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How do I shout into my mic without distortion?

14

I have an Audiotechna AT2020 USB condenser microphone hooked up to my computer. When I'm recording sometimes I may shout or scream and my microphone goes all grainy and distorted. So I'm just wondering how I can resolve this or for anything else that's helpful or relevant.

Thanks, everyone!

Yes, I'm an audio beginner haha -_-

2 Answers

4

I would definitely use a dynamic microphone like everyone else is mentioning, but I would also use a pad. I've done a few vocal recording for hardcore bands and a lot of times they are clipping even with the preamp gain at the lowest.

A 50db pad would be great and you won't have to back away from the mic all that much and introduce the room into the recording.

3

Swap the mic for a dynamic if you can and give that a go. Try reducing the mic gain on the interface if you can. Using a compressor on the DAW won't help. And if you're in control and can ride the gain before you let rip that might help a bit ;)


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How do I shout into my mic without distortion?

14

I have an Audiotechna AT2020 USB condenser microphone hooked up to my computer. When I'm recording sometimes I may shout or scream and my microphone goes all grainy and distorted. So I'm just wondering how I can resolve this or for anything else that's helpful or relevant.

Thanks, everyone!

Yes, I'm an audio beginner haha -_-


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9

I would definitely use a dynamic microphone like everyone else is mentioning, but I would also use a pad. I've done a few vocal recording for hardcore bands and a lot of times they are clipping even with the preamp gain at the lowest.

A 50db pad would be great and you won't have to back away from the mic all that much and introduce the room into the recording.

edit

This is true as long as the mic diaphragm isn't the bit introducing the distortion. Otherwise, yeah, padding is another great solution. - JoshP Dec 4, 2014 at 14:25

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