Bro going MKBHD of Audio. I applaud you for a honest review, I have worked with Maono before and they have descent gear targeted to budget creators. Sometimes it works other times it's a miss. When I review these budget gear I always consider the targeted type of consumer knowing that not everyone can afford a Rodecaster. Regardless though the gear has to work and do the job it is advertised to do.
Thanks for keeping it real! I cringe at a lot of reviews now because they just smell funny, like it's more a sales pitch than an actual review. Your honesty is refreshing and appreciated!
I will always keep my Maono USB dynamic mic because for me it represents that one "gateway" device opened the door to me getting serious about audio. And for what it's worth -- the Maono served it's purpose in that regard. But as well it also served it's purpose in changing my thinking that I could just get along with budget type equipment. Because at the end of the day -- just getting along with budget type equipment doesn't work well. That being said the Maonocaster G1 costs less than say, a Rodecaster Duo -- but the benefits of having a device like the Rodecaster far outweigh the lower costs of the Maonocaster G1.
I actually just picked one of this up for around $40 on Amazon to use just for my gaming rig and it seemed to be pretty decent for $0 with an audio technica at2020. Its by no means anywhere close to my Rodecaster and SM7B but for $40 i wasn't expecting it to be. So what would you recommend in this price point for an interface? Just curious since you don't recommend this one and there isn't but so much in this price point.
As a reviewer and content creator I could never quite pinpoint why when brands insinuated sales or commissions I just felt weird. I dont mind saving my audience money, but as you said. The clear goal of promotion for sales rather than genuine review or feedback is where I can really see it making me uncomfortable. Even I myself dont trust most reviewers as I know it's just a money grab for them. Which in turn makes a lot of reviewers content since insincere, even if there are a handful that are genuine. Love the content and bein apart of the community. It's always great to hear other creators ideas and thoughts. BANGER VIDEO🔥
Come on brother! I think there's a place for Maono, FiFine, ALABs, etc. as not everyone will need top of the line features, benefits, etc. a microphone and audio interface for $120, with all of those features, even at entry level is a good deal for the majority of folks. Just doing podcasting, voice overs, streaming, gaming, or just wanting to buy a kit to have a "nice setup" is where this product fits. This is less than dinner and a movie and in return it can potentially make you money. Business practices aside each year these products will release, because each year a new user enters the entry level phase of creation, or a parent buys this to encourage a kid, etc. who knows. Let's be honest, a $45-60 product designed for an entry level user is an entry drug into the habit of creation. It's not the end all, be all. When I started my channel 3 years ago, I had to save to buy a $300 mixer that barely can do any of what these affordable ones can do today. No one would respectfully advise someone to buy something like this and use with a Shure SM7B. Maono makes good entry-level products, I've worked with them in the past, and when I told them I was not comfortable with upfront purchasing, they understood and agreed. They're a small company that just started and is still growing and working for market capture. Although, every affiliate link any creator shares is being part of the sales cycle honestly, front-end or backend, for any brand. Make no mistake about it, no brand willing to work with a creator is doing it "NOT" to capture sales/conversions. As a Music Major with a degree sponsored by NAMM, I started my channel with a FiFine K658 USB mic and graduated to my Shures, Sony, etc. when I could afford them later. Now I have more money to play with, brand relationships, etc. to get better gear and have more stuff sitting around then I could ever use. But, these products are going for $60 a piece. There is a great market for this and this allows minimal investment, to "try" RUclips, or IG Reels, etc. If someone is out here as a professional, or at the stage of now making money for your content, then go invest in the next level, but it's ok to start here, where it's designed to be.
Oh...I haven't even covered the mic yet. That review is gonna be special And I agree...there is a place. But you have to release something that justifies people paying for it. And there is NO excuse for shady business practices. There is no other argument to that
@@mycosys Yes, agreed you can buy just the interface for that. This is a bundle with two products. I'm not defending the products, only the thought process that entry level products should operate at a higher tier, or provide features of a higher tier such as an app, etc. There is a huge jump from $50-100, and even larger $100-150 in this type of product across the industry.
thanks for the amazingly honest review! i'm about to dip my toes into streaming and doing some research on entry level gear on a budget. i really do wish i could afford something better, but for products at this price point, even with all those glaring flaws you pointed out, i'm most likely still gonna be picking this up along with the PD200X mic 😆 the reverb will come in handy for me at least since i'm gonna be doing some live singing lmao. hopefully i can upgrade in the future, and once again thanks for the honesty!!!
