The Samson Go Mic + Audacity is a great solution for quick recording on-the-go, but what if you need more microphones, and more control over your mix? While you can chain multiple USB microphones using a powered USB hub, that gets complicated, and controlling volume in Audacity isn’t ideal.
Enter the Behringer Xenyx Q802USB (affiliate link*) mixer.
This mixer is super-portable; it’s about the size of a letter-sized sheet of paper and weighs in at a little under four pounds. It’s got two microphone (XLR) inputs that you can use to connect microphones your congregation might already have.
It’s “phantom power” capable, for microphones that require it, and each channel has the ability to easily add compression (which can help even-out audio by making softer sounds louder and limiting the volume of louder sounds).
And it’s pretty straightforward to operate.
Best of all, you can connect it to your laptop via USB and Audacity (or whatever recording software you’d like to use) will see it as an audio input.
If you’re looking for less or more capabilities in a similar package, Beringer has you covered there too:
- Xenyx Q502USB (affiliate link*) – If you like the convenience of a portable mixer but only need a single XLR input with phantom power, this is your go-to device.
- Xenyx Q1202USB (affiliate link*) – This one has four XLR inputs with phantom power, and you get a nice slider instead of a knob for your main mix volume.
- Xenyx Q1204USB (affiliate link*) – Much like the 1202, but you get sliders for all your channels plus separate L and R sliders for your main mix volume.
I used my Q802USB (affiliate link*) just this past weekend to control audio for a live-streamed Introduction to Upper Sorbian class for the Texas Wendish Heritage Society, and was very happy with the output!
* If you purchase one of the linked items after clicking on one of the affiliate links, I will be paid a small commission by Amazon at no additional cost to you.