Confession. I am a utilitarian. I had the pleasure of reading J.S. Mill’s, “On Liberty” in my late teens and it made a huge impression. Utilitarian principles guide my epistemology and tend to seep into my reviews of products; I try to answer the question “what’s its use?” And the Giant Squid lavalier microphone is a utilitarian masterpiece.
We all use products that try to do many things, have a multitude of features; all bells and whistles, but are terrible at performing the basic task they were made for. But the Giant Squid lav mic does one thing, record external audio into a digital recorder, and does it exceptionally well.
Summary: Giant Squid Lav Mic Review
- The good: you get a full, rich awesome sound; not the tiny sound that characterizes lavalier microphones. 6ft cord, not too short, not too long: perfect. Easy to use. Sturdy build.
- The Bad: the form windshield keeps falling off. Poor packaging and branding. Only works with digital voice recorders that output plug-in power (1.5v – 10v).
- Verdict: very good lavalier microphone. Awesome sound. Easy to use. This is a sneaky good, sneaky reliable clip on microphone. A real bargain. Get one. Thank me later! Buy it now from Amazon.
The Good
There are a few features on this mic that I really like for recording interviews. The first is ease of use. Using the Giant Squid clip on microphone is as easy as plug and play. Combined with the Sony ICD-ux560, you don’t have to worry about batteries, or attaching other cables (you’ll need a splitter though – more on how to record interviews in a noise location here).
The Giant Squid mic is also compact. And that’s because the 6ft cord is not too long or too short. It’s just the right size for most interview recordings. Thus, it’s easy to carry around with you. A couple of them fit into a small zip-lock bag. Which is perfect.
The cord of the Giant Squid, feels thick and heavy. And the connections to the mic capsule and 3.5mm TRS plug are well made and sturdy. I’ve only used this microphone for a month, but I’m sure it’s going to take a lot of use before I can start worrying about it breaking down.
Finally, you’ll get awesome sound using the Giant Squid microphone. It’s not the tiny sound that I’ve come to expect from lavalier microphones. You get a full rich sound. Probably the best sound I’ve heard from a less than $100 microphone – and that’s all microphones, not just lav mics.
The Bad
Little foam windscreen that comes with this microphone keeps falling off! I lost mine within the first day of use. It fell of a couple of times, and I found it. The third time it fell out – I didn’t bother looking for it. The foam windscreen is too short to fit over the capsule. Very annoying. If you don’t have a replacement, I suggest you use a little bit of glue to glue it on. If you are going to record your interviews outdoors, when you really need a windscreen, throw away the foam windscreen and get a proper furry windscreen; most are made with artificial fur.
If you are looking for an unboxing experience when you order this microphone, you’ll be disappointed. It comes in a plastic zip-lock bag. In it, you’ll find the mic, the gator clip, and the foam windscreen. That’s it. If books were to be judged by their cover, this mic would get awful reviews. It’s not the best looking tie clip microphone I’ve ever seen, and the packaging is dreadful. No company logo, no brand name, nothing. Not a great confidence builder. It does have a little GS logo on the mic capsule – but that’s the only way to know it’s the Giant Squid microphone.
Finally, this microphone needs power to work. That means that it will not work on most phones, computers and other electronic devices that don’t output plug in power (1.5-10v). And if you connect it to a device that outputs phantom power (more than 10v), you’ll ruin it. But it does work great with most digital recorder. I recommend you get the Sony ICD-ux560 (here’s a review of this voice recorder), an awesome recorder for this mic, and for recording research interviews.
Verdict
Awesome lavalier microphone. The best that I’ve ever used. The sound from this will blow your mind. So rich, it’s unexpected. Very easy to use. Plug it into a digital recorder and start recording. This is a sneaky good, sneaky reliable clip on microphone. A real bargain. Buy it now from Amazon. As always, please keep us in mind for all of your academic transcription services needs.
I am not with the Spelling Police, and I am certainly not trying to give you a hard time. But: the word is Splitter. (splitting the signals in one connector to two separate connectors) as I am sure you know.
I hate it when I let a silly error creep into something I’m writing, I expect you do too, especially since it also got into you microphone review.
Thank you for the interesting, and useful reviews.
Regards Larry
sever tryst i spilling checked
ever truss o swelling chicken
Never trust a spelling checker!
Larry, thanks. You’re right, hate those obvious errors.
But, I don’t stress over them. If I did, I’d probably only write 3 posts every year, and they’d have perfect spelling, subject verb agreement, no hanging modifiers etc. I did that for a while, but then realized my time was better spent doing other things – like running a transcription business.
So these days, I use the 80-20 rule. Are my posts perfect? No. Do they have sentences that could be better phrased? Yes? What the Pareto rule has done is freed me to write more, and I hope readers of this blog appreciate that.
KD
Isaac
I think you meant “your.”
You know. Glass Houses and all.
Didn’t catch that either.
Did you enjoy the review?
Larry, your grammar is horrible.
When critiquing others, I expect you to have letter perfect writing.
Please provide a model number or link for this Giant Squid Lav Mic, so I can make sure I’m looking at / purchasing the correct microphone that you reviewed. Thanks.
Oops, sorry. Here’s the Amazon link to the Giant Squid microphone I reviewed; I’ve also updated the post.
Thanks Vee.
Have you used the Power De Wise lavalier dual microphone? as I’m having problems trying to source a Giant Squid in the UK, even using the supplied Amazon link.
No I have not. The Power De Wire are phone microphones; from my experience, they don’t work well with digital recorders. Couple of suggestions, get the Audio Technica Lav mic, which is available on the Amazon UK store. Or, head over to the Amazon US store (amazon.com) and get the Giant squid – they do ship to the UK…
Thanks for your advice, I’ll head over and see.
hello, quick question about the giant squid microphone. Do you think I need it if im recording a lecture in a class room or can i just place the recorder on my desk and that will be sufficient. thank you.
Hello Hassan, the only instance I’d recommend you use the Giant Squid Microphone (or any other clip on microphone) for recording lectures is if you are the lecturer. So you’d clip it on your shirt, connect it to a voice recorder and place the voice recorder in your pocket. That’d enable you to move around, and still record very good audio.
As a student, getting a good recorder and placing it on your desk is sufficient to record lectures. My only advice would be to make sure you sit close enough to the lecturer (if you are in a large lecture hall that does not have an address system – most large lecture halls do).
I’ve penned a detailed post on recording lectures with a few recommendations of the best voice recorders for lectures…