Looking to commit DIY microphone crimes with cheap parts

[CalebCB]

Hi guys, so as with many others I've been inspired by a certain DIYPerks video and would like to attempt making my own microphone. However, as I already have some nice microphones and am on a tight budget at the moment I'm not exactly concerned with making the best quality microphone possible. What I'd like to do, is create a microphone for as cheap as possible with parts from Aliexpress, with the intention of making some USB microphones as gifts for friends. Like I mentioned the quality doesn't need to be the best, just better than a Blue Snowball USB microphone ideally.

In theory would I be able to create a working microphone from the parts below? I'll probably make my own housing with parts I'll decide on later.

Capsule - I've seen these be brought up on these forums before, so I figured they'll probably do. However, I was wondering if anyone knows if they're electret? From what I've picked up it seems that making an electret condenser will probably be easier with cheap parts compared to a true LDC.
Option 1
Option 2

Amplfier circuit - No idea if this is appropriate but any thoughts or alternatives would be appreciated. As I'd like this to be a USB C microphone I should be able to power the board with 5v from a USB C breakout board.
MAX4466

Line-USB converter - This is the part I'm kinda iffy on. In theory would I be able to use one of these cheap converters and then wire the USB A to the USB C breakout board? I'm not too sure.
Option 1
Option 2

So, TLDR is would those parts be able to make a working microphone that could compete with a Blue Snowball? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and if there's any better options I'm open to trying anything.

As for the microphone crimes part of the thread title I'd like to try and make 3d printed casings for these (obviously with suitable shielding around all mic components) to make more novelty shaped microphones for friends rather than microphone shaped mics.

Thanks!

 

[Khron]

Is this supposed to be an exercise of "how crappy of a mic (especially USB mic) i can make on as tight of a budget as possible"?

Why not just grab the cheapest ready-made USB mic you can find on AliExpress?

 

[Екатерина]

USB microphone is not a good idea. It has too many drawbacks, so it's better to make a USB powered microphone

 

[CalebCB]

Is this supposed to be an exercise of "how crappy of a mic (especially USB mic) i can make on as tight of a budget as possible"?

Why not just grab the cheapest ready-made USB mic you can find on AliExpress?

Kind of? I'm interested in learning about electronics, especially around making microphones, but I don't have a huge amount of disposable income at the moment. As I mentioned I already have nice mic (Rode NT1) so I'm not looking for the best quality ever nor am I making it for myself. That's why I brought up the Blue Snowball and why I'm looking to do a USB mic, as I'd like to make a cool mic as a gift for a friend.

I've seen it mentioned before (by KingKorg I believe) the cheap Aliexpress capsule is actually half decent considering how dirt cheap it is, which is why I'm even considering doing this at all. I know making it USB definitely creates complications, but that's why I'm asking here to see if anyone could provide any input as I'm fairly new to all this. It's certainly experimental but I'd like to see if cheap ali express parts can stack up against a premade USB mic for a cheaper cost, all while learning a bit about making microphones.

 

[Khron]

"Needing" it to be USB adds the complication of an ADC, as well as an interface chip with the associated software.

There's no guarantee you wouldn't need to write your own custom drivers in order to NOT get humongous latency through your chosen operating system's default drivers, or whatever stock generic drivers the interface chip manufacturer may or may not provide.

If USB really is a must, why not just mod a finished product (swap capsule, mess with the *analog* circuitry ahead of the ADC)?

For most of us here, this just fits into the "why bother?" category. A decent enough quality 2-channel interface (with not-utter-garbage drivers) can be had for next to nothing, especially used, which takes (or would take) care of the much more involved digital & software side of things. The analog stuff in a mic is trivial by comparison, and far less of a hassle to get working right.

I doubt anyone here is determined to rain on your parade just for the sake of it, but your resources (time, money, patience) would be much better spent on narrowing the scope of your project. If quality is not a concern, why put who knows how much time and effort into this, just to get to a result comparable to what $10-20 can get you off AliExpress? How much is a used Snowball nowadays anyway?

 

[rock soderstrom]

I've seen it mentioned before (by KingKorg I believe) the cheap Aliexpress capsule is actually half decent considering how dirt cheap it is, which is why I'm even considering doing this at all.

Both capsules you have linked are pretty capable and a really good basis for a decent low budget microphone.

I would combine them with a nice FET or even tube circuit (see SELA T12) and this will be your new favorite mic.

Avoid the USB Integration, Khron is right, a cheap audio interface with +48V is a good investment for your future as a mic DIY addict.

 

[Voyager10]

If it has to be a USB attached mic, some less daunting approaches might be:

• Find a good quality USB mic on *Bay that's "for parts or not working" and fix it.
• Find a cheap USB mic and put a better capsule in it, and/or
• Find a cheap USB mic and transfer the electronics + capsule to a better housing.

Most USB mics I know of have electret capsules. If you wanted a stretch goal, you could build a 5V -> 50V or so step-up circuit (there are two common options) and make it a "true condenser" mic.

 

[ccaudle]

make it a "true externally polarized condenser" mic

Sorry, had to fix that for you

 

[CalebCB]

Both capsules you have linked are pretty capable and a really good basis for a decent low budget microphone.

I would combine them with a nice FET or even tube circuit (see SELA T12) and this will be your new favorite mic.

Avoid the USB Integration, Khron is right, a cheap audio interface with +48V is a good investment for your future as a mic DIY addict.

Regarding the USB part of all this, as I mentioned that would be for a friend. As the concensus seems to be pretty against USB mics I may drop that part, or just try some jank solutions or the ones that Vogayer mentioned. I also already have an audio interface, the USB part was more for experimenting (as I still think it would be interesting to compare a store bought USB mic to the cheapest possible DIY mic).

For the capsules I mentioned in the original post, are those electret? From what I'm aware of it seems that elecret seems to be a bit easier to get running. I imagine I'd need to put a FET on as you mentioned, then into some sort of circuit like this?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003385115036.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.202b38daxPHD5I&mp=1

On a slightly unrelated note does anyone have any thoughts on that MAX4466 board? Apparently it can provide a ridiculous amount of gain for what it is, but I'm not entirely sure as my Dad was the one who brought it up when I was discussing the project with him.

 

[rock soderstrom]

For the capsules I mentioned in the original post, are those electret?

Yes, they are electret capsules. ( = pre polarized real condenser capsules)