Shady business aside, these glorified sound card interfaces keep releasing with the same falls regardless of the brand. At this point it's very hard to recommend something that isn't the Zoom Podtrak P4 for those looking for a budget interface with a sound pad and line in, let alone the recording capabilities and multiple mic inputs. Granted it's $150 but there's not really anything cheaper without compromising on a feature or latency free monitoring
It’s under $60 and you are comparing it to the expectations of a Rode device. The device is very useful for beginner creators AND users needing a mixer for mobile device streaming. I think you’re missing the mark. We as reviewers tend to start thinking as tech reviewers, and nitpick what we think are standard user expectations. For someone looking to use multi channel mixing in its simplest form this is it. And no, I’m not sponsored by them and actually bought it with my own money.
Yes...but just because it is aimed at beginners...doesnt mean it shouldnt do meaningful things. 60 bucks is still 60 bucks. Sucking is still sucking. There are plenty of pieces of gear that are awesome without breaking the bank. I pointed out the positives to it...and I pointed out the negatives. Just because something is cheap isnt a free pass to be useless. Stop giving companies free passes because they are releasing something for beginners...or people that cant afford more. All I asked for was a bloody companion app and people act like I skewered this and ruined all its chances of succeeding. I think you are kind of missing the mark
Hmm I thought it was pretty neat for that form factor,but I was hoping for more, the second usb c port not being able to connect to another pc/ console and I had the same thought about the pads as I don’t find a use for them.programable or midi pads would’ve been so much nicer to have . I think it has potential if some changes are made to the internals (I don’t expect much in terms of build quality from them)
@@DarkCornerStudios Similar circumstance as you. I had 2 people from the company trying to "guide" me at the same time. One would say one thing the other would contradict the first. (its like one didn't know the other existed) I just ignored both of them and did my thing. The amount of time to put the video together was no where near the value of the mic. But hey it was a free video for the week.
@DarkCornerStudios ok cool I thought I embarrassed myself lol I use an all El Gato setup right now except of course sm7b for the mic because Shure is so awesome and everything!
Thankyou for your honest review,i always like your interaction with the equipment and viewers and the audience, I have a question have you ever tried and reviewed The Rode Procaster usb microphone ,the reason i ask i used to own one,then sold it for a rodecaster Podmic ,after a year of usage from the Podmic i have found i prefer The Rode usb Procaster mic, it just suits my voice alot better than the Podmic, but hey thats just me, i got a cheap one off ebay less then £100 . i would love you to try it on your podcast ,even review it. lol thanks for reading this long mesage . Cheers ,for everything you do for us on RUclips Joe
3:30 Good news is that the low noise cancellation seemed to work well. Bad news is that it did seem to make your voice a bit tinny. 6:35 Having to actually stick a microphone into a trumpet sound effect being played, though, is rather lame.
See qhwn you buy a maruti and compare with ferrari. You are delusional. Why you buy this ? I was using zoom h1n for around year . I could never get any audio without noise. Did everything with audacity, so I purchased this . Currently I am using basic amazon mic and maono . Yiu will not believe the outcome. It saves my time . I no more have to keep tweeking audacity. With some audacity help I am getting top notch voice. Now one my friend is using Rode . It's 50000 set up. Is it better yes. But does he need it. It's a great questions. One year of software use . I have proved him that you should know audacity and couple of other auto tune software and you will not be able to compare.
Bro going MKBHD of Audio. I applaud you for a honest review, I have worked with Maono before and they have descent gear targeted to budget creators. Sometimes it works other times it's a miss. When I review these budget gear I always consider the targeted type of consumer knowing that not everyone can afford a Rodecaster. Regardless though the gear has to work and do the job it is advertised to do.
Thanks for keeping it real! I cringe at a lot of reviews now because they just smell funny, like it's more a sales pitch than an actual review. Your honesty is refreshing and appreciated!
I will always keep my Maono USB dynamic mic because for me it represents that one "gateway" device opened the door to me getting serious about audio. And for what it's worth -- the Maono served it's purpose in that regard. But as well it also served it's purpose in changing my thinking that I could just get along with budget type equipment. Because at the end of the day -- just getting along with budget type equipment doesn't work well. That being said the Maonocaster G1 costs less than say, a Rodecaster Duo -- but the benefits of having a device like the Rodecaster far outweigh the lower costs of the Maonocaster G1.
Thumbs up for the transparency and honesty
99% of the reviews I've seen on this item were positive. And sensible people don't expect a VW to drive like a Porsche. But thanks for the effort.
G1 NEO is perfect for those of us who want a good and fully functional sound card but have a limited budget.
I actually just picked one of this up for around $40 on Amazon to use just for my gaming rig and it seemed to be pretty decent for $0 with an audio technica at2020. Its by no means anywhere close to my Rodecaster and SM7B but for $40 i wasn't expecting it to be. So what would you recommend in this price point for an interface? Just curious since you don't recommend this one and there isn't but so much in this price point.
“Zoom plastic feel” is a perfect way to describe something 😅
It's so true.
