help me find a piece of gear

[Lizooki]

I need to connect a basic studio usb blogging/ recording mic to a piece of analog equipment.
Is there anything like a Focusrite Scarlet (or whatever ) that has a usb mic input that will convert the mic digital to analog.
I can make whatever I need from the interface to the equipment, but straight wiring won't work. (already tried .. way too hot!)

Bright minds here on TB have any ideas?

 

[Reedt2000]

Well, you could get a Zoom field recorder which has mics built-in and acts as a USB interface. It also is a stand-alone mic recording to an internal SD card.

Or Samson makes a number of USB mics, just plug the mic in direct USB

Both work well and are between $100-$150

 

[DirkP]

If I understand the posting correctly, he is searching for a way to connect an USB-mic he already owns to analog gear.
Can't be done. Or just in ways that might not be satisfying. On a Mac, for instance, you can kind of bundle (aggregate) different audio-interfaces. Your USB-mic is kind of a mic with an integrated interface (a/d conversion) but hard-wired.
You could route the signal of the mic back to the Focusrite or another audio-interface through the computer. Don't know if it is possible on a windows computer.
What do you want to archieve?
If you want to record your voice, the USB mic is all you need. If you want to record other sources you can use an audio-interface like a Focusrite. You can mix both in a DAW. So what is your "use-case"?

 

[CryingBass]

Could you point the line-out or even headphone-out of a USB ( ADC ) interface into an analog output?

Sure, possibly, but there are a lot of variables. Be careful that you don't blow out the analog side.

Learn about mic-level I/O, line-level I/O, etc. Many USB interfaces ( and I assume you are using your's to convert analog instrument/mic input to USB for your PC/laptop DAW ) offer some types of analog outputs, often for zero-latency monitoring, re-amping, etc. Read the manual for the USB interface you plan/are using.

 

[DirkP]

Could you point the line-out or even headphone-out of a USB ( ADC ) interface into an analog output?

Sure, possibly, but there are a lot of variables. Be careful that you don't blow out the analog side.

Learn about mic-level I/O, line-level I/O, etc. Many USB interfaces ( and I assume you are using your's to convert analog instrument/mic input to USB for your PC/laptop DAW ) offer some types of analog outputs, often for zero-latency monitoring, re-amping, etc. Read the manual for the USB interface you plan/are using.

He owns a USB-mic, these most of the times don't have analog outputs, some might have headphone outputs, but it doesn't make much sense qualitywise to use these outputs and connect them to the analog inputs of an interface.

 

[Tosh]

My Blue Yeti, and some of the other Blue mics, have a 1/8" headphone output jack. This is an amplified output, but there is a volume control (at least on the Yeti). This would be the best way to accomplish the task at hand, IMO.

Otherwise, connect the USB MIC to a laptop, use some recording software that supports real-time monitoring (Audacity, I think?) and send the signal out of the analog headphone jack of the laptop (assuming you have one). Same result, but with added latency (which could be a deal-breaker, I know)

 

[Reedt2000]

If I understand the posting correctly, he is searching for a way to connect an USB-mic he already owns to analog gear.
Can't be done. Or just in ways that might not be satisfying. On a Mac, for instance, you can kind of bundle (aggregate) different audio-interfaces. Your USB-mic is kind of a mic with an integrated interface (a/d conversion) but hard-wired.
You could route the signal of the mic back to the Focusrite or another audio-interface through the computer. Don't know if it is possible on a windows computer.
What do you want to archieve?
If you want to record your voice, the USB mic is all you need. If you want to record other sources you can use an audio-interface like a Focusrite. You can mix both in a DAW. So what is your "use-case"?

Ahhh, I think you're right... on both points.

 

[Wood and Wire]

If your audio interface has insert points, place your analogue outboard equipment there.

If not, you'll have to route the D/A output through the outboard equipment, and back into a A/D input.

That's a lot easier if your interface has multiple channels of I/O, but still doable with a mono signal & just two channels of I/O.

Does the analogue outboard equipment accept line level input, instrument level, or just microphone level?

You may need to use a female to female XLR lead, and a passive D.I. in reverse.

 

[silky smoove]

I need to connect a basic studio usb blogging/ recording mic to a piece of analog equipment.

The questions that need to be answered to give a useful advice:

1. Which USB mic are you using?
2. What is the use case? (ie what’s the purpose of this intended routing?)

 

[equill]

You could route the signal of the mic back to the Focusrite or another audio-interface through the computer. Don't know if it is possible on a windows computer.

That's where I got to, too.
On Linux, it's trivial with Jack, but I've no idea about equivalents on MacOS or Windows.

Of course, the simple solution is to get another microphone, if there's budget for it

 

[nilorius]

The only way is to use a lap top sound card that takes digital (usb) sound and can give it out in analog way.

 

[Lizooki]

The mic is a Rofeer. (?)
Actuallty works pretty good when fed into a laptop but still the line out on a laptop is too much for my application.
As to what I'm doing with it.
I want to use it for a transceiver .... Amateur radio. But it's use isn't critical, I would just like to if possible and I was hoping a piece of music gear might work .......
To that end, I have been looking at a Pyle PDC21 DI box.
I might source a used one .... it looks like that might work.
I could use a DI box anyway.

I could re-wire the mic itself, bypassing the circuitry, but its a condenser and the radio prefers dynamic.
So something would still be needed to pad in between.

 

[And I]

Just FYI the radio does not prefer dynamic or condenser mics. Many radio stations use RE20 or SM7 dynamics, but NPR for example uses Neumann U87s. I recorded several radio programs in a private studio using AT condenser mics.

 

[Lizooki]

Ham radios are different than broadcast radios or recording. They are designed with a specific type of mic in mind. Impedances and circuitry are built for the mic type and you go straight to the transmit stage.(well, mix and buffer also)
In recording and broadcast ... the signal goes through several stages and other equipment between the mic and final mix or transmit.

 

[DigitalMan]

A Focusrite interface would work. Just plug the USB mic into the PC, and then use the Focusrite control software to route it to an output on the interface.