how to set up XLR mic for recording? help :)

  • Thread starter Thread starter curlyky
  • Start date Start date
C

curlyky

New member
i brought an audio technica at2020 xlr because it was cheaper and i heard it was better also than the usb version,
ive been using it to record commentary along with game plays for youtube and its been working fine as ive been able to connect it to my capture device (with lots of cables and adapters :p)

ive just recently got myself a laptop and i thought itd be a great idea to capture commentary on my laptop and game footage through console so that way when it comes to editing i have 2 separate files where as the gameplay and commentary are just merged into one when i record everything from my capture card.

heres the problem i dont know how to connect my xlr mic to pc, i tried to record some stuff using audacity but nothing happened
my mic is connected to a phantom power supply, and then connected to pc using a 3.5mm adapter, but i dont know how, or if i can make it work, ive looked everywhere but cant figure it out :(
can anyone help me ?
 
Putting your nice mic through the 3.5mm input of your computer probably negates any advantage the XLR version has over the USB version. Since that seems to matter to you the best option would be a proper audio interface. Most connect through USB and offer all sorts of useful features designed for recording.

Note that the USB connection itself is not what makes the USB version of the 2020 inferior (if it actually is), it's the compromises of building the USB interface into the mic and keeping the whole thing affordable.
 
hmm i feel really stuck now, spent a small fortune on xlr cables and adapters and phantom power supply, i was hoping id be able to hook it all up to my laptop and use audacity to record my mic.
i dont really know much about mixers or audio interface, in fact im a total noob :p i dont know what id be looking for or how much i should expect to pay. i didnt really want to spend anything more right now, is there any way around using audio interface and mixers, ive read about people saying you need external sound cards too and im just really confused

the reason i wanted to record through my laptop was because my videos were turning out weird, my commentary was on one side of the headphones and game/footage was on the other, and i heard that was because the at2020 records in mono and not stereo so i thought if i could record it through audacity i could alter it so that it records in mono, and that way my videos would end up better quality and less hard to watch :) lol in windows movie maker (noob, i know lol) there is no option to change from stereo to mono so i end up with these strange sounding videos :/
 
The simple and free solution is to learn how to fix your audio with voice on one side and game sound on the other. I don't know Audacity well enough to tell you how do to it in that software but it's a trivial task in software that I do know.

This is a good example of why it's good to do a little research before buying. An audio interface replaces all those cables (except the XLR), the phantom power box and your sound card. It also adds some functions you don't have with your setup. With a proper audio interface you may find you need proper studio monitors. While this is really the "right" way to do it you don't seem to have the money right now, so learn how to process your recordings from the left-right thing you have to the centered thing you probably want and start saving up for an interface.
 
yeah youre right, im gonna go find out how to do it, and perhaps try a different programme than windows movie maker perhaps that will help my cause, its a little limited in things i can tinker about with.
when i brought the microphone i thought id just need a 3.5 adapter so i could plug it into a pc and id be fine, then i realised i needed a phantom power supply as well! i mean it works fine when i plug it into my capture device which is almost sort of like a little pre amp where i can adjust some mic settings, mainly the volume and +20db stuff, i just cant use it with my pc right now until i can afford to buy some kind of audio interface, but like you said if i can figure out how to centre pan the audio then i should be okay for a while :) lol thanks!
 
just out of interest, have either of you ever used a programme called shotcut? i was looking for free editing software and came across this just now and thank the heavens above it has an option for me to pan audio! no longer will i have to worry about the audio being so off balance, i just gotta learn how to use everything else in the programme now :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top