SamsonG-Track Pro Professional USB Condenser Microphone with Audio Interface

This microphone is one solid microphone both in its weight and physical construction. There is nothing consumer grade about it as every feature and element is made to commercial quality.Physical Construction: - First thing you notice is how massive this microphone is as it weighs a lot. It has a circular base with rubber padding so it will not move easily once it is positioned. - The position of the mic moves on arms held in place by two hinges. There is no adjustment but the position is held with no issues if you want to tilt the mic position to your preference. - The three knobs on the front for mic gain, instrument gain and headphone volume level all have knurling on it which makes setting adjustments easy. In addition, the face of the knobs have a contrasting color to the pointer showing exactly what position your adjustment is set at. - The mute button is small, unobtrusive and operates smoothly and silently - The green LED is front and center and turns to amber when the mute button is pressed to indicate the microphone is off. - The slide switch for mic input pattern, mono/2 track input as well as the monitor on/off on the back of the microphone have a solid click to them. This is commercial grade feature and works cleanly and you know exactly what feature you have selected.Audio Performance and Frequency Response: - For voice recordings, the Cardiod pattern, mono input were chosen. - Mic input gain was set at 75% - this mic required quite a bit more gain compared to the FiFine for voice recordings for the output to be a comparable levels. Quite surprising to turn the mic gain up this high. The audio output was clean, clear and crisp without any artifacts. - No discernible differences between this and the FiFine K678 mic - the voice recordings has a slightly different pitch but I cannot say that this mic is significantly better than the FiFine mic. In a blind test, it would be hard to separate the two. - There is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the back of the mic with volume controlled by the volume knob on the front and this feature works well for you to monitor your own audio into the mic. - The green LED on the front of the mic may momentarily turn red if the input level exceeds the maximum threshold as you get into clipping range. I think this is an excellent feature that isn't found on many other mics giving you a real time visual indicator when you are clipping. - The G Track Pro has a high sensitivity to popping sounds being picked up by the mic when you speak directly into the element. I used it without a pop filter. To solve this problem without a pop filter, I turned the mic 90° so it was facing my cheek and spoke across the front face of the mic.Microphone Application: - The G Track pro was used for VoIP phone calls and nothing else. -No issues in using computer speakers 16" behind the mic as the Cardiod mic pick up pattern prevents feedback. The Figure 8 and Omni settings were not tested but I'm sure they'd do just fine in the intended applications.Final Thoughts:This is one serious consumer microphone built to commercial grade level. There is nothing on this mic that is substandard and the audio output is as good as it gets without spending 10X more. I did not get this mic for gaming, podcasting nor music recording but I'd think it would do well in them all as the dynamic range is really there. If you want to get the same audio performance at lower cost without many features this mic offers, look at the FiFine K678. Otherwise, this mic deserves a front and center spot on your desk whether your are an aspiring recording artist or a corporate raider who wants to be heard on all those conference calls.

A really professional microphone. I can plug my guitar directly into the mic. You can easily control the area of coverage. I was happy with the value of this purchase.

This is one BIG microphone. Solid and HEAVY. The base that comes with it is nice and sturdy with a foam rubber bottom. The rest is all metal. I have mine mounted to the SP04 on a hefty arm, though. I like to be able to move it wherever I need it without dragging a cable or having table noise.Has three different polar patterns - omnidirectional (all around), cardioid (in front) and bidirectional (front and back). Knob is easy to switch between the settings. For 90% of my uses, I'll be sticking with cardioid, but having the options to use this in an interview or when recording a music session is really nice.Has built in controls for the line in (IT HAS A LINE IN! WOO!), the mic gain, and the monitoring volume (IT HAS A LINE OUT!) Didn't get any lag from mouth to ears, so completely comparable to more expensive mics and much better than expected. No issues with monitoring.Also has a mute button that is very quiet and easy to press. Probably the coolest built-in feature, though, is the LED. Not only do you know when your mic is powered on (green), but also when it is on mute (orange), AND when you're audio is peaking (red). THAT IS AWESOME.The sound quality is better than anything within fifty bucks of this price, for sure. My voice is deep and rich without doing anything in post. There's no line noise, no background hum, no clicks or pops. It just picks up what I need and sounds fantastic. The Line In on the back works well and my guitar sounded just fine. Was able to do stereo recording so I had the guitar on one track and my voice on another. Work on each independently in post to get the best possible sound.This is the same price I paid for the podcast mic I bought a couple years ago and the G-Track Pro just blows it away in every possible way. I love the size, I love the heft, I love the features, and I love the audio. Definitely a sound investment. Pun intended.Will try to add a video review later so you can hear it in action. Totally impressed.

ProsI would mostly recommend this microphone to musicians given the secondary instrument inputs which are handy for recording covers. The pre-amp in this in also top-notch. Basically no gain fuzz whatsoever. I like being able to swap between figure 8, cardioid, and omnidirectional settings. And the physical build quality is very solid with an 80% metal construction. Very heavy feeling.ConsThis is best for desk use. If you want to mount this on a stand, you will need something heavy-duty with a huge counterweight to balance. In terms of reliability, I find the G-Track disconnects quite frequently. That's not really something I care about for recording because it takes 30 seconds to fix. But when it happens in a Zoom call, it's very annoying to have it drop out. I have a secondary microphone built into my cheap webcam and that doesn't drop like this. Could just be my computer being picky, but definitely something to be aware of before you buy.Which leads to the conclusion, this microphone is great for pro-quality audio recording (instruments, vocals, and voice-overs). However, I don't think it's worth the investment for basic conference calls and it doesn't work that well for that purpose anyway.