^^
Thanks bro, I'll check that out!

What I mean by the pre-amp thing is that yes, a USB mic is better than a skype type mic (ugh) into a  realtek (ugh) soundcard, no, it is not as good as a pre-amp and mic combo under just about any situation imaginable other than portability cause the pre-amp that is built into USB mics are not as good (hence a cheaper solution). 

Yes it might be a little more expensive to do a Mackie Mixer and a USB interface and a XLR cord and SM 58 or cheap condenser but you can do a lot more things with it in the long run.

But if you have heard your friends USB mic on a similar voice to yours and you like it, sounds like you have your answer...

No Problemo mahh nigg, we takin' ova! ^o^ ..

just wanted to shed some light on this. for a cheap, one purchase solution...Samson G-Track. Condensor mic, comes with a built-in audio interface. zero latecy-monitoring, so your DAW doesn't slow things down. i bought one yesterday for songwriting...i can't get my levels right yet, but it seems pretty good so far. also for an external audio interface it's pretty damn good...similar latency thru that thing as my audiophile 2496 audiocard

i spent about 200 dollars total on my mic and preamp and setup a makeshift vocal booth in my closet, but the vocals come out pretty good... check out the song in my myspace if you want to hear the quality

Hey yall. i'm aware that recording vocals has to be done in mono. but im a little confused.

my understanding of mono is, sound comes out from the left earphone, no sound from the right.
my understanding of stereo is, sound comes out from both L & R.

well, i was trying out audacity, and i recorded in mono. the input meter showed the levels only for the left side. but the output showed levels for both.
see this picture.
http://img25.imageshack.us/i/test1za.jpg/

so i'm confused now. if the output has sound coming out from both sides then is it in stereo or mono?
this 2nd image shows that it is in mono
http://img265.imageshack.us/i/test2g.jpg/

i think i may have a misconception btwn mono and stereo so someone pls explain.

cuz i was wondering, if the output was only on the left side, how would the sound turn out when imported into FLStudio?

P.S. i dont intend to use FL to rec vocals yet. i'll stick to audacity, or cakewalk sonar.

i think mono means that you hear the same sound from both speakers.... i record in mono and it works fine