Why I won’t spend a fortune on a gaming microphone

I admit, I’ve been responsible of shopping for gaming microphones that are painfully out of my budget, if only to now now not sound totally amateur in my team chats. But that was earlier than I came across filters in OBS Studio. The reality is you don’t want to spend a fortune on your gaming microphone. In fact, even a sub-$50 mic can sound amazing with a few easy filters.

Additional reading: The greatest USB microphones for streaming

Why I utilize OBS Studio for my gaming mic

An obtrusive question is: Why don’t I apt utilize my microphone’s companion app which has been optimized especially for it? For me, there’s a easy reason for this and that is, OBS standardizes the settings and eliminates any annoying quirks explicit to a particular microphone that I don’t know about.

In OBS I can apply the same filters and settings to apt about any mic, and this may sound terrific. Plus, any changes I make also work in Discord, Zoom, and my game chats. But don’t apt take my phrase for it; at the same time as you’ve obtained a gaming mic, let’s accept it sounding great…

The steps to broadcast quality

For the sake of this “the finest way to,” I’ve applied OBS filters to a $120 HyperX Quadcast S, which was the only microphone I had on hand at the time of writing.

Admittedly, the Quadcast S is a grade above many cheaper mics. Calm, with out applying the OBS filters to it, it’s now now not going to sound broadcast quality for my stammer. In the past I’ve applied the same filters to the $49.Ninety nine Razer Seiren Mini and had a similarly legal consequence. The point is, this path of will work perfectly lovely for apt about any mic you want to utilize it on — so don’t spend a lot; you can walk cheap!

Step 1: Adjust the gain

In Dwelling windows 11, I suitable-click on on my audio icon, then selected Sound Settings> Extra Sound Settings> Recording. Then, I double-click on on Microphone and decide out Ranges. I then adjust the gain stage until the sound is registering in the yellow part of OBS’s sound meter. The stage is going to be assorted for each microphone, so for many effective results accomplish this step in real time until you accept the specified consequence. You may also want to adjust the quantity stage on your microphone too.

Tip: If you place of abode your gain to 100 percent in Dwelling windows and detached aren’t recording in the yellow, initiate your filter menu in OBS, suitable-click on, and add a Gain filter.

Step 2: Add a Noise Suppression filter

For this step I first have to change some settings so that I can hear my microphone thru my headset. To accomplish that, I click on on the icon with the three vertical dots in the OBS Audio Mixer and decide out Advanced Audio Properties> Audio Monitoring. Next to my microphone source (Mic/Aux) I then decide out Monitoring and Output.

Now from my checklist of filters in OBS I decide out Noise Suppression. Several options pop up. I have an Nvidia graphics card, so I resolve one of the Nvidia filters, Nvidia Noise Removal. If you don’t have an Nvidia card, one of the assorted options must work lovely. I then adjust the suppression phases with the slider until my stammer sounds clean and crisp and free of background noise.

Tip: This must be done first earlier than you add any assorted filters. It clears your stammer of any distracting or unwanted background sound. If you can’t gape the Nvidia Noise Suppression filter in your checklist, you may want to download an Audio driver from Nvidia.

Step 3: Add a 3-band equalizer filter

Getting this suitable is really important to lovely-tune the tone of my stammer. First, I decide out the three-band equalizer filter from the OBS filter menu. Three bands appear. I then cut the mids by a fraction from the starting point of zero and increase the highs and lows apt a fraction. This affords my stammer a warm broadcast-adore quality.

Tip: Play around with these values until you accept a broadcast quality to your absorb stammer. In case your stammer is already quite low and authoritative, don’t raise the slider for the lows by considerable; you don’t want to overemphasize the bass.

Step 4: Add an Expander filter

This filter ensures that no matter how quietly I talk my pals will detached hear me. After deciding on the filter from the menu, I change the Ratio to three and the Release to 100. I then place of abode the Attack value to 1ms and circulation the slider for Threshold all the way to the left.

Speaking very softly into my mic, I then gradually increase the Output Gain until my OBS quantity meter is registering the sound of my stammer in the yellow section of the meter. Then I shuffle the Threshold slider to the suitable, stopping it at a point earlier than my stammer turns into too level-headed to hear.

Tip: You may want to adjust the Threshold for assorted audio varieties you’re recording or assorted in programs, so sustain an behold on this environment and change it when required.

Step 5: Add a Compressor filter

This ensures my stammer will always be heard at a constant quantity even supposing I make a loud noise. To enable it, I decide out the Compressor filter from the menu. Once again I change the Ratio to three nevertheless this time, I circulation the Threshold all the way to the suitable. I then place of abode the Attack to 1ms and the Release to 100.

Now speaking loudly, I gradually circulation the Threshold to the left until my quantity is comfortably appearing in the yellow part of the OBS quantity meter.

Step 6: Add a Limiter filter

This last filter ensures my audio has a high limit for quantity so my listener’s ears aren’t blown out in case the outlandish loud sound enters my audio stream. After deciding on this filter, I simply circulation the Threshold all the way to the suitable and click on the down arrow so that I accept a value of -0.1.

A final step

Finally, I have to make definite my OBS filters works in my gaming chats and Discord. To accomplish this, I download Virtual Cable and extract the file. I then suitable-click on on VBCable_Setup_x64 and selected Accelerate as Administrator to install it to my PC. In OBS, I then decide out Settings and change Monitoring Instrument from Default to Cable Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable).

Tip: You’ll want to resolve VB-Audio Virtual Cable as the output in every program you want to utilize your microphone in. For example, in Discord you simply walk to Person Atmosphere> Speak and Video> Input Instrument and resolve Cable Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable).

The consequence

My Quadcast S sounds adore a new microphone! My stammer sounds a lot warmer and clearer than it did earlier than and has a broadcast-adore quality that makes me sound adore a pro streamer. I’ve virtually eliminated any background noise, and no matter whether I speak softly or loudly, my pals will hear my stammer at an acceptable quantity.

If you’re searching for a USB microphone to place this out on, be certain to ascertain out our checklist of the Ideally suited USB Microphones for Streaming. They work apt as properly to your gaming desires. Happy tweaking!

Author: Dominic Bayley, PCWorld Australia Editor