It's a thing I swear!
I appreciate your integrity. Keep up the great work!
So what's the best affordable mixer that's close to this price then?
Check other reviews on this item. I have it, and for the price, it's solid.
As a reviewer and content creator I could never quite pinpoint why when brands insinuated sales or commissions I just felt weird. I dont mind saving my audience money, but as you said. The clear goal of promotion for sales rather than genuine review or feedback is where I can really see it making me uncomfortable. Even I myself dont trust most reviewers as I know it's just a money grab for them. Which in turn makes a lot of reviewers content since insincere, even if there are a handful that are genuine. Love the content and bein apart of the community. It's always great to hear other creators ideas and thoughts. BANGER VIDEO🔥
Come on brother! I think there's a place for Maono, FiFine, ALABs, etc. as not everyone will need top of the line features, benefits, etc. a microphone and audio interface for $120, with all of those features, even at entry level is a good deal for the majority of folks. Just doing podcasting, voice overs, streaming, gaming, or just wanting to buy a kit to have a "nice setup" is where this product fits. This is less than dinner and a movie and in return it can potentially make you money.
Business practices aside each year these products will release, because each year a new user enters the entry level phase of creation, or a parent buys this to encourage a kid, etc. who knows. Let's be honest, a $45-60 product designed for an entry level user is an entry drug into the habit of creation. It's not the end all, be all. When I started my channel 3 years ago, I had to save to buy a $300 mixer that barely can do any of what these affordable ones can do today.
No one would respectfully advise someone to buy something like this and use with a Shure SM7B. Maono makes good entry-level products, I've worked with them in the past, and when I told them I was not comfortable with upfront purchasing, they understood and agreed. They're a small company that just started and is still growing and working for market capture. Although, every affiliate link any creator shares is being part of the sales cycle honestly, front-end or backend, for any brand. Make no mistake about it, no brand willing to work with a creator is doing it "NOT" to capture sales/conversions.
As a Music Major with a degree sponsored by NAMM, I started my channel with a FiFine K658 USB mic and graduated to my Shures, Sony, etc. when I could afford them later. Now I have more money to play with, brand relationships, etc. to get better gear and have more stuff sitting around then I could ever use. But, these products are going for $60 a piece. There is a great market for this and this allows minimal investment, to "try" RUclips, or IG Reels, etc. If someone is out here as a professional, or at the stage of now making money for your content, then go invest in the next level, but it's ok to start here, where it's designed to be.
Oh...I haven't even covered the mic yet.
That review is gonna be special
And I agree...there is a place.
But you have to release something that justifies people paying for it.
And there is NO excuse for shady business practices.
There is no other argument to that
$103 will get you a genuinely good Audient Evo 4, $130 an ID4. Its not a big place if there is.
@@mycosys Yes, agreed you can buy just the interface for that. This is a bundle with two products. I'm not defending the products, only the thought process that entry level products should operate at a higher tier, or provide features of a higher tier such as an app, etc. There is a huge jump from $50-100, and even larger $100-150 in this type of product across the industry.
thanks for the amazingly honest review! i'm about to dip my toes into streaming and doing some research on entry level gear on a budget. i really do wish i could afford something better, but for products at this price point, even with all those glaring flaws you pointed out, i'm most likely still gonna be picking this up along with the PD200X mic 😆 the reverb will come in handy for me at least since i'm gonna be doing some live singing lmao. hopefully i can upgrade in the future, and once again thanks for the honesty!!!
Thanks for the honest review. So it kinda does everything a newbie streamer needs and for cheap but you don't recommend it?
This make me appreciate my Rodecaster Pro and Rodecaster Duo even more now. Great Video brother!!
That's like saying you appreciate a Ferrari more than a Volkswagen. We are talking about 10 times the price here.
The maono pd400x seemed pretty solid but its the only product of there's I've owned
Shady business aside, these glorified sound card interfaces keep releasing with the same falls regardless of the brand. At this point it's very hard to recommend something that isn't the Zoom Podtrak P4 for those looking for a budget interface with a sound pad and line in, let alone the recording capabilities and multiple mic inputs. Granted it's $150 but there's not really anything cheaper without compromising on a feature or latency free monitoring
The Audient Evo4 goes for as low as $103, the ID4 as low as $130. Both are excellent.
What? The Maono G1 does not latency-free monitoring??
Thanks for you honest opinion 👍🏻
It’s under $60 and you are comparing it to the expectations of a Rode device. The device is very useful for beginner creators AND users needing a mixer for mobile device streaming.
I think you’re missing the mark. We as reviewers tend to start thinking as tech reviewers, and nitpick what we think are standard user expectations. For someone looking to use multi channel mixing in its simplest form this is it. And no, I’m not sponsored by them and actually bought it with my own money.
