The backbone of the work I’ve done over the years has been face-to-face sessions with clients but with the pandemic, it’s not possible to be in the same room. Of course there’s still music to be made so what to do?
A couple days ago songwriter Nes Cora called as he had a track to work on while he “sat over my shoulder” as he’d done many times before the current crisis. Rather than turn down the session, I was determined to find a combination of modern technology that would make real-time, online collaboration feel like an in-person session. With file transfer via Dropbox, monitoring of Pro Tools via Audiomovers and last but not least, instantaneous screen sharing and chat via web conferencing app Zoom while utilizing my new TONOR Q9 Microphone for my audio, a remote session seemed possible.
Success! Happy to report that all these parts added up to an awesome session yesterday and the TONOR mic was the star of my new setup. The microphone solved several problems I’d faced during previous sessions:
- The condensor mic comes as part of a “kit” that includes all the necessary cables, a shock mount, boom arm, pop filter, table clamp and instructions so I wasn’t scrambling to find a mic, clip, stand, or cables as I prepped for the session.
- The mic is USB and “plug and play” without having to install any additional software. The blue jewel light on the mic told me it was working immediately upon plugging it into a USB port on my iMac and I had no software conflicts with existing applications.
- The audio quality was crisp and clear and client could hear everything I said. No more shouting into my built-in computer mic.
- The mic has great mobility with the shock mount attached to the boom arm. With the mic and shock mount placed onto the boom and attached to my desk with the enclosed clamp, I was able to swing the mic forward and back easily. After struggling with mics on wimpy tripods or oversized, heavy stage stands, I was finally able to move the mic away to view my computer screen when editing and pull the mic in when speaking. Game changer!
All in all the TONOR mic proved to be an essential asset for this remote session. Oh and did I mention the price? Currently under $70 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TONOR-Microphone-Condenser-Recording-Podcasting/dp/B07JMYG6LF. “Bang for the buck” for sure.
