How To Gain My New Microphone?!

[amazinjoe555]

Hi!

 

I am starting to get into music, so I decided to use all of the money I had to get a decent recording setup.  I purchased a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, a Mackie Mix12FX board, and an Audio Technica AT2020 from its countless amounts of positive reviews and feedback.  So I hooked everything up and it sounds ok ingame in CS:GO, but it seems very quiet on stream and in audacity when I record.  I think I am gaining the mic wrong.  On the mixer, I have the main mix at a little over the 5, the level almost to max, but my gain very low.  On the 2i2, I have the two gain nobs (it is hooked up to stereo) at about a little over the middle.  I was told to do this to reduce the white noise, but it sounds quiet.  How should I correctly gain this?  I have pictures below:

 

Thanks,

Joe DiCristo

[anothertom]

So from what i'm seeing you've got the AT2020 plugged into the mackie, then the stereo output from that into the 2i2 which is USBing that to your computer. You've also got a pair of headphones plugged into the 2i2. is that a permanent part of the setup? or were you just using it to hear the input level?

 

Before we get too much into this, I'll ask why you bought the mackie as well as a 2i2? are you intending to start recording multiple instruments and vocals at once? as otherwise you don't need a mixer between the mic and the 2i2 and a mix12fx is very much overkill for the job you're doing.

[amazinjoe555]

37 minutes ago, anothertom said:

So from what i'm seeing you've got the AT2020 plugged into the mackie, then the stereo output from that into the 2i2 which is USBing that to your computer. You've also got a pair of headphones plugged into the 2i2. is that a permanent part of the setup? or were you just using it to hear the input level?

 

Before we get too much into this, I'll ask why you bought the mackie as well as a 2i2? are you intending to start recording multiple instruments and vocals at once? as otherwise you don't need a mixer between the mic and the 2i2 and a mix12fx is very much overkill for the job you're doing.

Yes, I am working on getting multiple instruments and vocals into the equation eventually.  I have a buddy who can play literally anything and we are thinking of getting him in a few tracks.  The mixer is for eqs and effects as well as playing live when that becomes apparent.  As you probably know, the 2i2 isn't the most reliable for playing live... however currently, I really use the mixer for eqs for now as the AT2020 sounds very bland without some tweaking.  I could have gone for software, but they were extremely expensive and a mixer would do the same job so... i went for it.  Now, I am mostly recording and uploading straight to iTunes, Soundcloud, and Spotify.  Edit: I stream and do podcasts as well, but that is slightly irrelevant.  I use the 2i2 as a little amp as well for my HD598, so it is mostly permanent, yes.

[anothertom]

36 minutes ago, amazinjoe555 said:

As you probably know, the 2i2 isn't the most reliable for playing live... 

Let's just say their drivers are a bit buggy. And from what I've heard with a pretty obvious reason.

 

So, your setup isn't providing a very satisfactory experience. Let's try to fix that.

 

To start with we'll disconnect the mixer from the 2i2 and just focus on getting that set up properly. Start by turning both the channel and master faders to zero [I know they're pots on that board but i'll use 'faders' because otherwise i'll get confused]. Make sure the phantom power switch is on and the mic is properly connected. Just above the channel fader, there's a light labelled 'OL' ['over-limit' aka clipping, which is a bad thing], while speaking/singing from a normal use position (which should be fairly close to the mic, into the front [yes it has a front, and remember it's side address]) bring the channel gain up until the light begins to flash, then take it back slightly. You want to set it so that you're loudest sound is slightly under the clip level.

 

Two methods for the next step. Either put the channel fader or the master fader to 0 dB (or unity, marked with a 'u' on your board) and then use the other to adjust the level so that it's somewhere between -6 and 0 dB. Usefully, the Mix12FX has a basic VU for the output so you can use that to judge the setting.

 

Before connecting the mixer to the 2i2, set the gain to 0dB on both channels, make sure phantom power is off, both inputs should be set to line inputs. One nice feature of the Focusrite interfaces is that they have a nice green light which comes on when they detect an input, hopefully you've now got two lights around the gain knobs. We want to find that magic value again, 0 dB, but they don't have it nicely labelled so shoot for something halfway-ish-maybe. Another good feature is that the nice green lights turn red when you're overloading the input. So once again aim for a level where it's somewhere beneath that level. If you find that you can't add any gain in the focusrite before it clips then slightly lower the level on the mixers master fader.

 

That should solve any issues you're having with the level of the mic, and clean it up a bit as well. Once it's set as the default device within windows you should be off to the races. If it's quiet in certain programs then there will be a volume setting somewhere in the program, and i think there will still be the option to set an input level from within windows recording devices, if you go into the properties for the device.

[amazinjoe555]

43 minutes ago, anothertom said:

Let's just say their drivers are a bit buggy. And from what I've heard with a pretty obvious reason.

 

So, your setup isn't providing a very satisfactory experience. Let's try to fix that.

 

To start with we'll disconnect the mixer from the 2i2 and just focus on getting that set up properly. Start by turning both the channel and master faders to zero [I know they're pots on that board but i'll use 'faders' because otherwise i'll get confused]. Make sure the phantom power switch is on and the mic is properly connected. Just above the channel fader, there's a light labelled 'OL' ['over-limit' aka clipping, which is a bad thing], while speaking/singing from a normal use position (which should be fairly close to the mic, into the front [yes it has a front, and remember it's side address]) bring the channel gain up until the light begins to flash, then take it back slightly. You want to set it so that you're loudest sound is slightly under the clip level.

 

Two methods for the next step. Either put the channel fader or the master fader to 0 dB (or unity, marked with a 'u' on your board) and then use the other to adjust the level so that it's somewhere between -6 and 0 dB. Usefully, the Mix12FX has a basic VU for the output so you can use that to judge the setting.

 

Before connecting the mixer to the 2i2, set the gain to 0dB on both channels, make sure phantom power is off, both inputs should be set to line inputs. One nice feature of the Focusrite interfaces is that they have a nice green light which comes on when they detect an input, hopefully you've now got two lights around the gain knobs. We want to find that magic value again, 0 dB, but they don't have it nicely labelled so shoot for something halfway-ish-maybe. Another good feature is that the nice green lights turn red when you're overloading the input. So once again aim for a level where it's somewhere beneath that level. If you find that you can't add any gain in the focusrite before it clips then slightly lower the level on the mixers master fader.

 

That should solve any issues you're having with the level of the mic, and clean it up a bit as well. Once it's set as the default device within windows you should be off to the races. If it's quiet in certain programs then there will be a volume setting somewhere in the program, and i think there will still be the option to set an input level from within windows recording devices, if you go into the properties for the device.

Thank you so much!