MXL770 or AT2020?

soulryuu

soulryuu

New member
I'm looking into getting a cardiod mic for some vocal recording. I kinda know my way around audio equipment, since I was given a bit of training in AV and know how to play with the EQs on a mixer during live performances. After reading some threads on this forum, I've decided to go for an XLR mic over a USB mic and just use a XLR-USB interface.
Which do you recommend out of these for alto-soprano female vocals: MXL 770 (the Monoprice rebrand) or AT2020? Or any other recommendations? And please list any reasoning in brief. I want to try to keep this at or under $150.

I don't play any instruments, so this will mostly be used for my singing only. Maybe I'll use it to record some friends with different vocal ranges, too, but the primary use will still be for my own voice.

Also, if someone could help me with figuring out how to hook up headphone monitoring to this without a mixer or an interface that has the ability, that'd be great :D
 
soulryuu said:
I'm looking into getting a cardiod mic for some vocal recording. I kinda know my way around audio equipment, since I was given a bit of training in AV and know how to play with the EQs on a mixer during live performances. After reading some threads on this forum, I've decided to go for an XLR mic over a USB mic and just use a XLR-USB interface.
Which do you recommend out of these for alto-soprano female vocals: MXL 770 (the Monoprice rebrand) or AT2020? Or any other recommendations? And please list any reasoning in brief. I want to try to keep this at or under $150.

I don't play any instruments, so this will mostly be used for my singing only. Maybe I'll use it to record some friends with different vocal ranges, too, but the primary use will still be for my own voice.

Also, if someone could help me with figuring out how to hook up headphone monitoring to this without a mixer or an interface that has the ability, that'd be great :D
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You're off to a fine start. Either of those mics should be a good choice as a starter mic.

As far as headphone monitoring, you haven't said what you will be plugging it into or what software/type of computer you plan to use, so specific help there will be hard until you have something in hand.

For an interface you should be fine with anything like a Focusrite,Tascam, PreSonus or other USB preamp interface.

There are plenty of package deals on Amazon right now.
 
So either of those mics will do fine?What's the difference and pros and cons between them?

I'll be using a Blue Icicle for the interface. It's not the best, I know, but I'm on a relatively tight budget. I might be getting a bit mote cash soon, though, so I might be able to get something a bit better, and that will have headphone monitoring included.

In the scenario that I don't, though, Is is possible with the Blue Icicle setup to get monitoring?
 
I don't personally own either of those microphones. Those however, are both large diaphragm condenser microphones. Large diaphragm condenser microphones work well for recording vocals. I do own Octava, MXL, and Groove Tubes LDC'S, and they all work great on vocals.

The next and just as important thing to consider when recording your voice is the space in which you do it.
 
I'll probably end up making a makeshift recording studio/room out of a walk-in closet :P

If not, I plan to make a makeshift mic shield out of those science project boards and glue some large foam pads inside.
 
soulryuu said:
I'll probably end up making a makeshift recording studio/room out of a walk-in closet :P

If not, I plan to make a makeshift mic shield out of those science project boards and glue some large foam pads inside.
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I did that (the walk in closet) and it sounded pretty good. Just make sure it's not too small of a space that it sucks all the life out of the sound.

You sound like you have a good handle on things. Keep reading and learning.
 
You will want to stay out of the closet. Everyone thinks it will give a nice reverb but it really just makes the vocal sound boxed in.

I don't have experience with either of those mics, I did purchase an AT2035 as my first microphone a while back and was happy with it for the price. Based on the reading I don't think the 2020 is much different. It's not going to give you a perfect crystal clear sound but as long as you know you are buying a budget mic and are expecting a budget result.

I have never used the blue icicle but it does look like it will at least get your recording. It doesn't look like you can hook headphones up to the icicle so you will need to hook them to your laptop and use the monitoring option for whatever software you decide to go with. Some offer "low latency monitoring" which will disable all effects for your monitoring but it will get rid of the lag so you hear things without a delay.
 
I was thinking of using the walk-in closet because all the clothes would act as padding to prevent reverb. Am I wrong? o_o

I tried using my laptop for monitoring once by feeding the mic signal back into the output, but there was a huge lag. My friend told me that the problem might have been by sound card. Would a program with low latency monitoring be affected by that?

maestro_dmc said:
You sound like you have a good handle on things. Keep reading and learning.
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Thanks, I will!
 
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polarity said:
You will want to stay out of the closet. Everyone thinks it will give a nice reverb but it really just makes the vocal sound boxed in.
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To the contrary, I thought it would be a nice neutral/dead sound.

And with my particular closet, maybe the way it was shaped or whatever was in it, I got a great sounding vocal recording in there.

It was a rather large irregularly shaped closet though.

I know many here advise against the "closet as vocal booth" idea, but I say if you can get a usable sound in there, go for it.
 
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RAMI said:
A closet is a horrible place to record vocals or anything else, no matter what you use to "control reverb". Vocal booths in real studios are the size of most people's bed rooms. They're not what most newbies think when they hear the word "booth". Acoustically, a closet is not a good place to record. The bigger the room, the better it is for recording. This is not a matter of opinion, it's physics.

People often do the wrong thing and then say "it worked for me". THAT'S a matter of opinion. Anyone can say that, it doesn't make it true.
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What is it about the size of the room (a closet) that makes it horrible for recording?

The bigger the room the better it is for recording? Why?

Please elaborate. Explain the physics.
 
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I would read up in the studio building section to understand why it's a bad idea.

I am not telling you that you can't make a recording you are happy with in the closet, I am just saying it's easier to make one in a better space. The idea is simple, get the best sound you can on the way in that way you don't have to work so hard to make it sound good later.
 
Do you want to hear vox through an AT2020 into a PreSonus 1818VSL? I used that configuration on one of the songs on my most recent album. For comparative purposes, I have other tracks on the album that are vox into Shure SM-57 and SM-58 into same 1818VSL and into the less-expensive PreSonus 2X2 USB. Let me know and I'll put up a link to the Bandcamp page with some notes on which songs are which with respect to vox mics used for recording.
 
PS - If you plan on buying this mic for vocals, just for vocals, and don't intend to ever use it for anything else, my recommendation is to just buy a Shure SM-58 for around $100 and be done with it. You really can't go wrong with the SM-58, you'll never need phantom power (which you will need for the AT2020), and you never second guess yourself on whether or not you bought the right kind of mic for your application (vox in this case). Be careful about purchasing second hand or through off-name online sellers, as there are knock-off SM-58 fakes out there. For once, it pays to go with a big box online retailer like MF for a 58. You'll get a fair price and a legit product.
 
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