can I use my really old microphone to record voice on the computer?

I have some microphones from the good old days somewhere in the basement.  They have those really thick audio jacks that headsets and microphones had in the 1970s and 80s.  I can't remember what that hookup is called but I'm pretty sure they are two-ring (stereo) - as in two black lines and three gold connecting places.

For those of you still with me, what is that connection called?
Can I get a translator/converter to plug it into a USB?
Is there any reason that's a bad idea?  

I'm looking for some way to better record my voice when on the computer.  A blue yetti is out of my budget, but I thought maybe I could convert the old microphones and give them a good life.  Memory says they used to record pretty decent sound.  

I'm told by older and more musical minds than mine that wired sound is better than non-wired and that you sacrifice quality for convenience when going to newer wireless tech. If that is true, it would seem that your older mic would possibly be preferable. There also seem to be adapters for everything (my aunt has a princess phone handset attached to her phone so...) but I don't know what kind you'd need but have gotten excellent customer service calling https://www.sweetwater.com/
  for all musical gear questions.

I believe your old microphones have an XLR connector.

Wikipedia Article on XLR Conenctors

Jeremy VanGelder wrote:I believe your old microphones have an XLR connector.

Wikipedia Article on XLR Conenctors

not that one.
These look like phallic statues.
Something like earbuds used to have, only super-sized.  

A 1/4 inch connector? The technical name of those is TRS.
Wikipedia Phone Connector Page

r ranson wrote:
not that one.
These look like phallic statues.
Something like earbuds used to have, only super-sized.  

This article is a good explainer for what I think you are dealing with: https://www.headphonesty.com/2019/04/headphone-jacks-plugs-explained/

Okay, then you have male 1/4" phone plugs. That's standard for a high impedance microphone. You can buy an adapter that plugs into the 1/8" microphone jack on your PC. For a desktop machine, it may be on the back, on the sound card.

I'm pretty sure a USB to 1/4" female jack adapter is available. When searching, keep in mind this isn't a consumer electronics item, more the kind of thing a musician would buy.

You could try a USB sound card with a14" to 1/8" adaptor.

This MIGHT work and is fairly cheap to try. Honestly it most depends on the mics you're planning to use. That sound card is designed for a little 5v electret mic and your mics are probably dynamics but the 5v shouldn't hurt them.

I found the microphone jack on my computer.  A 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor should be fairly easy to find.  I might have one from the good old days.  

Thanks so much for the help.  

It's really hard to google something when I don't know the words anymore.  

The next big challange is to find out if the microphones can record without catching the computer fan too much.  

What software are you recording the sound with? Audacity has a pretty powerful noise remover and will run on windows, mac or Linux.

Also if you can post the model of the microphone we can see if it's an omni, cardioid or super cardioid, knowing that can tell you the best placement of the mic to reject the computer noise.

In my past life as a recording engineer (well, I shouldn't really say past, as I still have plans to turn part of the garage into a studio), I used to come across lots of these old microphones. People would find them in storage or at yard sales and bring them to me. Once in a while there were some decent ones, but a lot of them were pretty dodgy. The 1/4" connector means that they're "consumer" devices and have a high output impedance to be matched with the input of a low-cost tape deck, stereo system, or small PA amplifier.

Nearly all of them tend to be dynamic, which means that they operate like a tiny little speaker in reverse with a diaphragm that pushes a coil of wire back and forth within a permanent magnet. There could also be condenser mics, which might say "electret" on the housing and will often need a battery to work - usually a AA, which means that they're pretty likely to be full of fossilised dead battery leakage and might be a lost cause. That's no great loss, because they're usually the worst of the bunch.

The things to look for are sensitivity, directionality, frequency response, and self noise. Sensitivity simply describes how good they are at picking up sound and if it's high then you don't need to crank up the gain in the computer, which also amplifies any noise in the signal chain. Directionality is important when you've got other noisy things around...it's better to have a mic that only "hears" your voice and not the computer fan. Frequency response will determine how well the low, middle and high parts of the sound spectrum are captured and turned into an electrical signal. Self noise is whatever hiss, hum or crackle the microphone is making when you have it plugged in.

The good news in modern-day terms is that computer mic inputs are also high impedance and all you need is the adapter from 1/4 to 1/8" to plug it in. What I would do is line them all up and record a test sample with each one. Get up good and close, and test each one from the front, the side, and the back. Take notes or give each test a descriptive name.

Now go outside for a while. When you come back in, listen to the samples and give them a score. Listen to see how natural your voice sounds (sometimes it's good to have someone else do this). Is it boomy or thin? Are your consonants clear? Do the "S" sounds get all blurry and sound like static? Is the computer fan audible? Is there other noise, or a weird quality that you find distracting? You can also use the tools in the software to look at the spectrum on the screen and see how this lines up with your subjective assessment of how it sounds (Audacity is good for this).

You should be able to narrow down your field pretty quickly with this method. If it comes down to a few all being similar, then you could have a morning, an afternoon, and an evening mic, or whatever fits a particular vibe.

James Alun wrote:What software are you recording the sound with? Audacity has a pretty powerful noise remover and will run on windows, mac or Linux.

Also if you can post the model of the microphone we can see if it's an omni, cardioid or super cardioid, knowing that can tell you the best placement of the mic to reject the computer noise.

I'm doing a screen recording for tutorials for now.  I've been using filmora as it's quick to edit but the software frustrates me, so I was going to try zoom next (it's pretty good at filtering audio automatically).

I do use Audacity for my youtube videos but I find it's almost too powerful for my skillset.  I have a lot of trouble getting the noise removal to work for humms like machines, fridges, fans... so I usually record in a quiet space 4 am.  (yes, I do the obligatory 30 seconds of silence to get the room noise - but that's a problem for another day).

One more tip: Mic technique can be more important than mic quality. Getting up nice and close makes you the main thing that it hears and means you can use less gain at the input stage - which means that you won't be boosting the background as much.

However, for most microphones, especially directional ones, there is a thing called proximity effect. This boosts the lower frequencies and makes plosives (the Ps and Bs) overwhelming. This is why you see pop filters and windscreens between the mouth and the mic. They really help and can be as simple as a couple layers of panty hose stretched over a wire loop.

I expect I need a filter.   My breathing tends to be the worst offence in my voice over recording.   But I suspect with a better mic, it would be more mouth noise.   I can't stand mouth noise.

A better mic can make all the difference. Karaoke mics are truly awful -- either they pick up nothing or they pick up every honk and sneeze. You practically have to put them to your lips (ick) to get anything.

A better mic doesn't have to be obscenely expensive either. A couple of years ago I picked up a Shure utility mic for under $50 and was pleasantly surprised at how it performed for vocals. It was even dual mode -- 1/4" or XLR, so it was mighty handy for all sorts of oddball situations.

Phil's comment about mic technique is spot on but remember that singing and speaking have different associated techniques.

A good place to start is holding your mic about an inch away from your chin. This means that the air flow from breathing and plosives don't hit the mic but go over the top of it.

I'm finding it fun that we're learning where we got our skills, my AV knowledge comes from church. Lot's of low budget (bottom end pro), live event experience and recording spoken word but no real music recording experience.