The Samson Q1U USB Microphone features a smooth sounding neodymium element, capable of handling high SPL, cleverly interfaced to an onboard high quality mic pre, A/D converter and USB output. The Q1U is perfect for recording your music, podcast or any acoustic audio source on your favorite DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Just plug in the supplied USB cable, launch your DAW and start recording. For expanded control, download the Samson Softpre applet software from Samson’s website and youšll have additional features like programmable GAIN, Low Cut Filter, Input Metering and Phase switch. The Q1U faithfully reproduces a variety of sound sources including vocals, acoustic instruments and overhead cymbals, to name a few and because the Q1U can handle high SPL, you can use it on drums or in front of a loud guitar amp. The extended frequency and fast transient response insures an accurate reproduction with linear characteristics from bottom to top.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars The Samson Q1UCW USB Mic
The microphone is great and works well.

The Cakewalk software is a pain, however, and doesn’t work right with my computer for some reason. I ended up using another DAW which works fine, so overall I was pleased with the microphone.

4 Stars Good Mic
This is a good mic for a novice and for podcasting. Easy to use and works well. When using two or more for interview/discussion you either need to place them close together or do some serious post production as the pickup is not as directional as I’d like to see and you will get bleed from other speakers. For a novice like me, this means you will hear talker 2 on the mic 1 track. If mic 1 is too far away from talker 2 you will get an echo in your mix because the sound from talker 2 on the mic 1 track is out of phase with the sound of talker 2 on the mic 2 track. Again, this is a novice talking to other novices. For the experienced sound person, I am sure there are many ways to work around and I wouldn’t consider it a defect of the product just something to understand if you are doing a podcast and planning to have more than one talker.

5 Stars Great Mic!
My daughter gave this microphone as a gift to one of her friends, and she loves it! It hooks up easily to a Macbook (or any Mac or PC) and records well in Garageband. It picks up vocals and acoustic instruments exceptionally well. My daughter wants one for herself!

2 Stars microphone
Gave this microphone to my grandaughter. Although the microphone worked great the cakewalk software was very difficult to use. So the microphone is rarely used.

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RODE’s NT1-A is one of the world’s quietest microphones! Why is that important? Low noise will give your work the dynamics you deserve. Adding noise from any device, especially at the source, only degrades your performance. The NT1-A has a self-noise of only 5 dB-A! The NT1-A can handle 137dB SPL so you can be confident that even in front of loud guitar cabinets, your recording won’t distort due to overload. By providing ultra-quiet operation and being versatile enough to handle a wide variety of signals, the NT1-A is an affordable studio solution!

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