Preparing for my move to Abu Dhabi meant that I had to look at my whole work setup and figure out what was important enough to take, and what could be left behind.
I know I could have shipped anything I really needed over, but my goal was to have everything fit into the the luggage our family of four would take on the plane.
Did you really need to take a gigantic mic and stand?
Hmm. Good question.
The quick answer is no.
However. When you consider how much I'll be using this setup, then it was definitely worth it.
In a perfect world, there are a few more things I could have brought, and there other things I could have left. In the end, I'm glad I decided to bring my microphone and stand. Let me show you what I consider a good quality microphone for home recording or office use:
What I use
Here are my Amazon links to the tools I use:
Yeti Microphone – I love my Yeti. It allows me to choose which direction(s) to record from (usually the front), gives me good quality sound to work with, and plugs right into a USB port on my computer. I mentioned a price in the range of $150-170, but it looks like they're an even better value now.
Pop Filter – They're pretty cheap. You'll probably pay around $5 for one. I looked at some of the ones listed on Amazon, and they all look the same. The exact model I have is a NADY MPF-6 (6″ Pop Filter).
Microphone Stand – Tripod – I suggest looking for one that has a boom on it so you can place the base away from you and then angle the microphone in front of your face. I can also make mine upright if needed by flipping to boom straight up. The brand I own is Apex.
I also brought my Edutidge lavalier mic, which I don't talk about in this video. Here's my review of it.
Technology simplifies and Complicates at the same time
If I had to choose only the bare minimum. I know I could have gotten by with just my laptop and my phone.
Everything else beyond that is icing on the cake.
The downside to taking only the bare minimum is that sometimes you need to put in more work than you would like in order to get the same result as a small gadget.
