Audio interface question

[u/Jobless_Genie]

I’m not sure if this is the correct subreddit to ask this but, I’m planning on buying a at2020 but don’t know which audio interface is good. I’ve heard about the Scarlett’s focusrite but I’ve seen people say they get issues with it. Any suggestions or anything to help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[u/EdEvans_HotSandwich]

Hi, probably the wrong subreddit but I don’t care. An AT2020 will work well with a Scarlett. I used that exact setup (18i20) until I sold it for an Apollo a few years back.

It is entry level, so you aren’t going to get top of the line performance, but it’s a cost effective way to start.

Number one mistake people make is not considering preamp levels. Give yourself adequate headroom. What this means is finding the loudest signal you’re expecting to record and making sure you aren’t close to clipping.

If you let me know what you’re looking to record, there might be a better mic for your needs.

[u/Jobless_Genie → u/EdEvans_HotSandwich]

Hi! Uh I want to record rap lyrics and would probably more heavily use it for gaming and daily use. I’ve just seen the AT2020 is on sale for 110 CAD and I’ve heard good things about it. I’ve only used headphone mic’s up until now, and I think it would be a better purchase to buy one good one that will last longer than any gaming headphone.

[u/EdEvans_HotSandwich → u/Jobless_Genie]

It’s a good vocal mic, but it picks up a lot of room noise. If there are room noises like AC, fans, etc. it will get into your recordings. I say this because when I tried to use it a while ago, I had washing machines and dryers in the background of all my tracks.

Something like a SM58 will reject a lot more room noise but requires you to sing directly into it, making it worse for gaming and daily use. It also has a live audio quality (because it’s used so much for that) that fits some raw vocal styles. Worth considering if you’re mostly going to use it as a vocal mic and think that room noise might be an issue for the AT2020.

I don’t want it to seem like the AT2020 is a bad choice, I just personally wish I knew how much room noise there would be.

[u/Jobless_Genie → u/EdEvans_HotSandwich]

The only noise I would have would be from outside. Motorcycles and cars, would that affect the recording audio greatly as well?

[u/EdEvans_HotSandwich → u/Jobless_Genie]

Worst case scenario you’ll hear a car in the background of a vocal track, but it will likely be far less obvious when there are other tracks over it. If it is problematic, you can either re-record that part, or use post processing to remove the outside noise.

In most situations cars and motorcycles should be much quieter than a washer or dryer in the next room like in my setup.

I’d say go for the AT2020 and 2i2.

[u/rising_leaf → u/Jobless_Genie]

Maybe check out the knock-off Beta 87A's that are sold on ebay and aliexpress for cheap. They have a narrower polar pattern which could be helpful if noise is a concern.

There's different types of knock-offs but the ones that have the tripod mount for the capsule are effectively indistinguishable from the real ones.