Samson G-Track Pro - Professional USB Microphone with Audio Interface - Black

Product Information

The USB version of the Audio-Technica AT2020is just as good as the XLR AT2020 with the advantage of being a plug n’ play microphone that works both onWindowsandMac OS without the need of installing any sort of driver.

This microphone has probably the best build quality I’ve seen so far of any USB mic, especially if you consider the price; it’s all metal and very heavy, plus the mic desk stand -which already comes installed on the mic- is very heavy, meaning that it won’t slide around the desk easily. That's a fantastic feature for anyone looking to record themselves playing an instrument while singing along. For streamers and podcasters, it's not as useful, although if you have an extra mic laying around with a compatible plug, you could increase your sound quality and toss another mic into the mix without needing to buy a mixer. The extra feature is awesome and has no effect on the price. USB microphones are replacing the traditional way of recording more and more thanks to their small and compact form, affordability and ease of use. As for the instrument front-end, my electric guitar was recorded cleanly and without issues, though the recorded waveform suggested that the recorded signal might have been polarity inverted somewhere along the line, as transients always headed downwards rather than upwards.There’s a reason why the AT2020 (XLR Version) is part of almost every music studio, and that is because when taking cost-effectiveness into account, there are few microphones that can stand up to it.

Now, there’s one thing that you should consider before purchasing it, and that is the region of the world/country you’re in. Additionally, this microphone is plug and play both on Windows 10 and MacOS, meaning that no drivers are needed; simply connect it and it works.

Post & VFX

If you're a streamer or a podcaster, and you're giving the short shrift to audio quality, you're doing it wrong. The built-in mic on your laptop, or the one on your headset, are fine for gaming or making video calls, but if you're trying to build an audience, you need to up your game, and a good microphone is is one of the most important places to start. Of course, it can be used for recording acoustic and classical guitars as well, which is what I used it for before getting some of the other microphones I own. The only thing I don’t like that much is that it can sound a bitcrispyat times, but that isn’t that much of an issue really since you can fix that with just a bit of EQ afterwards.

Audio quality is exactly what you would expect from a studio microphone. It captures 24-bit/96kHz sound, which is the same bitrate as the Razer Seiren and beats the Blue Yeti's 16-bit. That being said, it's extremely difficult for the average human to tell the difference between something recorded at 24-bit versus 16-bit. You'd basically need to be an audio engineer with an acute ear for nuance in sound. Overall, it's excellent and offers higher quality recording than most people will typically need. The weight of the stand is more of an issue if you're going to take this on the road, and it's certainly well-equipped enough that you'd want to. But at over 3 lbs with the stand, it weighs more than some laptops. Here’s a post where I compare the Blue Yeti to the AT2020+, should you be interested. What do you get in the Box?

Audio quality

In cardioid, the mic only records sounds from the front, making it perfect for recording a voice-over, or for recording music (which is what I mostly used the mic for). As far as mic’ing up guitar cabinets, it actually performs a lot better than expected, and even when recording acoustic guitar, it also did a more than decent job. And this is an issue that I had, since it took me over 10 min to get a decent tone out of it, and I still didn’t quite like it.