M-Audio introduces the Session Music Producer USB mic

M-Audio, known in the pro and semi-pro recording world as being... well, semi-pro, has just introduced a new product to its lineup which will make recording your American Idol demo reel way, way easier. Enter the Session Music Producer, a misleadingly named device which is essentially a USB, powered vocal mic with a built-in headphone jack, allowing you to monitor yourself in realtime without any delays normally experienced by using a separate headphone output. The mic comes with M-Audio's "Session" recording / production software for PCs (think GarageBand for Windows), which lets you build simple sequences and offers a 2GB loop library to get you started on a career in music. Take our advice though: get a good lawyer before you sign anything. No word on when the Session Music Producer hits stores, but it will run you $99.95 when it does.

[Brymo @ Sep 20th 2007 11:35AM]

Chocolate rain.

[blade417 @ Sep 20th 2007 11:40AM]

- my face got burned now it don't look the same

chocolate rain!

**moves away to breathe

[Major Malfunction @ Sep 20th 2007 11:49AM]

Chocolate Rain by Chad Vader is better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6dUCOS1bM0

"I move my frontal breathing vent away from the mic to respirate."

:)

[Major Malfunction @ Sep 20th 2007 11:52AM]

Holy cow, never get distracted watching videos on YouTube, I wondered off for nearly 10 minutes before sending my comment. *foreheadsmack*

[Major Malfunction @ Sep 20th 2007 12:01PM]

Okay, I know when I'm beat.

*wandered* off, not wondered. Gaaawwd, what an IDIOT.

[Rainier @ Sep 20th 2007 11:39AM]

Some stay dry and others feel the pain.

[Nando @ Sep 20th 2007 12:11PM]

Is this for both PC & Mac?

[JL @ Sep 20th 2007 12:16PM]

(think GarageBand for Windows)

Which incidentally is similar to Sonic Foundry/Sony ACID for the mac.
Mind you ACID was out way before GarageBand...

(sorry, had to slide that in as a reminder that GarageBand wasn't the first
composition/looping tool of it's kind)

not hatin, just trying to keep it straight

[daddycool @ Sep 20th 2007 12:28PM]

GarageBand...please. Acid started the whole category of software. Mac snobbery, thats all that it.

Same thing with the "semi-pro" comment. M-Audio is top quality stuff. It's just priced to be affordable so Mac\Pro-Tools snobs try to hate.

[MC @ Sep 20th 2007 12:36PM]

lol Acid for the mac?

yeah sure, but don't get it twisted...acid got its roots in windows way before it feel into the hands of some unix engineers, the failures of any ICS program.

[KR @ Sep 20th 2007 1:17PM]

"It's just priced to be affordable so Mac\Pro-Tools snobs try to hate."

Um, you do realize that M-Audio is owned by DigiDesign, who makes Pro Tools, right? There's even a special version of Pro Tools made to work on M-Audio hardware.

A lot of Mac and ProTools users really like some of M-Audio's stuff, myself included.

[Jeffrey Kesler @ Sep 20th 2007 10:31PM]

DUDE! What are you talking about? Are you a pro engineer? I hope not. Semi-Pro is an understatement. This is low quality entry level mic. Most decent entry level mics cost a minimum of $300. You are not gonna get a good vocal sound with that thing, maybe something that is possibly usable for pod-casting. And that samson??? I have a real samson mic, the C01, that has an XLR connection like real mics are supposed to unlike the C01U (USB); And you know what? IT'S STILL A TOY. You want a decent vocal mic, for any/all purpose? Save yourself up $1000, and buy a Neumann TLM 103, and even then, there are way better mics you could use for any type of vocal application. And this is without even getting into preamps for your mic. USB mics, well, their built in pre's, if they even can be called that, are garbage. You are not going to get a good mic for that cheap, so don't go bragging about these. If you want to just do some home pod-casting and don't need good quality equipment, and don't want to make the investment in a real audio interface (digidesign, apogee, MOTU) , or real software (Logic, Protools, Cubase, Nuendo), then that's fine and dandy. But if you're interested in REAL GEAR, go to a place like guitar center, and go look in their microphone case ( the one with large-diaphragm condenser mics in it, not the one with live mics in it like the SM58 or E609), and you'll see that you'll pay a pretty penny for a mic that is made anywhere but china. And most of the sub $1000 mics (of different brands) all have their capsules/diaphragms built in the same freakin chinese factory anyway. All those "great deals" on sets of MXL mics and octavas that they advertise at the stores are, you guessed it, too good to be true. Like i said, if you're a hobbyist, and you just want a USB mic to get by with podcasting, good for you, go for it, i'm all for it; But I don't see a point in calling people who use pro equipment and pro software pretentious, especially when the ACTUALLY know what they are talking about.

