Originally Posted By: Warren Keller
Hi Charlie and Jim, Brothers? To clarify, I frequently record myself with tracks- play-alongs, etc. No issue there. I really need to upgrade the hardware and before I order, just trying to make good choices! :>) I found this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5ZX9FM/ref=psdc_11974651_t1_B001AS6OYC which is a great mic (one step down from the AT2035), and it's USB and has the headphone jack and volume controls for the headphone and mic output. Thoughts guys? That should yield zero latency and a high-quality large condenser for sax and flute. This way we'd eliminate the XLR/USB conversion with the audio interface. Thanks Fogles, et. al.!


Brothers = yes we are....

Your clarification that you want to upgrade your hardware and you're vacillating between USB/mic and an audio interface/mic simplifies my answer.

While USB mics have greatly improved over the past few years, they have not caught up to standard mics yet or matched the vast selections available of conventional mics. An audio interface gives you the ability to use any mic you can afford or desire to own. A quality audio interface will also give you opportunities to have additional inputs and output capabilities. An audio interface will provide you with higher quality, higher DA/AD converters.

There are a ton of other benefits I could list but the bottom line is, if you are upgrading hardware, buying a quality mic and audio interface is the best choice by far.

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