. You must have software that allows for low latency direct monitoring because you can't split off to a monitoring mix like I use.

There are probably more reason not to buy one, but that's a start.

Brandon