Chose cheap audio gear over pro equipment for my podcast and regretted it by episode 3

I record a weekly interview show in my basement and bought a $40 Amazon mic kit instead of saving for a Shure SM58. The first episode had this constant buzzing sound that I couldn't edit out cleanly. Spent 6 hours trying to fix it in post before giving up and ordering the real deal. Has anyone else tried to cut corners with gear and paid for it later?

2 comments

2 Comments

josephbutler5d ago

Man that buzzing sound is the worst. What kind of grounding situation do you have in your basement - is it finished or are you dealing with old wiring?

gavinlopez4d ago

Ended up having the same issue in my old house. The fix for me was running a dedicated ground wire from the panel to the outlet where the amp was plugged in. I mean it was a bit of a pain but totally killed the hum. Also, one of those cheater plugs actually made things worse so definitely don't try that. Maybe it's just me but making sure nothing else was sharing that same circuit helped too. Worth checking if your basement lights or a sump pump are on the same breaker, those can add a ton of noise.