High-End Mic But Recorded Audio Sounds Bad?

One of my regular readers contacted me with a very strange problem a few years ago. He had purchased a VERY good microphone – a RODE NT1. And since that is a standard (XLR) mic, it needs a recording interface, which he also had purchased. A Focusrite Scarlett Solo.

The Problem

But his recordings sounded really bad. They were very noisy. There was a LOT of room echo/reverb and the voice sounded thin and kind of far away. So he called me for help. [Quick note here – if you would like help with your recordings, just contact me here]

So after we talked, and it became clear that the problem was not his gear, which should have produced rich, quiet and professional quality audio. I actually recently did a review of his mic recently with audio samples, which you can check out here: My Review of The RØDE NT1 5th Generation Microphone.

The Possible Causes of The Problem

So the problem had to be something else. Maybe he was recording in a really bad sounding room with lots of tile or something on the walls? Nope. Just a regular converted bedroom (like probably 99% of us).

Maybe he was just too far away from the mic? Nope. He was standing with the mic 3-5 inches from his mouth, just like I recommend.

Maybe there was something wrong with his interface (the Focusrite Scarlett Solo)? Nope. He could hear himself in the headphones when plugged into the Scarlett and it sounded wonderful. Nothing like the terrible recordings.

What then? I thought about how his computer was “choosing” its microphone. So I had him check his Windows Sound settings. There is a tab there which shows you all the possible microphones the computer could be using. Maybe his interface was not plugged in? Or maybe the the computer wasn’t recognizing it? NOPE! The computer saw the Scarlett just fine.

I asked if he had a PC mic plugged into his sound card. He did not. He said the one and only mic plugged into his computer was the RODE, through the Scarlett. So where in the $%**&^$ was the audio even coming from?

Despair Turns To Success

I almost started pulling my hair out when I noticed that on his list of recording devices was an entry I didn’t recognize. It turned out to be his monitor. You know, his COMPUTER SCREEN “monitor.” What?!

I asked if there was a mic in there and he said he didn’t think so. But I had him disable the device in Windows Sound anyway. We disabled everything except the Scarlett.

Guess what? There WAS a microphone built into his monitor screen! And his computer must have loved it, because it really wanted it to be the default recording device. But after we disabled that thing, BOOM!

That is the sound in my head when we gave the computer no choice but to select the Focusrite Scarlett as the default (because now there was no choice) recording device. Yes. “Boom!” Because we had just fied the problem!

He made a test recording and was overjoyed at the quality. Because he was now recording through his RODE NT1 and Scarlett interface, which should have (and ultimately did) provided pristine audio quality.

The Lesson For Us All

Whew! So glad for him and that we were able to solve the problem. But it brings up and important point for you, dear reader. Always check your Windows (or Mac equivalent) Sound settings to to make absolutely certain that you have your “good” mic selected as the default recording device.