Audio-Technica AT2020
Help with too much background noise
So i’m using my microphone for live streaming games and lets plays and youtube
I may have made a mistake in buying a Audio-Technica AT2020 USB a while back ,
it picks up WAY TOO much background noise.
A tiny soft bird tweets in the background. The mike picks that up Including the other background noise i don’t want.
I’m using Windows 7 and Abeltone Live
For live streaming The only way I can make it work is by having the record level really low, then on Abeltone Live adding lots of heavy noise reduction, then amplify the resulting audio.
It works . But i do lose some sound quality for live streaming
It is not as bad when i’m recording audio for later so I can clean that up, but it could still be improved
Looking for input on how to reduce the noise ideally by dampening or muffling the microphone since i’m don’t have a proper studio. I’ve done what I can with the room itself to reduce noise.
As a test I tried putting some thick cloth material around the mike. This did seem to help but I thought there would be some more professional suggestions or options to reduce the background noise and pick up my voice fine without losing audio quality.
Comments
The 2020 is a condenser mic, and condensers are designed to be s
The 2020 is a condenser mic, and condensers are designed to be sensitive to all kinds of sound sources. They are made to do this; to pick up the subtleties and nuances of instruments, therefore they're much more sensitive to background noises than dynamic mics are.
That particular 2020 you are using ( there are two models, one without a USB connection and another with) is an ultra low cost, low quality condenser mic that was designed for budget level home recording applications, not for gaming.
That's not to say that you can't use a USB condenser mic for gaming purposes, but you'll run into the same issues that you are facing currently. Attempting to dampen the mic using materials like foam or cloth will only go so far, and will very likely always negatively effect the quality of your voice.
I'm not a gamer, but I do know a thing or two about microphones, and you've got the wrong tool for the task you're wanting it to do.
You'd be much better off using a headset mic designed specifically for gaming, such as this:
(There are many gaming headset/mic models out there, from dirt-cheap to very expensive... I've posted two that are more budget-minded - If you want to search models out yourself, do a google search with the keywords "USB Gaming Microphone Headset".)
http://www.newegg.c…
or this:
https://www.enablem…
FWIW
-d.