Gary North

After Jerry Ford died, Bob Woodward got a lot of publicity with his statement that Ford had thought the war in Iraq was a mistake. Ford had asked Woodward to keep this secret until after Ford's death.

To back up his claim, Woodward offered an audiotape of Ford's statement. The audio quality was so poor that the TV networks had to put titles at the bottom of the screen.

I thought, "Bob, you're worth millions! You can afford a $25 lapel microphone at Radio Shack."

Woodward's tape sounded as though it was recorded on a cheap -- really cheap -- tape recorder with a built-in mic. These mics are universally worthless. They are a liability. People would not use them if they weren't built in. People should never use them.

A $25 mic produces a clear sound -- if you have not left in on, and the battery has not run down. Better yet, use a mic that doesn't require a battery. You might have to pay $50.

The difference in sound quality between a $25 mic and a built-in mic is enormous. The difference between a $25 mic and a $500 mic is marginal for voice recording.

For interviewing someone, use two $25 lapel mics and a Y-adaptor: a $5 device that lets you plug each mic into its own input jack, and then converts the sound into one monaural signal for your recorder.

Too bad nobody told Bob Woodward.