20 Most Recent Audio Technica Audio-Technica AT2020 - Condenser Microphone AT2020 Microphone Questions & Answers

Most likely it could be two things either a connection is not getting current anymore. my 2020s have went through hell and no problems. or the other suggestion is that your phantom power is not being sent from your preamp to the microphone (not to make you feel stupid, just a reoccuring problem on this board.)
Good Luck, Cody J.

i hav just bought a at2020 mic and i tried recording bought it's not workin for my dell inspiron i forgot the model anyway it's running on windows 7 so please help me out am screwed with this ****

Hi

Put it in another usb because the laptop as more than a port.

If that does not work use it on another laptop. Let me get the response.

Thanks.

Tascam-us100 interface doesn't have phantom power; condensor mics need phantom power to operate

This is a common problem with recording multi-track sounds on a computer. It is caused by something that is known as 'latency' - basically it is down to the fact that the signal from your microphone takes a different route through the system to that taken by the audio playback. The AT2020 is a USB microphone and the signal therefore has to pass through the USB bus circuit of your computer. Despite claims of multi-tasking your computer cannot do everything at once so it naturally creates delays to make itself work properly. This will be more of a problem with a computer which has a 'cut-down' processor such as a Celeron (Intel) or Duron/Sempron (AMD). These processors are really only intended for basic computing (office type) use and are not really up to the high demands of video or audio recordings.
You may get some improvement by tweaking some of the audio settings for your sound-card to change the hardware acceleration.
This article may help you http://www.pcmus.com/latency.htm
If you are using a dedicated midi /music recording program such as Cubase then you may be able to correct the time lag using the 'quantise' function after recording your vocals. However the best solution is likely to be a hardware one Either buy a proper multi-track mixer/recorder designed for the purpose or get a second USB microphone - play your backing track on an external device - using one microphone to capture your voice and one to re-record the backing track (the only downside for this second option will be a gradual degrading of the sound quality each time it is re-cycled)

Unlike 'Dynamic' microphones all condenser microphones require some sort of power supply to make them work. Sometimes this can be by way of an internal battery but many of them work on an external 'phantom' power supply.
I am not familiar with the exact model number you quote but AT make 2 types of AT2020 condenser microphone.
1) If your AT microphone is fitted with a USB plug then you can connect it directly to the USB socket on your computer, which will provide it with the power that it needs to make it work. The USB bus should automatically recognise the microphone and allocate an audio channel to it but you may still have to select this device as your input source in your recording program. How you do this will differ from one program to another.

2) However if the microphone is fitted with a standard jack-plug then it will not work by you just plugging it into your computer microphone input socket as this is not powered. You will need a separate 48volt DC power supply to power the microphone.
You will almost certainly also need some sort of microphone pre-amplifier to match the output voltage and impedance (electrical resistance) of the microphone to the levels required by your audio input socket on your computer.
Probably the best way to achieve both of these requirements at lowest cost would be to purchase a small audio mixer with a phantom power option such as the Phonic AM220 http://cpc.farnell.com/phonic/am220/mixing-console-am220/dp/DP29303

WARNING - most audio mixers only have one on/off switch for phantom, power - thus the power is either on or off for ALL channels. Some other devices - like radio microphones, keyboards and electric guitars may be damaged by having 48v dc current supplied to them

Here is a link to the technical specs sheet for the AT2020 http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/resource_library/literature/49f63e6efc082082/at2020_english.pdf
More information is available here http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/40-why-do-i-need-a-microphone-preamp-.html

The standard ports on a mac are not the best for audio production. their impedance are quite low an I have found lots of recordings to come out clipped or like you say, full of noise.

Best think to do is to get a cheap USB 2 or firewire external soundcard. One of the best moves to bring a mac to audio life.
M-audio make a good range from ok price to quite pricey :-)

check your microphone because there something inside remove or got loosen

find the drivers online then restart your computer. hook up the mic then restart again

If you have replaced the cartridge then it must be the cartridge pre-amp that is faulty. If there are any other functions on the device such as CD, then it will not effect them. Unless there is crackling on any other function then the pre-amp has a problem. The pre-amp itself is generally a single IC. You can find it by following the turntable connection back to the inside of the amp. The signals will pass through the IC before being passed to the main pre-amp.

Use an alternative device connected to the input the turntable usually connects to. If both channels work ok the new turntable is clearly faulty and should be returned under warranty.