Select models feature dedicated, wireless-ready integration for the ULM Series USB microphones, making them the first of their kind in the industry. Armed with premium microphone preamps and robust feature sets typically reserved for more expensive consoles, the Behringer Q802 USB mixers can handle your live gigs and provide the state-of-the-art tools to make stunning, professional-quality recordings. With millions of loyal and happy customers, Behringer Xenyx mixers stand alone at the top of their class. As an example all the sound on this recording is done by placing small bone conductors on an old zither, my electronic instruments are being played through the bone conductors and recorded from inside the zither, everything you hear is the sound of the small space.The 8-input, 2-bus Behringer Xenyx Q802USB USB Audio Mixer has two phantom-powered Xenyx microphone preamps, making it possible to use up to two dynamic and/or studio-grade condenser microphones. Microphones are creative tools and I find the small omni’s really creative, for the money it’s an easy choice & you’ll find yourself sticking it in places you either can’t or wouldn’t dream of sticking a larger more expensive mic. I have a lot of microphones & can honestly say I hardly use any of them but my FEL 172’s I use all the time, could never be without & I’ve got 4 for multitrack recording in my studio or outside for less that the price of my AKG boom mic. So for me the small omni’s are incredibly flexible & a ton cheaper, many field recordists & classical musicians use dpa 4060, great but expensive and there’s not much difference (beside being smaller) than the small omni’s from FEL or LOM, their only restriction would be for live use due to their sensitivity & lack of directionality. Small omni’s will capture everything the bigger mics can capture, they can easily be used outside with a bumblebee windjammer (try that on a at2020 or a nt1a).
I’ve used them to record inside metal pipes, inside stringed instruments & drums, yes contact mics can do this but the joy inside an acoustic instrument is the reverb. Great mics but the joy of the small omni’s is that they are perfect for getting up close & personal e.g.
They are different beasts, at2020 is a large diaphragm condenser which is great for a bit of directionality & noise reduction on the rear very similar to Rode NT1a. Since they rely on sound pressure to move the magnet inside the coil, they don’t work so well for quieter sounds. guitar amps, percussion, rock vocals etc. Something else to keep in mind is that these are both dynamic microphones and as such are best suited to loud sounds i.e. Not sure what the xenyx mixers are like these days, but I remember them being a bit too noisy for my liking. If you’re finding that the recording is too noisy, then try plugging the mic directly into the interface. Once you’ve got a good level coming out of the mixer, then you can adjust the input level of the interface to match. If you want to record with both mics at the same time, get levels right for each mic (as above) and then reduce both mixer channel levels (but leave the gain knob). Alternatively if you’ve got a solid orange brushing up against the red, or the peak light is flashing on the channel, then you need to reduce the gain. If you’re barely getting to the second green on the meters, then you can up the gain a bit. As aldovino already said, you want it to be starting to hit the orange. Make the sound you’re planning on recording and look at the metering near the main mix fader. Normally you’d start with the gain turned right down, but since you’ve already had it turned up you may as well set it to 12 o’clock to begin with. You can leave the interface input levels right down while you sort out the mixer levels. Start with the individual mixer channel set to 0 (i.e. Righto, assuming you’re only recording one mic at a time to begin with.