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Re: Best audio interface for clarinet?

Author: gwie
Date: 2020-06-15 07:17

Any 2x2 USB interface will work. FocusRite, Presonus, MOTU, Steinberg, M-Audio, etc. Below $200 there's not much difference.

I'll second the recommendation for the Audio-Technica AT2020 microphone. It's going for $79 right now and it is an absolute steal at that price. For most people recording at home, it will suit their needs perfectly--I've used it to record violin, viola, and clarinet and it does great. You'll need to experiment with placement and distance to see what raw recorded material you want to work with. Using two of them, and positioning one closer and one further lets you capture more detail to use in the final mix. Certainly it doesn't compete with the setup my sound guy uses (Apogee hardware with a pair of Coles 4038 and a Neumann U87), but those are thousands of dollars.

Cheap speakers aren't worth it. An inexpensive pair of in-ear monitors like the CCA C10 (around $40) will be much easier to get consistent results with. If you prefer over-ear headphones, the Audio-Technica M20x is $49 and will do the job, or get the Sony MDR 7506 for $99 if you have some more budget.

It's a deep rabbit hole to jump down...have fun.