Over the past few months the Digital RV Podcast site has hosted several new tutorials. Some of the tutorials have my voice over, guiding viewers through setting items up, or using a specific software package. So, how do I get the voice over on there?

Quite simple actually, a microphone. The laptop I have comes with a built in microphone. And one of the eariliest videos used that mic for the second half of the podcast. The quality wasn’t superb, so I searched for a new higher quality microphone. And what I finally settled on was the Blue Snowball USB mic.

The mic itself is pretty slick looking. A small snowball shaped microphone with a tripod for setting on your desk. The microphone uses a USB connection to your computer for recording, as well as to power the microphone as well.

The mic is extremely simple to use. There’s a switch on the back which can toggle between cardioid, cardioid with a -10 Db pad (to help take out background noise), and an omin setting. Once you’ve plugged in to your computer you can test between the three settings to see what will work best for your recording requirements.

One really great feature of this mic…..no software to load. Plug it in to a Windows or Mac system and you’re ready to go. No fussing with drivers, or 3rd party software like a few other USB mics I’ve looked at. That means you can get recording immediately, rather than having to fuss with drivers and software that don’t load properly, and take the fun out of podcasting quick.

If you’re thinking about doing your own podcasts, or want to start sending audio e-mails, or even want to use a VOIP service like Skype, this mic might be of interest to you. It retails under $200. For some that might be a bit pricey, but if you’re looking to put high quality sound out of your system for any number of purposes, I’d suggest checking out the Blue Snowball.