Customer Reviews

M-Audio Session Music Producer with USB microphone

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used this microphone with the free download software called Audacity, and it worked WONDERFULLY. I especially like the USB plug and the stand. It had great sound. I recorded an accompaniment CD with it, and it worked wonderfully. The recording was clear enough for performance, and I actually did use it for that.

But the previous poster is correct - unless you have the heftiest system on the planet, their software doesn't really cut it. I just ignored it and used what I already knew and it worked just fine.

I was looking for a microphone that would make the recording and editing of podcasts easy since I don't have a lot of experience. It produces great sound and the stand it comes with is very sturdy. I actually really like the software it came with. I was able to easily make a good sounding intro song and editing the audio is simple. The only odd thing is that you have to have the microphone plugged in to your computer in order for the software to work. That's not that big of a deal, so overall I give it an A+!

The top billing for this product is the Session software suite so I think I have to skew my review to that product. I don't believe I've ever seen such a horribly designed software product of any kind. First, I tried to install the software and got a message saying my operating system wasn't supported. That's what I get for running such an exotic OS as Windows XP. You have to download a fixed installer from the M-Audio website for XP SP3, BUT you're forced to register your product and give them your email address just to download that. Next, it requires 4GB of drive space for the full install of all the "optional" audio sample files. If you don't plan on using those, you can opt-out of installing them, but you must have the installation DVD in your drive with the audio samples available just to run the software. They also use a really clunky C++ runtime environment that just doesn't feel like a polished program. Finally, as others have mentioned you have to have the microphone connected to your PC just to run the software, making the microphone into an extremely expensive license key that you must take with you if you think there's a chance you might want to edit any audio files. I compare it to Mixcraft which is an infinitely better piece of software for a reasonable price. I was just hoping to get something that would do the same job for free with a microphone I needed.

I do have to say that the sound out of the microphone is very clear and not very susceptible to pops without a screen. The one real nit I have against the microphone is with the built-in headphone jack. I love the zero latency monitoring which works extremely well. However, the construction of the jack itself allows your headphone plug a lot of room to wiggle back and forth so that it looses contact inside. If you hit the jack wrong or pull on the headphone cable, your headphones cut out which gets really annoying after awhile.

Putting the software in the trash where it belongs, this is a really decent microphone although the loose headphone jack ruins it for me.

PRO
*Great sound quality
*Mic desk stand included
*Apple compatible

CON
*Mic stand can tip easily if bumped

I bought this mic package to start into podcasting. I wanted to upgrade past my old crappy headset mic to something with some more heft and better sound quality. This mic has done an excellent job. I'm very pleased with sound quality. Since I am on a Mac I don't use the included software, but instead use GarageBand and the open source software Audacity.

I ordered this mic back in april i should say after reading all the reviews and it works wonderful for me i say try it out people.. You wont go wrong. [...]

I bought this from Bestbuy.
Overall sound quality is great.
If you have a good mixing skill, you can record some good music with this.

I've also tried Alesis USB microphone, and Samson C01U. They are priced about the same, and they all sound quite similar. (Though Alesis's has a bit more crisp sound than the other ones)

However, one thing I like about this guy is that it has a headphone input which other usb microphones don't have.

This product is more about the software than the microphone. I got it for the low latency heard when you jack headphones into its body (they show up as speakers in my device manager). Voice quality is good and mid-range has warmth.

If your just looking for a USB mic I suggest you can get one as good for less money or better one for same price. Only buy this if you want the Session software which has a hefty learning curve if you are not used to Pro Tools like programs. Mic stand tripod is easy tip over.

Okay, first of all, installation takes over 30 minutes to install over 4GB of unneeded library files; not a good beginning for software that claims to be simple and intuitive. Despite my PC exceeding the minimum requirements, "Session" crashed repeatedly. At one point, the USB microphone driver caused a serious Windows error that required a system restore. When I did get it to run, it was slow to respond and had poor sound quality. On top of that, the stand for the USB microphone broke the first time it was used. If you're looking for a PC equivalent to Apple's Garageband, this ain't it!

I bought this product primarily because of the microphone that comes with it, hoping to do some better quality recordings without the hassle (or expense) of having to buy the whole Mic/preamp/interface set, and after owning it for a while I can't complain.

The mic is good for what it says it is good for. It is good for recording vocals and a low to medium-high volume. It also works well for acoustic instruments (guitar, uke, Banjo...) If your intention is to record something extremely loud, such as a guitar/bass amp, this microphone does not perform well in that environment as it clips REALLY BADLY. It's not as good as some of the other mic's I have heard, but for the price it is a great value. Nothing you could get at this price range can come close to this, aside from maybe the Blue Snowball, which I have 0 experience with but have only heard good things about.

As an ambient mic recording a room full of people this mic works stunningly well. It is very sensitive and has very minimal buzz or hum, all of the buzz or hum can be easily equalized out. It is very sensitive to pops such as those resulting from the P or the B sound at the beginning of a word, and it does not come with a pop filter in the set which would have been nice but there are ones for like 20 dollars at guitar center... or you can use the 'ol stretched pantyhose over a coat hanger wire trick and that works well too.

Mic response is pretty bassy, and is very susceptible to the proximity effect. When you are right up to this microphone, any noise you make will rumble out of your speakers. This is good for some thing but it is annoying at other times. You need to make sure the singer/player stays relatively the same distance from the mic at all times, else their voice will change slightly in the recording.

The mic itself is very sturdy feeling my klutzy friends have dropped it, knocked it over and (in a weird case I would rather not explain) thrown it around... and it still preforms the same as it did when it was new. Though I would not recommend being rough with it intentionally.

The built in monitoring only works right in the included Pro Tools. All other DAW's treat it as just another audio interface, which works but is not ideal.

ProTools is not my DAW of choice. And the stripped down version that is included in this set is not very good. Registering is a NIGHTMARE, and once registered you must always have this mic plugged in even when you don't want to use it. This becomes nightmarish when you want to record using a different interface and have limited usb ports (such as on a laptop) or limited space, as is the case in many small home studios. The software itself is very usable, the stripped down version automated many of the most confusing aspects of big kid Pro Tools, and if this is your only option it is a very good choice, though many better options exist.

The included stand is tippy but its better than nothing, just make sure the mic is aligned with one of the feet and you should be ok...

Overall I would say that this is a good choice for someone looking for a good sounding mic on a budget.

This is a good mic But the m-audio session software that come with it is really useless if you don't have the mic connected, so as soon as I installed it erased it and besides you can't use VST plugins with this version.
I like the 3.5gb audio loops though , I use this mic with Acoustica Mixcraft 5 Audio MIDI Recording Software and Music Maker 16 but for some reason that I can't figure out doesn't work with Image-Line FL Studio 9 Fruity Edition, another thing that happen to me is that I have to wiggle the gain in the mic driver to have a loud recording.
The mic function like a audio card and the stereo output jack is a plus just make sure you have a headphone that doesn't bleed too much.

So far I have recorded vocals, spanish guitar and percussion beautifully, I really like this mic.