Monday, 5 July 2010

Samson Q1 USB mic

Lately, I've been very interested with USB microphones and about how they can be used for studio applications so here's another USB mic gear review, this time it's Samson Q1 USB microphone.

The Samson Q1 USB mic priced at US$69 is very affordable indeed. What's great about this USB mic package is that it also includes a Cakewalk recording software. The Samson Q1 USB mic is easy to set-up and could be plugged and used directly to a computer without any mic preamp or audio interface.

Let's check the technical features of the Samson Q1 USB mic as provided by the manufacturer:


Dynamic handheld microphone with USB interface 
Plugs in directly to any computer with USB 
Compatible with any computer based Digital Audio Workstation 
High quality A/D converter with 16-Bit, 48kHz sampling rate 
Super-cardioid pick-up pattern 
3m / 9.84' USB Cable
Includes Cakewalk Music Creator software
Tripod desk stand included


I used Sony Vegas as my DAW when I tested this mic. There were no latency problems, and as promised it was plug and play. I tried test recording some voice-overs and narrations and singing some soft tunes. Playback of the recording with no effcts and all EQs at flat sounded decent. I tried singing some loud songs and shouted, I got some clips so I made adjustments. After that, the VU meters indicated no clips but playback of the recordings revealed otherwise. Well, these are just the results from my own personal tests, but then again, since I didn't mic, I only had a few hours which means my settings could also be a culprit.

As for my final say on this music gear review, the Samson Q1 USB mic is an affordable unit which could be used for home studio or personal recordings like podcasts, however, I would not recommend it for other more serious or professional projects. Anyway, this is just one of the Samson line of USB mics which they made very affordable, they other models which are well suited for the professional studio environment. But for the price of US$69 you'd get a USB mic with cable plus a Cakewalk software,  it's a good deal.

***A Gizmo Guerilla Music Gear Review

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