[Gabriel Jordan @ Sep 20th 2007 12:33PM]

I have a Samson CO1U and I must admit that my one big complaint is that theres no good way to monitor yourself without huge latency... so im definitely interested

[Brad Linder @ Sep 20th 2007 12:40PM]

This looks like a cheaper version of the Rhode Podcaster mic. In that it's a USB Mic with a headphone jack for half the price. Of course, I'd expect the Rhode mic to sound better based on specs and brand, if not price. But for $99, this looks like a pretty good deal, especially for recording podcasts on the go.

[KR @ Sep 20th 2007 1:12PM]

A lot of companies are starting to make USB mics. Samson, Rode (not Rhode), SE Electronics, Blue, and now M-Audio. I wouldn't say that anyone is copying anyone else, but rather following a trend toward USB connectivity, and building-in obvious features.

[KR @ Sep 20th 2007 1:12PM]

I have to echo the previous comment about "semi-pro". When M-Audio got started, sure, I can see the semi-pro label. But over the years they've grown by leaps and bounds, and make some really nice stuff. Check out their Sputnik mic. Great quality at an amazing price.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Sputnik-main.html

[KR @ Sep 20th 2007 1:14PM]

Oh, and while the software that comes with this mic seems to be PC-only, yes, the mic hardware itself should work just fine on a Mac.

[Gisch @ Sep 20th 2007 2:40PM]

According to the packaging I read, it contains the software for PC, and a driver for Mac. But yes, it clearly states it'll work on a Mac.

[Gisch @ Sep 20th 2007 2:38PM]

Uh, in stores now. I've seen it in my local Best Buy, and that was nearly a week ago.

[matt byrne @ Sep 20th 2007 3:15PM]

Perhaps it states 'Like Garageband for Windows' because Garageband comes free on every new Mac and not everyone has bought a different music program on Mac? Or that the software is only like GB i.e. limited and 'fun' approach rather than overtly technical?

[Jeffrey Kesler @ Sep 20th 2007 10:34PM]

DUDE! What are you talking about? Are you a pro engineer? I hope
not. Semi-Pro is an understatement. This is low quality entry level
mic. Most decent entry level mics cost a minimum of $300. You are
not gonna get a good vocal sound with that thing, maybe something
that is possibly usable for pod-casting. And that samson??? I have
a real samson mic, the C01, that has an XLR connection like real mics
are supposed to unlike the C01U (USB); And you know what? IT'S STILL
A TOY. You want a decent vocal mic, for any/all purpose? Save
yourself up $1000, and buy a Neumann TLM 103, and even then, there
are way better mics you could use for any type of vocal application.
And this is without even getting into preamps for your mic. USB mics,
well, their built in pre's, if they even can be called that, are
garbage. You are not going to get a good mic for that cheap, so
don't go bragging about these. If you want to just do some home
pod-casting and don't need good quality equipment, and don't want to
make the investment in a real audio interface (digidesign, apogee,
MOTU) , or real software (Logic, Protools, Cubase, Nuendo), then
that's fine and dandy. But if you're interested in REAL GEAR, go to
a place like guitar center, and go look in their microphone case (
the one with large-diaphragm condenser mics in it, not the one with
live mics in it like the SM58 or E609), and you'll see that you'll
pay a pretty penny for a mic that is made anywhere but china. And
most of the sub $1000 mics (of different brands) all have their
capsules/diaphragms built in the same freakin chinese factory anyway.
All those "great deals" on sets of MXL mics and octavas that they
advertise at the stores are, you guessed it, too good to be true.
Like i said, if you're a hobbyist, and you just want a USB mic to get
by with podcasting, good for you, go for it, i'm all for it; But I
don't see a point in calling people who use pro equipment and pro
software pretentious, especially when the ACTUALLY know what they are
talking about.

[tenaciousJk @ Sep 21st 2007 11:24AM]

Dude... relax.