My Audio Setup

I've been asked several times about the equipment I use to record my crystal-clear audio in my home studio.
First, the basics: make sure there is no major humming going on from any appliances or machinery in the vicinity. This includes the attic fan in my house, which sends a fantastic hum through the walls of the whole house. Also, since I record on PC, I make sure the mic is facing away from the PC and as far away from it as microphone cables will allow.

As to the actual equipment used, I'm pretty low-tech and low-budget-
Mic:Samson C01U Condenser USB Microphone
Mount:Samson SP01 Shockmount for C01 and C03 Microphone
Stand: OnStage Tripod/Boom Mic Stand
Pop filter: RaXXess Stoppit or some generic thereof
(All except the pop filter purchased from zzounds.com)

The mic is direct to USB, so no mixer involved, which of course can be a negative, but there is a "softPre" program that came with it, which I have used with mixed results.
In terms of soundproofing, I played around with the "portable soundbooth" concept (see here: http://blog.bobbinbeam.com/2008/01/01/my-portable-sound-booth.aspx ) but got no improvement out of it, so I drape a blanket directly over the mic, filter and stand, leaving just a small window of the mic visible and facing me. Seems to work for now.

On to software:
I use the Goldwave program to record, and I am extremely happy with the way it works. I had used Dexster (very buggy) and Audacity (great for multitrack mixing, but crashes when you open more than 5 files or so), until one day the great Chris Snyder turned me on to Goldwave. Someone is trying now to get me to use Reaper, but it seems much more than I need for my humble porpoises.

So there you have it. Feel free to copy my setup as you wish.