C-2

The most important thing about getting good sound is getting the microphone close to the sound source. The quality of the mic is important, but not nearly so as placing it where the sound it "hears" is good. I have a Behringer C-2 and it's plenty good to get professional sound. It's also true that any iPhone can be used as a digital recorder that is better than any analog recorder ever built. And you can put an iPhone on its back on a flat surface and use an audio recording app to get the sound of a boundary layer mic. I've even used an iPhone hanging from a fishing pole as a boom--and it's amazingly good because it can be close. If you don't get good sound it's not because of your equipment as much as the way you use it.

I have two of these: CAD E100Sx. For my voice, this mic sounds amazing considering it's less than $100. I like it more than my NT1 for most situations lol Behringer C-2. For anything I've needed a pencil condenser for. It's not the best mic ever by a long shot, but it's $45 for a matched pair, and they're pretty good from my experience

Behringer C-2 Matched Pair Pencil Condenser Microphones, amazing value for acoustic guitar, piano, room mic's and drum o/heads

Behringer C2 is the most affordable (pair of condensers). You'll need interface with two balanced phantom-powered mic inputs. Avoid dynamic mics like SM57 they screw up the high frequencies.

Overheads? Behringer C2 matched pair for $50. Shockingly good for the price. Here’s my favorite Irish YT drummer with a demo if you don’t believe me - https://youtu.be/xUjcd4-9j1U?si=egSizpP4jFVsYmYL

Paired Samson/Behringer pencil condenser mics Cheap and reliable.

I've been recording an actual play for a while now, and it really isn't as expensive as people will try to make it. Still not cheap, because if you want good quality it is still a mic for each person, but especially if your players can chip in a bit it isn't too bad. First of all, I love the Pi recording/editing station idea. It should work great. What you'll need on top of that is an interface, mics, mic stands, cables, and preferably some acoustic treatment. For the interface I'd recommend the Podtrack P8, it's about as cheap as you can get while still having all the inputs you'll need for 5+people. Then for the mics, I recommend the Behringer C-2. They're condensers, which goes against the general conventions this sub likes to spout, but they're going to work just as good (if not better) than cheap dynamics in a tabletop setting. Plus it's only about $70 for a set of two, so cheaper than just about any quality dynamics you can get. The Behringer XM8500 is a good choice if you just want a dynamic, but the C-2 is less muddy in the low end and clearer in the high end, which can be really helpful when you're getting really close speaking into the mic. Which I would highly recommend in a tabletop setting. For comparisons between the two, check out the Podcastage channel on youtube, he's done a review on both mics. You can get the absolute cheapest mic stands and XLR cables and it will work just fine, but I would recommend on springing for a little bit nicer cables if you can fit it in your budget. Cheaper cables tend to have little/no shielding, less durable material, and lower quality connectors so they aren't going to last as long and it's possible to get some interference. You don't really need headphones for everyone, just one set for yourself (or some decent speakers) for editing. They're nice to have, but not essential. You can set the levels visually on the P8, and it's less convenient when people can't monitor themselves but it really isn't a big deal. And as far as the sound you can expect from that setup, [here's a clip from my table using almost the exact same gear](https://soundcloud.com/user-40755283/dnd-clip-behringer-c2-mics?si=3d7479b6c51146e99a935afe99307019&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing). I have the P4 instead of the P8, but use the C-2s, cheap cables, and no headphones at the table. I'm running a campaign with kids, and too many wires running around just causes more problems. So it still adds up, but it's about the cheapest way to get a consistent "pro" sound.

Depending on what exactly your budget is there's a few different options, but the cheapest that will still give a "professional" sound is the Behringer C-2. It's about $60 for a set of two and is at least on par with any other \~$100-$150 mic. It certainly isn't perfect, but it holds it's own against mics that cost a *lot* more. It's an XLR mic, so you'll also need the mic stands, XLR cables, and an interface with enough inputs. For the interface I generally recommend the Zoom Podtrack P4 or P8, but if you're going to have eight people at the table total then you'll need to look for something different (or get two P4's, if that's cheaper). You'll also need to go over some mic technique with the players. The C-2 is great, but will pick up a lot of outside noise if it isn't used correctly (which goes for *any* mic, especially with that big of a group). Basically you want each mic about 4 inches from each speaker, and to have the mic pointed at the person's mouth but the mouth pointed slightly to the side of the mic. And have the people speaking across the table as usual, instead of just to the mic. This lets you keep the gain lower so the mic mostly picks up the person speaking into it without picking up everyone else at the table too much. And as for how it sounds, [here's a short clip from my own table with that setup](https://soundcloud.com/user-40755283/dnd-clip-behringer-c2-mics?si=6428cfb25c204f608334a974f2779735&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing). Also, if you have a higher budget I'd recommend looking into the AT875r for your mics, but at eight people that puts the cost of the mics alone over $1,500, where with the C-2 it's \~$240 to cover everyone (so less than the cost of two AT875r).

The while "dynamics are better than condensers for untreated rooms" is a myth that gets spread because its simple advice and most people getting into podcasting dont know enough about audio production (and dont need to know more about it for their use) to understand the nuances of what advantages you can get from different mics. As for why I went with the C-2, its small and cheap. I would have preferred AT875r shotgun mics for everyone, but i could get enough C-2s for everyone at the table for less than one AT875r. And with the size, the mic doesn't get in the way of playing the game. It also has good clarity and a wider frequency response than most dynamics. It certainly isnt the best mic out there, but for the price its great. Then for room treatment, it doesn't matter what type of mic you use. In a small untreated space you'll get a lot of reverb. In a bigger or better treated space, you dont get the reverb. We record in a mostly untreated space, but its open and has some non parallel walls which helps a lot. I tested multiple mics in that room and other rooms, and the room itself made a lot more difference than the mic itself. So at that point the decision just came down to the mic that had best sound that was within budget.

For the clip I posted I didn't do anything about the bleed. Keeping the mics all more than three feet from each other prevents phase issues that would cause problems, and (for the most part) having the players keep close to the mic when they talk means that the bleed is relatively minor to begin with. The XM8500 is certainly a good mic, and the BA 85A is probably better in terms of polar pattern and keeping bleed down in the first place, but the size of the C-2 is great for not being too in the way at the table and can sound just as good as much more expensive mics. I'd love to get the space we record fully treated to get the most out of the mics, but we record in the kitchen so hanging moving blankets would take a lot of extra time for setup and takedown, and because of cabinets there isn't a lot of useful area for hanging panels. On the other hand, all the cabinets means that I can partially open them all and set things on the counter to break up parallel walls, which does help.