Now, Baby, It's Never [v.2]

[Still spun from the creative frenzy of writing a new song, I'll be taking a break from my normal scribbling, here, so that I can decompress a bit and blab about a new toy that may be of interest to some of you.]

download [1.8 mb]
play [broadband]
AYoS radio [broadband]
previous AYoS version

The ever-minimal AYoS project ratchets up its minimalist impulses with today's posted track, recorded strictly with my new $80 USB microphone and my laptop and a pair of headphones.

My fellow podcasters and musicians may want to take note of this mic, since it combines in one (roughly 2 pound) mic shell a reasonably decent mid-size condenser mic, a preamp, a 16 bit audio-to-digital converter, and a USB interface. For 80 bucks (US) at music gear discounters.

Because of the nature of USB, there is a delay in monitoring the incoming signal from the mic over headphones while performing -- so it's best to turn off input monitoring. That means you might have to use the old trick of partially lifting one headphone to better hear your voice, acoustic guitar, etc, when you overdub.

The newly recorded tracks should match up, though, on playback. USB uses a time stamping feature to realign synchrized audio data. That said, various DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) softwares have different ways of dealing with the tiny timing inaccuracies inherent in current digital audio applications.

I saw this mic announced early last fall and kep waiting to hear from someone who had bought one -- which I thought would be almost immediately, since it attempted to fill a particular need and at a very low price.


I posted in a couple of audio forums about the mic, hoping to provoke interest, but month after month, no one reported buying one. I finally got tired of waiting, picking one up at one of the local music megastores this afternoon. Packaged in a reusable plastic bubble pack that serves a moderately protective function, it came with a special USB cable [don't mix it up with others] and a mic clip for mounting on standard or European stands.

It's pictured here (on a sheet of standard 8.5" x 11" paper) with a stand I ordered online for about $19 with shipping. (Quiklok A188 Desktop Tripod.) As you see it here, the stand is still attached but folded back for transport.

I'm blathering, I realize, but I know there's been a fair amount of curiosity about this mic among laptoppers and podcasters. Anyone who wants to ask me more about it can use my contact form to email me.

download [1.8 mb]
play [broadband]
AYoS radio [broadband]

previous AYoS version

Now, Baby It's Never

Everything you say
seems to mean goodby
Though we talked forever
I never did know why

Now baby its never
our time wont come again
This time forever baby
This time it's the end

Tonight when I kissed you
it burned me to my soul
Everything I thought I knew
was all a lie I know

Now baby its never...

I walked along the aqueduct
just before the dawn
The sun looked old and tired as it came up
but at least the night was gone

Now baby its never
our time wont come again
This time forever baby
This time it's the end

(C)1991, TK Major