Introducing: the Samson G Track USB mic and audio interface – in one!

The Samson G Track is one of the coolest devices I’ve seen in a while. There are a bunch of USB mics on the market, all of which provide a convenient way to record straight into the computer. But the Samson G Track does one better – you can connect additional instruments right into the mic itself. I think that’s pretty cool, and here’s why…

What makes the Samson G Track awesome?

When it comes to making music, it’s a little like sex. Once you get “in the mood” you don’t want to be fumbling around with “extra equipment” You just want to get down to business without anything getting in the way. Well the Samson G Track lets you do just that. You plug the mic in via USB, then connect any other instrument into the G Track. No other gear to deal with.

The Samson G Track as a master volume which controls the mic itself and the instrument. There are also independent volume controls for the mic and instrument as well so you can properly blend the two signals together.

Now let’s be honest here. The Samson G Track is no $3,000 microphone. You are getting a condenser mic with a built-in audio interface for under $150. There’s no doubt it’s a great value, but if you own other very expensive microphone and you have “golden ears” then don’t expect the G Track to sound like your U87

The Samson G Track is best used for recording demos, home recordings, and voiceovers.

If you need a solid, super convenient USB condenser mic to use with your computer – and you don’t want to deal with extra equipment – then click here to get your Samson G Track!

Here’s Amazon’s take:

Samson G Track USB Microphone and Audio Interface

The G-Track is a total solution capable of taking you from your musical inspiration to your finished tracks. It is the world’s first USB condenser microphone with a built-in audio interface and mixer, allowing simultaneous input of vocals and guitar, bass, or keyboard while also providing monitoring through an on board headphone output. Record vocals like a standard USB microphone or two mono instruments through the line/instrument input or a mix of one mono instrument and vocal. Now you can directly record vocals and instruments easily with one device, making the G-Track a must have for any songwriter’s home studio. Its ease of use and portability allows you to take it anywhere inspiration may strike you. The G-Track includes a desktop microphone stand, swivel stand mount, USB cable and all the cables needed to connect any musical instrument with a standard 1/4-inch or RCA output. Cakewalk’s Sonar LE is also included while the G-Track works brilliantly with Apple’s GarageBand.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars GREAT for laptop recording solution
This will be a nice semi-quick review with a little more technical perspective than a lot of the previous ones. I’m a big home recording nut, who’s been on the road a lot the last year, mostly recording with my laptop, this mic, and a full version of Sonar.

First off, the audio quality:

Pretty decent. No noticeable glitches while using. Does sound a little tinny at times, but it’s definitely on par with most of my other $100+ mikes (my most expensive one is a $200 Rode). Very usable for recording vocals (singing), but I haven’t tried it with an acoustic guitar or other acoustic instruments. VERY-usable-plus for recording spoken words. Frequency range seems decent, but again, I haven’t really ran the thing through a full range of applications.

Build quality:

Nice and solid. Almost too heavy though for easy lugging on small trips…but I keep it in the manufacturer’s box and slide it in my suitcase, and so far it has made every trip just fine.

Ease of use:

Big plus here, despite a stable Windows OS possibly being as much responsible for the super simple use of the thing as the mic itself. Plug it in via USB, and you’re ready to go. No special driver install or software required to get it working.

Extras:

- Line in and headphone out are constructed directly on the mic…this lets you use the mic as a line-in for recording an electronic keyboard or electric guitar directly into your recording software. And then you can use the microphone part of it to record vocals or any acoustic instruments. Nice double-feature to have in the same piece of hardware

- Comes with a very usable desk mic stand

- Comes with all the necessary cables to use right away

- Comes with some scaled-down Cakewalk recording software for your computer

I expected the sound quality would be usable and it is, but I admit the all-in-one extras and the acceptable price were what ultimately snagged me and prompted the one-click order.

Final thoughts:

If you’re only doing podcasting (no music or instrument input required), you might consider a lower priced USB mic without the extras. BUT, if you’re doing music with the thing, the line-in and line-out features and easy direct monitoring are way nice and worth the price.

5 Stars Awesome for me and my band
I got this for our band practice so we can review our parts. We play mostly rock & hard core so it can get pretty loud. The mic handled everything pretty well after setting the levels. Granted it wasn’t crystal clear as in a recording studio, but for practices and hashing out sections, it’s served us perfectly. I use Audacity to record. I think my next purchase would be the shockmount.

4 Stars Samson G Track USB Mic
The Samson G Track USB Mic is a well built mic that offers many options. The mic offers the ability to record vocally or through line inputs. It also offers a nice headphone input. Each input offers individual volume controls. It sounds great and works flawlessly with Mac products and Garageband. The software that comes with the mic is not usable by the Mac society. Overall, I think this is an excellent purchase for someone interested in podcasting and demo recording. It is certainly not the highest quality mic, however you end up getting a pretty decent mic for the money.

4 Stars Great microphone
I bought this to improve the quality of the audio voice-overs I do for eLearning classes. It does the job very well and produces professional sounding audio.

4 Stars Good Quality… Bad Software
The microphone has great record sound quality. The line in feature is great for recording my Taylor and my friends Fender, picking up every sound and showing how awful we really are at playing. The mics profile is good, picking up all sounds in front of the mic and none to the side, something like a super cancoid profile. We were able to record both of us playing in space, even picking up the birds chirping.

The problem I have with the package is the included software. It comes with Sonar 6 LE. I could not get this software to work properly, even after installing the ASIO drivers that the forums suggested on my HP laptop. I did not go to the manufacturer to solve my problem but I did go to the forums. What resulted from that was several unhelpful posts and one user bragging about his tutorial over other Samson mics. So using those forums, nothing was solved. I did however find a program that worked out of box for the mic named Acuostica Mixcraft. The program is very similar to Garage Band. Its easy to use and did not require any fumbling around to get started. The interface is simple and not cluttered feeling, which is how Sonar 6 LE feels, even as a LE version. Mixcraft will set you back 65 dollars to purchase but I think it is well worth it.

All in all the Samson G-Track is a great buy for someone who does not want to mess with the complexities of buying a separate sound card and several microphones. I recommend it.

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