Yes...but just because it is aimed at beginners...doesnt mean it shouldnt do meaningful things.
60 bucks is still 60 bucks.
Sucking is still sucking.
There are plenty of pieces of gear that are awesome without breaking the bank.
I pointed out the positives to it...and I pointed out the negatives.
Just because something is cheap isnt a free pass to be useless.
Stop giving companies free passes because they are releasing something for beginners...or people that cant afford more.
All I asked for was a bloody companion app and people act like I skewered this and ruined all its chances of succeeding.
I think you are kind of missing the mark
@@DarkCornerStudioswhich one would you recommend that doesn’t break the bank and it’s also for beginners
@@generalgrumpzfocusrite Vocaster one or duo
One question C2 NEO or G1 NEO?? Thankss
It's not bad as a gaming mixer.
Sadly most of the companies care only for the profit only.
I think this is no for me thank you for your honesty.
Hmm I thought it was pretty neat for that form factor,but I was hoping for more, the second usb c port not being able to connect to another pc/ console and I had the same thought about the pads as I don’t find a use for them.programable or midi pads would’ve been so much nicer to have . I think it has potential if some changes are made to the internals (I don’t expect much in terms of build quality from them)
My G1 Neo gives a very light humming noise upon giving any sound output is that normal
thanks for the review, Can you suggest me something very similar but WITH companion app please? I don't care even if it's cost is even double
Hard no for a number of reasons. (least of which is odd business practices). I've done vids for them, the last one got a little weird. I feel ya.
Oh do tell
@@DarkCornerStudios Similar circumstance as you. I had 2 people from the company trying to "guide" me at the same time. One would say one thing the other would contradict the first. (its like one didn't know the other existed)
I just ignored both of them and did my thing. The amount of time to put the video together was no where near the value of the mic. But hey it was a free video for the week.
@@meistudiony yeah...sometimes it's about the free video...lol
Finally Stream Tech again!
Maono's mixer has never really been that good but this one at least looks good because it look like a certain mixer from rode
Wow, no app, not even a web interface to configure/preload stuff (sounds, setting, ...) is so last century. Thanks.
This seems way better than the FiFine Mixer.
I'm a snob and won't go cheaper than El Gato lol appreciate your honesty as always 😂
Nah...not snobbery.
Honestly if you can afford to NOT buy this stuff...dont
@DarkCornerStudios I was being a little cheeky there I know El Gato not super high-end either but, I like it for now
@LukeONYOURSELF elgato isn't bad tbh...not a fan of how the mic is tuned...but its in a league higher than this stuff
@DarkCornerStudios ok cool I thought I embarrassed myself lol I use an all El Gato setup right now except of course sm7b for the mic because Shure is so awesome and everything!
Thankyou for your honest review,i always like your interaction with the equipment and viewers and the audience,
I have a question
have you ever tried and reviewed The Rode Procaster usb microphone ,the reason i ask i used to own one,then sold it for a rodecaster Podmic ,after a year of usage from the Podmic i have found i prefer The Rode usb Procaster mic, it just suits my voice alot better than the Podmic, but hey thats just me, i got a cheap one off ebay less then £100 . i would love you to try it on your podcast ,even review it. lol
thanks for reading this long mesage .
Cheers ,for everything you do for us on RUclips
Joe
Not yet...lol...Rode has so many mics I have yet to get my hands on
Working on it though!
Cheers!!
@@DarkCornerStudios ok thanks for the quick reply cheers
3:30 Good news is that the low noise cancellation seemed to work well. Bad news is that it did seem to make your voice a bit tinny.
6:35 Having to actually stick a microphone into a trumpet sound effect being played, though, is rather lame.
Can't it also record over the auxiliary in or even the blue tooth?
Maono G1 plugged in with a Rode Usb Type C 😂
Yeah the included usb cable was garbage...lol
@@DarkCornerStudios Rode Helping Others Grow 😂
$103 will get you a genuinely excellent Audient Evo4 at Thomann, WAY better buy (even at 2ce the money)
Totally agree
It’s the same as the amc2 neo but smaller xD and the amc2 is cheaper!
The Hyper X stuff is way better
See qhwn you buy a maruti and compare with ferrari. You are delusional. Why you buy this ? I was using zoom h1n for around year . I could never get any audio without noise. Did everything with audacity, so I purchased this . Currently I am using basic amazon mic and maono . Yiu will not believe the outcome. It saves my time . I no more have to keep tweeking audacity. With some audacity help I am getting top notch voice. Now one my friend is using Rode . It's 50000 set up. Is it better yes. But does he need it. It's a great questions. One year of software use . I have proved him that you should know audacity and couple of other auto tune software and you will not be able to compare.
So annoying
trash